In the Taos Institute January newsletter,www.taosinstitute.net, David Cooperrider talks about Relational Leading. In this piece he quotes Peter Drucker, “‘Leadership is about creating an alignment of strengths making people’s weaknesses irrelevant.’ This, it seems, would require an appreciative eye…” Cooperrider is emphasizing appreciation as a fundamental element of Relational Leading. In my experience it is a necessary factor in developing strengths. A focus on appreciation and the development of strengths builds individual capacity within the context of a network of relationships. It is never the individual that makes the difference. It is always the relational context.
What is your experience being appreciated? When that happened, how did it affect your development?