“Provocative . . . reveals the ability behind exciting and unexpected innovations, turnarounds, or accomplishments that were once considered impossible.” —W. Warner Burke, Edward L. Thorndike Professor of Psychology and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University Appreciative Intelligence provides a new answer to what enables successful people to dream up their extraordinary and innovative ideas; why employees, partners, colleagues, investors, and other stakeholders join them on the path to their goals, and how they achieve these goals despite obstacles and challenges. It is not simple optimism. People with appreciative intelligence are realistic and action oriented—they have the ability not just to identify positive potential, but to devise a course of action to take advantage of it. Drawing on their own original research and recent discoveries in psychology and cognitive neuroscience, Thatchenkery and Metzker outline the evidence for appreciative intelligence, detail its specific characteristics, and show how you can develop this skill and use it in your own life and work. They show how the most successful leaders are able to spread appreciative intelligence throughout an organization, and they offer tools and exercises you can use to increase your own level of appreciative intelligence and so become more creative, resilient, successful, and personally fulfilled. “An inspiring and practical account of how to develop the capacity to see potential within the present and to develop this capacity within oneself and in others.” —Jane E. Dutton, William Russell Kelly Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Psychology, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan “A compelling justification for . . . what endows successful leaders with the qualities of persistence, conviction, comfort with uncertainty, and resilience to overcome challenges.” —Dr. V. Nilakant, coauthor of Change Management

As organizations continue to develop and adapt in today’s modern society, various approaches have begun to emerge as managers look for the best techniques to improve company performance. Appreciative inquiry is the practice of maintaining a positive and optimistic environment within the workplace, and it’s a concept that has transformed many corporations as it spread across the globe. Understanding this powerful shift in employee perception requires considerable research on how appreciative inquiry is affecting various companies worldwide. Appreciative Inquiry Approaches to Organizational Transformation provides emerging research that serves to increase the productivity of individuals and organizations exponentially by sharing case studies from organizations where appreciative inquiry has been implemented successfully as well as best practices that can benefit organizations and common pitfalls that can be avoided by becoming more vigilant. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as individual execution, productivity, and occupational solutions, this book is ideally designed for managers, practitioners, corporate professionals, executives, researchers, educators, and students.