Appreciative Governance: Engagement and
Innovation Throughout The Organization
Bernard Mohr & Neil Samuels
April 11, 2012
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Today’s Speakers
Bernard Mohr Neil Samuels
Assisting with Co-Founder President
chat questions: Innovation Partners International Profound Conversations, Inc.
April Hunt &
Riley Croft, Hosting:
Nonprofit Webinars Sam Frank, Synthesis Partnership
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Appreciative Governance for Nonprofits:
Engagement and Innovation
Throughout The Organization
Bernard Mohr: Innovation Partners International
Neil Samuels: Profound Conversations, Inc.
5

GOALS & AGENDA
Takeaways from today’s Webinar:
• Understand the need for new models of governance
• Understand how Appreciative Governance (AG) differs from traditional
forms of Governance
• Understand the benefits of adopting this new form of governance
• Learn about a set Principles to guide the design of Appreciative
Governance for your organization
• Learn about a high-engagement methodology for designing
Appreciative Governance models
Agenda:
1. The need for new models of governance
2. How Appreciative Governance (AG) differs from traditional forms of
Governance
3. So what – Benefits?
4. Principles for Designing Appreciative Governance Systems
5. Implementing AG through co-design

Some Background Information
1.How would you rate current governance systems in the non profit
sector?
a) Very effective
b) Moderately effective
c) Slightly effective
d) Ineffective
e) Very ineffective
2. How experienced are you in designing governance systems?
a) Very experienced
b) Moderately experienced
c) Slightly experienced
d) No experience
3. How familiar are you with Appreciative Inquiry?
a) Experienced practitioner of AI at whole organization level
b) Have used AI a number of times to drive results
c) Attended training and have tried it out a few times
d) Have been exposed to it – read about it.
e) I can spell AI

The Need for Governing Differently
1.An increasing pattern of Governance failure
– Roman Catholic Church, the United Way, The American Red Cross, NAACP, the
American Cancer Society, and Toys for Tots (Gibelman & Gelman, 2000)
– Great Depression of 1929…. 2008 Wall Street crash
– Enron, MCI/Worldcom, Adelphia Communications, Arthur Andersen, Global
Crossing, Tyco
2.The “new normal” - Nilofer Merchant
– "Leadership" has changed when a decentralized group of people can take down a
government. E.g. Egypt, Tunisia
– "The Value Chain" has changed when the client is no longer just the “receiver of
services" but also a co-creator.
– "Human Resources" have changed when many of the people who create value for
your organization are neither hired nor paid by you.
– ”How work gets done and financed" has changed when individuals can create
value through a centralized network of resources: for example, designing a product
from anywhere, producing it through a 3D factory, financing it through community
and distribution from anywhere to anywhere.
3.Need for full engagement of heads, hearts, and minds
-- “within the existing paradigm of “direct and control” the people assumed to be most
able to manage the accountability are those who sit at the top of the pyramid, the
Board of Directors”

Governance Comparison
Dimension Traditional View of Governance Appreciative Governance
Thrust Emphasizes controlling or Emphasizes mobilizing and encouraging
preventing behavior that is illegal, behavior that is legal, ethical, and positive
unethical, or detrimental to the to the long-term interests of shareholders
interests of shareholders. and stakeholders while maintaining a
posture of deterrence of behavior
antithetical to those interests.
AG illuminates and more broadly
accesses the organization’s strengths,
resources, and assets.
Key Actors Views the board of directors as the Acknowledges that everyone in the
key actors in governing organization carries out governance —
the board of directors, management, and
all other employees.
Focus Focuses on board activities of Focuses on the organization’s structures,
senior management selection and practices, and processes and the full
compensation, advising senior range of all employees’ behaviors as
management, and reviewing related to Parson’s four functions of
accuracy of financial reporting and governance (Adaptation, Goal
adequacy of compliance efforts. Achievement, Integration and Long Term
Development).
Orientation Begins with a problem-prevention Begins from a strength-based perspective
point of view and is advocacy and is inquiry driven.
driven.

Appreciative Governance – Def’n
Appreciative Governance (AG) refers to structures, practices, and
processes that:
• identify and align individual and organizational strengths;
• maximize collaboration, learning, and innovation; and
• create full engagement and accountability
…. resulting in an agile organization capable of rapid, effective
decisions at the most local levels and an innovative climate that
ensures mission sustainability.

Why Appreciative Governance?
What benefits do you see in adopting this
new form of governance?
– for employees and/or volunteer staff?
– for management?
– for clients/service recipients?

Benefits of Appreciative Governance?
• Increases adaptability through faster/better
decision making
• Distributes and deepens accountability
• More fully engages staff and volunteers
• Illuminates and more broadly accesses the
organization’s strengths and resources
• Broadens and deepens relationships
• Speeds knowledge transfer
• Encourages innovation

Principles of AG
How We Think of Principles:
1. A fundamental truth or proposition that
serves as the foundation for a system
of belief or behavior or for a chain of
reasoning.
2. The basis for design choices.

Principles for Designing AG
• Interdependent
• Mutually inclusive
• Create the fabric of the system

Principles for Designing AG

Implementing AG through Co-Design
The Appreciative Governance Design Matrix
(Based on Talcott Parson’s writings and adapted from work by John J Cotter and William O Lytle)
Four “Surfaces” where Governance “Takes Place”
2. Laterally – 3. Vertically – 4. Organization
1. Within
Work Group To Along And it’s
Work Group
Work Group Managerial Environment
Hierarchy
4 Governance Functions
Adaptation
Goal
(AGIL)
Attainment
Integration
Long Term
Sustainability

Implementing AG through Co-Design
Board and Executive
Mng’t explore :
1.What does the “there”
that we most Engage the organization in
want/need look like? making an informed Start small, act
decision about where and fast, reflect,
1.Why would we want to
with whom in your
get to “there”? what
organization you want to
learn, adjust –
would we gain? And
why not just stay as begin creating an expand.
we are? appreciative governance
system.
3. What are the options
for moving from “here to
there” (i.e. what is the
design process for us?)
4. What are implications
for us and our
leadership

SUMMARY
1. Boards of Directors and Executive Management committees come to mind
whenever we mention organizational governance. This premise that those at the
top are the only ones “governing” has less and less face validity.
1. Wherever people work together, they make choices that set standards of
relationship, behavior and accountability …with consequences for organizational
success.
1. Why not then engage them in a governance system that explicitly supports
Adaptation, Goal Achievement, Integration, and Long Term Development at all levels
- i.e. – Appreciative Governance.
2. Appreciative Governance (AG) refers to structures, practices, and processes that:
• identify and align individual and organizational strengths;
• maximize collaboration, learning, and innovation; and
• create full engagement and accountability
…. resulting in an agile organization capable of rapid, effective decisions at the
most local levels and an innovative climate that ensures mission sustainability.

Contact Information
Bernard Mohr:
Innovation Partners International
www.InnovationPartners.com
207-874-0118
bjMohr@InnovationPartners.com
Neil Samuels:
Profound Conversations, Inc.
www.profoundconversations.com
630-605-4610
neil@profoundconversations.com

An Accelerated AG Implementation Process
Refine the Model
And Design The
Act-Evolve
Review and
Process Deploy
Reconfigure
Mobilize
Act – Evolve
Model the New Governance
Architecture Relationally &
Structurally
Iterate
Stress
Test
Imagine
Create Shared Will
• Identify Positive Core
• Draft Shared Purpose
Connect-Explore AG SUMMIT Process*
• Based on work by the STS RT “Designing the Adaptive Enterprise.” Discovery Sub-Team (Doug Austrom, Don De Guerre, Bob Laliberte, Helen
Maupin, Bernard Mohr and Carolyn Ordowich), presented at New Orleans Annual Meeting of the STS Round Table, September 28 to Oct 1. 2011

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