Appreciative Inquiry

An ongoing initative of MasonLEADS is collecting stories using the Appreciative Inquiry Methodology describing the personal best leadership experiences of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni. The Appreciative Inquiry process provides a methodology to generate a collective image for campus leadership and deepens our understanding of strengths of Mason’s existing leadership initiatives.

Presentation: Cultivating a Culture of Leadership on Campus
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Appreciative Inquiry Project 2009
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In order to understand and promote Mason’s culture of leadership, Mason Leads  committee launched an Appreciative Inquiry project in Fall 2008. Appreciative inquiry is  a process of organizational development rooted in the organization’s strengths and  assets. During the fall semester, consultant Barbara Sloan came to campus to provide  training and guidance to launch the project. Twenty-nine students, faculty and staff participated in designing the interview protocol and conducted the initial round of interviews. At a second meeting with Barbara Sloan, interviewers examined the results and identified common themes among the stories shared. The team also identified areas for future work including continuing to interview and communicating the leadership stories and learning from the project with others.