Appreciative Leaders: In the Eye of the Beholder by Marjorie Schiller

Based off of twenty eight interviews, this small but comprehensive review reveals the characteristics of “appreciative leaders” and sheds some light on behaviors and attitudes that are predominant in all of them. In today’s management environment of self-organizing systems, appreciative modes of management have become what “deficit or problem-oriented methods have been to command-and-control bureaucracies”. Through the interviews presented in the book, it is striking to note that, while all of the successful leaders in the book had divergent paths and distinctive leadership qualities, they were all close in their core key principles, visions, and values. Any reader can benefit from the central lessons this book provides about the good qualities of a good leader, such as creating clarity of policies, principles, and concepts while at the same time encouraging this in the real work experience by engaging members in a positive inquiry based framework.

Dr. Lynn K. Jones is a Certified Personal and Executive Coach based in Santa Barbara, California and a sought after coach and consultant for organizations and individuals across the US.   Her doctoral work completed at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University concerned organizational culture; she coaches, consults and trains organizations on what they need to do to create organizational cultures that are aligned with their vision and values using a process of Appreciative Inquiry.  She coaches individual on achieving their reflected best selves.  An MSW@USC faculty member, Dr. Lynn K. Jones, MSW, DSW, CSWM, teaches Human Behavior and Social Environment.