Paradoxically, at the point that someone is fully appreciated and reaffirmed, they will tend to live up to their newly acclaimed talents and drive, just as they will live down to their depreciated sense of self if constantly criticized and undervalued. Carl Rogers suggested many years ago that people are least likely to change if they are being asked to change and are most likely to change when they have received positive regard—what we would identify as appreciation.

With this acknowledgement of distinctive strengths and competencies comes a final mode of appreciation. When leaders in an organization or community engage in efforts to build and bind a (spiritual community) then efforts will be made by all its members to form complementary relationships and recognize the mutual benefits that can be derived from the cooperation of differing constituencies.

A culture of appreciating differences provides integration (the glue that holds a social system together) while the organization or community is growing and differentiating into many distinctive units of responsibility (division of labor) and geography. (Durkheim, 1933/1893; Lawrence and Lorsch, 1969) The appreciative perspective is particularly important in the era of globalization, when there are significant differences in vision, values or culture among members or regions of an organization or community or between independent division or organizations that are seeking to work together. (Rosinski, 2010)

As many surprising cooperative endeavors have demonstrated in recent years, from open-source software development to the explosion of Wikipedia and its unexpectedly high-quality content, what lies beyond the era of information and sheer competition is an era of collaboration (Bergquist, Betwee and Meuel, 1995). Business leaders are learning to connect rather than independently create. They learn to borrow and duplicate (“the highest form of flattery”). They create alliances and networks instead of focusing on the organizational gigantism popular at the end of the last century. We might call it appreciative competition.

Leadership Practice Five: Responsibility and Accountability

Those leaders who are engaged in this fifth best practice realize that strong demands for accountability and responsibility come with their clear and consistent commitment to a specific vision and set of values. This leader is “convinced” of their need to know something about themselves–good or bad. Sandstrom and Smith (2005) suggest that there is a beacon pointing out where we have wavered from demanding expectations associated with this vision and these values.

This beacon can help us find the way back. But the beacon can only be a source of guidance if we are willing to receive feedback and reflect on the decisions we have made and our subsequent behavior. The Best Practice Five leader models the highest levels of responsibility and accountability to everyone around him or her.