Appreciative Inquiry Handbook, David L. Cooperrider, Diana Whitney, and Jacqueline M. Stavros, 2005. This publication is essentially a workbook for anyone wanting to launch an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) initiative. It provides background information on what AI is and how it works, and offers sample project plans, designs, agendas, course outlines, interview guidelines, participant worksheets, a list of resources, and more.

Beyond Change Management: Advanced Strategies for Today’s Transformational Leaders, Dean Anderson and Linda Ackerman Anderson, 1994. Implementing transformational change in an organization can be a daunting task. Current statistics indicate that nearly 70% of all change efforts fail. This book introduces the concept of conscious transformation as a proactive approach to transformational change, and its main focus is building change leadership competency. Sections of the book discuss the leader’s mindset as a leverage point for change and challenge a leader to examine their fundamental assumptions about reality. There are also a number of tools that can help build a leader’s capacity to successfully lead transformational change. Finally the authors outline in detail their Change Process Model, listing specific activities to undertake as an organization moves through transformational change. This is a particularly valuable book in combination with the authors’ subsequent book, The Change Leader’s Roadmap.

Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, Atul Gawande, 2011. Although this book has a decidedly medical perspective (the author is a renowned surgeon, after all), the concepts in the book can be applied to many situations, not just medical ones. Dr. Gawande begins by describing three levels of complexity: simple, complicated, and complex. He then proceeds to outline the checklist manifesto as it applies to complex problems, those in which expertise is valuable but not sufficient for success and outcomes are often uncertain. In any complex situation, one needs to ask the following two questions: 1) Do I have the right knowledge? and 2) Am I applying it correctly? Dr. Gawande’s basic premise is that with complex problems, the power of decision-making must be given to those people who have the appropriate levels of experience and expertise. Moreover, those decision makers must talk to one another and take responsibility for the decision. Complexity no longer allows us to centralize power in any one
person.

Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business, Patrick Lencioni, 2004. Like many of Lencioni’s books, the information in this book is played out through a realistic business scenario with a comprehensive review of the model at the end. This book tackles that perennial problem of how to make meetings more productive and begins with the premise that the purpose of any meeting is to extract the collective wisdom of a team or group of people. Lencioni suggests that the main problems with most meetings are that conflict is typically avoided and the structure of the meeting often does not match the purpose of the meeting.

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Daniel Pink, 2009. Pink describes that the goal of this book is to bridge the gap between what science knows about motivation and what business does. He outlines the evolution of scientific theory regarding motivation from a focus on extrinsic motivation to one of intrinsic motivation. Using research from his previous book, A Whole New Mind, he ties that shift in theory to the change in the nature of work, that is, moving from more left-brain tasks to ones that require the use of the whole brain. Pink goes on to make his case for why external rewards backfire and lists seven deadly flaws of carrots and sticks, noting times when external rewards will be successful. Instead, Pink argues that the key to motivation is autonomy, mastery, and purpose. At the end of the book, Pink list a myriad of tips, best practices, and recommended books both for individuals and organizations.

Encyclopedia of Positive Questions, Volume One, Diana Whitney, David Cooperrider, Amanda Trosten-Bloom, and Brian S. Kaplin, 2005. This book enumerates the generic questions that are central to the discovery phase of the Appreciative Inquiry process and are the keys to bringing out the best in any organization. It is divided into two sections, the first of which discusses ways to use positive questions and the second of which lists questions by type.

Organization Development: A Process of Learning and Changing, W. Warner Burke, 1994. This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the field of organization development. Written for managers, executives, administrators, practitioners, and students, it takes an in-depth look at organization development with a particular emphasis on the importance of learning and change. The author not only describes the basic tenets of OD, but also looks at organization development as a change in an organization’s culture.

Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide for Leaders, Managers, and Facilitators, Patrick Lencioni, 2005. This is a sequel to Lencioni's The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Although Lencioni does not use the fable approach as in the first book, he outlines much more detail of the model and how to create more functional teams. He opens the book with an overview of the model and then proffers two key questions for work groups to ask themselves: 1) Are we really a team? (That is, are we interdependent and hold each other mutually accountable?) and 2) Are we ready for heavy lifting? The implication here is that this model won't work if the group isn't truly a team nor will it be successful unless the group is willing to put in the time and effort it takes to function effectively. The remainder of the book goes into details regarding tools and exercises for each of the dysfunctions. Although it's a bit drier then the fable approach, it's a great resource for anyone looking for ideas about team building.

Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations, and Society, Peter M. Senge, C. Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski, and Betty Sue Flowers, 2005. Presence can be read as a both a guide and a challenge to leaders in business, education, and government to transform their institutions into powerful agents of change in a world increasingly out of balance. Since business is the most powerful institution in the world today, the authors argue, it must play a key role in solving global societal problems. Yet so many institutions seem to run people rather than the other way around. The authors seek to understand why people don't change systems and institutions even when they pose a threat to society, and examine why institutional change is so difficult to attain.

Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership, Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal, 2003. In this book, the authors explain the powerful tool of "reframing." Their four frames are: 1) The Structural Frame: how to organize and structure groups and teams to get results; 2) The Human Resource Frame: how to tailor organizations to satisfy human needs, improve human resource management, and build positive interpersonal and group dynamics; 3) The Political Frame: how to cope with power and conflict, build coalitions, hone political skills, and deal with internal and external politics; and 4) The Symbolic Frame: how to shape a culture that gives purpose and meaning to work, stage organizational drama for internal and external audiences, and build team spirit through ritual, ceremony, and story.

Silos, Politics and Turf Wars: A Leadership Fable About Destroying the Barriers That Turn Colleagues Into Competitors, Patrick Lencioni, 2006. Like many of Lencioni’s books, the information in this book is played out through a realistic business scenario with a comprehensive review of the model at the end. Lencioni defines silos as barriers between departments that make them work against one another. Other words for silos are departmental politics, divisional rivalry, or turf warfare. Lencioni claims that silos happen because leaders don’t provide a compelling context for working together. While that is true, the model he proposes seems somewhat simplistic for an organization that has been experiencing years of dysfunctional behavior.

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, Chip Heath and Dan Heath, 2010. The latest statistic on organizational change efforts states that 80% of all change efforts fail. In this book, the authors offer a framework for approaching change that is both comprehensive and simple at the same time. That’s not to say that it’s easy – just simple – and its simplicity is what gives hope that organizations (and individuals, for that matter) might just be able to start improving that statistic. The authors describe three aspects of change – emotional, rational, and environmental – using the metaphor of the elephant (emotion), the rider (reason), and the path (the environment). The main thesis throughout the book is that all three must be addressed and integrated in order for change to be successful. The authors weave in elements of Appreciative Inquiry (bright spots), visioning (destination postcards), and systems thinking (tweak the environment), to name a few, and offer many ideas for how to improve your chances that the change you seek will be sustainable.

The Answer to How is Yes, Peter Block, 2002. The new approach to change management that is presented here will completely flummox control freaks. Block posits a refreshing series of truths that, if adopted, will transform workplaces into journeys of meaning. He insists that we ask the wrong question about accomplishing the important things in our lives, particularly in our place of employment. We too often ask "How?" which focuses too closely on the practical way of getting something done and is actually a subconscious expression of society's emphasis on control of people, time, and cost. Instead, our concentration should be focused on "Why?" In other words, we need to pay attention to what really matters to us personally, from heart-felt commitments in our private lives to the creation of projects in the workplace. To be able to act on what matters, explains Block, we must reclaim specific qualities, such as intimacy and idealism. Then we can tackle purposeful work as if we were social architects seeking engagement and change.

The Change Leader’s Roadmap: How to Navigate Your Organization’s Transformation, Linda Ackerman Anderson and Dean Anderson, 2001. This book builds on the theories and models in Beyond Change Management and breaks the transformational process down into three stages. Each stage is then further broken down into a number of phases to make what might otherwise feel like an overwhelming proposition more manageable. At the end of each chapter are a list of questions to answer and activities to undertake. This book is truly a roadmap worth purchasing for every organization’s glove compartment.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, Patrick Lencioni, 2002. This book is an entertaining, quick read filled with useful information that will prove easy to digest and implement. Lencioni weaves his lessons around the story of a troubled Silicon Valley firm and its unexpected choice for a new CEO: an old-school manager who had retired from a traditional manufacturing company two years earlier at age 55. Showing exactly how existing personnel failed to function as a unit, and precisely how the new boss worked to reestablish that essential conduct, the book's first part colorfully illustrates the ways that teamwork can elude even the most dedicated individuals--and be restored by an insightful leader. A second part offers details on Lencioni's "five dysfunctions" (absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results), along with a questionnaire for readers to use in evaluating their own teams and specifics to help them understand and overcome these common shortcomings.

The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization, Peter Drucker, 2008. These five questions are essentially an organizational assessment, and although they are directed toward nonprofits, they can be used in any type of organization. The five questions are:

1. What is our mission?
2. Who is our customer?
3. What does the customer value?
4. What are our results?
5. What is our plan?

These five questions weave together a process of reflection an organization can undertake to determine its current reality and chart a future course. For those interested in further inquiry, Drucker lists a number of additional questions for additional exploration.

The Empowered Manager, Peter Block, 1987. This book is intended for those who feel powerless to control their own destinies, who feel stifled by bureaucracy, and who feel sapped of creativity. Block offers practical advice to help managers empower themselves to help shape the organization, develop positive political skills in their dealings with all levels of employees, take responsibility for their own actions, negotiate with their allies and adversaries, and face failure courageously. Block presents ways to treat all members of the organization as entrepreneurs so that employees feel that their units are their own businesses and that they and they alone, are in the process of creating an organization of their own choosing.

The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations, Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom, 2006. The authors offer a breezy and entertaining look at how decentralization is changing many organizations. The title metaphor conveys the core concept: though a starfish and a spider have similar shapes, their internal structure is dramatically different—a decapitated spider inevitably dies, while a starfish can regenerate itself from a single amputated leg. In the same way, decentralized organizations, like the Internet, the Apache Indian tribe and Alcoholics Anonymous, are made up of many smaller units capable of operating, growing and multiplying independently of each other, making it very difficult for a rival force to control or defeat them. Despite familiar examples—eBay, Napster and the Toyota assembly line, for example—there are fresh insights, such as the authors' three techniques for combating a decentralized competitor (drive change in your competitors' ideology, force them to become centralized or decentralize yourself).

The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry, Sue Annis Hammond, 1998. This booklet is a pocket version of the Appreciative Inquiry Handbook. It briefly describes what appreciative inquiry is, lists the assumptions of appreciative inquiry, and outlines the steps involved in implementing appreciative inquiry.

Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges, C. Otto Scharmer, 2009. We live in a time of massive institutional failure, one that requires a new consciousness and a new collective leadership capacity. In this book, the author invites us to see the world in new ways and in so doing discover a revolutionary approach to leadership. It describes what is referred to as the U process, a way of discovering from where our attention and intention originates. By connecting with our authentic Self, the deepest source of knowledge and inspiration, we become more authentic and, therefore, effective leaders.

Updated September 7, 2011