All leaders seek to be resilient in their work and their lives, to withstand what organizations and life can throw at them, and to rise again from despair. But no one can predict what challenges, issues, and random events they will be called on to face. We need tools and practices in place before those situations arise, or we will fail to advance our resilience.
This week, we’re honored to launch a book that shares how to use Appreciative Inquiry as a tool to help navigate difficult situations in all aspects of life. It is a commentary on the journey towards resilience, and a guide for using appreciative inquiry to navigate the constantly evolving landscape of hope, despair, and forgiveness.
Building Resilience with Appreciative Inquiry
Leaders cannot predict the complex challenges they are called on to face. Veteran consultants Joan McArthur-Blair and Jeanie Cockell show that Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is an invaluable tool to build resilience.
AI is a widely used change approach that emphasizes identifying what’s working well in a system. Leaders can use AI to increase their ability to weather the storms they’ll inevitably encounter and be resilient. A profound guide, this book features personal accounts from leaders across a variety of settings describing how they’ve practiced appreciative resilience in the ongoing cycle of hope, despair, and forgiveness.
Meet the Authors
Dr. Joan McArthur-Blair, co-president of Cockell McArthur-Blair Consulting and co-author of Building Resilience with Appreciative Inquiry, is an inspirational writer, speaker, and facilitator. Joan specializes in the use of Appreciative Inquiry to foster leadership, strategic planning, and innovative strategies for organizational development. She is a powerful speaker, writer, and facilitator who grounds her work in a deep passion for learning, change, and the possibilities of a positive future. She brings to her consulting work over 25 years in higher education, from faculty to president.
Dr. Jeanie Cockell, co-president of Cockell McArthur-Blair Consulting and co-author of Building Resilience with Appreciative Inquiry, is a dynamic facilitator known for her ability to get diverse groups to work collaboratively together. For twenty years, Jeanie has served as an educational and organizational consultant helping people, organizations, and communities build positive futures and respond effectively to change. Her background includes teaching and leadership roles in education.
Praise from Readers Like You
“The Resilience Model presented in the book provides hope in and of itself – a positive roadmap to resilience. The personal stories from the authors as well as others brought the concepts alive and deepened my understanding of the potential for this approach. . . . The authors have shared not only their personal perspectives from years of experience but have also shared the outcomes from their lifetime body of work so that we all can learn and benefit.”
— J. Hoyt, 5-star Amazon review
“Too often, in my opinion, leadership theory focuses only on being positive, hopeful and even charismatic. Those of us who have also found part of our journey as leaders to involve feelings of total despair wonder what we are doing wrong and if we have what it takes to lead. This book provides assurance that this is part of the journey and helps describe the opportunities to be forgiving and build resilience.“
— Patricia Bradshaw, 5-star Amazon review
“This book will be a go-to tool for me for many years to come. It is written and presented in a format that allows for note-taking, making reference points, and has very self-sufficient graphics. It will add to the culture of any organization.”
— Charlie Means, 5-star Amazon review
Learn More
- Visit the website to learn more about the book and its authors.
- Buy a copy of the book, or leave a short review of it, on Amazon.
- Watch the recent webinar to hear directly from Joan and Jeanie.
Elizabeth Johnson loves the color yellow, strong {black} coffee, editing, and exploring the mountains in rural Wyoming and Utah, where she and her husband serve as church planters. In her free time, she enjoys learning new things, hand-lettering and acrylic painting, and gaming with her husband.