Positive Psychology and Change

SARAH LEWIS, an acknowledged expert on positive psychology and Appreciative Inquiry, is Managing Director and Principal Psychologist at Appreciating Change (www.acukltd.com). She is an Associated Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Principal Member of the Association of Business Psychologists. She is the author of Appreciative Inquiry for Change Management (2nd edition, 2016) and Positive Psychology at Work (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011). Her work is informed by a positive and appreciative view of organizations, and she also has particular expertise in systemic consultation, Open Space, World Café and Simu-Real. She is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences, facilitates large group events and regularly runs workshops on “The Psychology of Change” through the CIPD.

"This book is a doorway into generative, strengths-inspired and solutions-focused change. It gives leaders the gift of new eyes and teaches how humility might just be a leader's greatest strength. It brings the joy of high quality connections back into the field of organization development. And it reminds us that we can create conditions - the evidence base is there — to confirm our deepest conviction: that human beings are good. Read this wonderful book carefully."—David Cooperrider, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University"We need to develop work organizations in which people thrive and find positive meaning in life rather than being impoverished and exhausted by organizational change. This book offers a profoundly important guide to how we can create such organizations, providing the theoretical rationale, evidence and practical steps necessary to achieve transformational change. Every manager and leader of every organization should not only read it but immediately put it into practice."—Michael West, Lancaster University Management School"Sarah Lewis is one of those rare management writers able to combine academic research with practical relevance. In Positive Psychology and Change she offers a fresh, evidence-based rethinking of how large group organizational change methods work and many practical suggestions for how to use them successfully."—Gervase R. Bushe, Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University

• About the Author xiForeword xiiiPreface xixAcknowledgements xxiii1 The Legacy of Twentieth‐Century Ideas about Organizational Change 1Introduction 2A Changing World 3The Roots of Many Change Models 4Legacy Thinking about Organizational Change 6The Legacy Beliefs of Lewin and Taylor in Our Understanding of Organizational Change 8Conclusion 202 The Challenge of Leadership 21Introduction 23Should Decisiveness Be the Priority in Leaders? 24The Need to Make a Difference 26What Does Shifting the Organizational Metaphor Mean for Leaders? 29New Definition of Leadership 30Doing Leadership Differently 30Characteristics of a New Leadership Style 32Conclusion 503 Helping People Engage Positively with Imposed Change 51Introduction 53Typical Experience of Imposed Change 53Unintended Consequences of Imposed Change 55Understanding the Psychological Impact of Imposed Change on People 55Accessing Psychological Resources to Increase Efficacy and Resilience 60Conclusion 754 A Different Approach to Organizations and Change 77Introduction 78Key Factors that Create Living Human System Learning and Change 78Distinctive Features of Co‐creative Approaches to Change 80Principles of Practice for Achieving Change in Living Human Systems 88Conclusion 965 Using Positive Psychology to Achieve Change at the Team and Individual Level 97Introduction 98Principles 98Positive and Appreciative Practices 105Conclusion 1176 Appreciative Inquiry 119Introduction 121Process 122Purpose 123Recommended Use 123Key Ideas 123Critical Success Factors 128Key Skills 132Origins of the Methodology 136When to Use and Counter‐indications 136Conclusion 1397 World Café 141Introduction 143The Process 143Purpose 145Recommended Use 145Key Ideas 147Critical Success Factors 151Key Skills 157Origins of the Methodology 158Conclusion 1608 Open Space 161Introduction 162Purpose 163The Process 164                                                                   Recommended Use 167Key Ideas 170Critical Success Factors 173Key Skills 176Origins of the Methodology 181Conclusion 1839 Simu‐Real 185Introduction 188Purpose 189The Process 190Recommended Use 191Key Ideas 192Critical Success Factors 194Key Skills 200Origins of the Methodology 202Long‐Term Effects 202When to Use and When Not to 203Conclusion 20310 Pulling It All Together 205Introduction 205Rise of Planned Change Approaches 205Co‐creative Approaches to Change 207Features of Co‐created Change 208Linking Theory, Research, and Practice 215Time for Something Different 216Bringing Emergent Change Insights to Planned Change Projects 219Positive: The Whole Strengths Spectrum Approach to Change 223Conclusion 226References 227Index 237