International Journal of Appreciative Inquiry November 2012 Volume 14 Number 4

ISBN 978-1-907549-13-7

Embracing the Shadow through Appreciative Inquiry

Guest Editors: Stephen P. Fitzgerald and Christine Oliver

Inside:
Feature Choice: Appreciating the Best in People Generative Birth Shadow Integrating Shadow Work and AI Two Things that Keep Us from Embracing the Shadow Appreciative Reframing of the Shadow Experience Appreciatively Embracing the Shadow in Training and Supervision The Power of Yes Within the No The Shadow of Managerial Logic A Social Movements Council Practice Addresses its Shadow using AI The Wholeness Principle and Stories of Diversity and Inclusion Positivity Kills the Cat Stepping Cautiously Past The Positive in Appreciative Inquiry AI Research Notes: Using AI and Conversational Consulting for Doctoral Research AI Resources: AI and Shadow

Cover artwork courtesy of Stephen Fitzgerald

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November 2012

International Journal of Appreciative Inquiry

Inside:
4
Embracing the Shadow through Appreciative Inquiry by Stephen P. Fitzgerald and Christine Oliver
The metaphor of shadow provides a generative container for exploration of the scope and depth of Appreciative Inquiry theory and practice

Feature Choice Appreciating the Best in People: Corporate Success in Unveiling and Aligning Individual and Company Values by Sara Ins Gmez
Helping new employees find the connection between the companys values and their own

14

Generative Birth Shadow: A Fundamental Human Experience by Barbara Bain

Exploring the generative potential of the human psychological shadow through the midwifery model of care

17

Integrating Shadow Work and Appreciative Inquiry: Reflections on Structural Inequalities, Polarities and Hurt by Marianne Hill and Steve Onyett
Engaging with inequalities, difficult material such as hurt and disgust, and the paradoxical nature of living systems

23 25 29

Two Things that Keep Us from Embracing the Shadow by Joan Colleran Hoxsey
As AI practitioners, there are things that keep us from embracing the shadow

Appreciative Reframing of the Shadow Experience by Neena Verma

A case for reframing and transforming shadow experience through an intentional Appreciative Inquiry intervention

A Social Movements Council Practice Addresses its Shadow using Appreciative Inquiry by Madeleine Spencer
AI allowed Occupy Santa Ana members to move beyond their atomistic focus to reengage and re-open to the holistic process.

32

The Wholeness Principle and Stories of Diversity and Inclusion: A Reflexive Approach by Ilene Wasserman
In any encounter, many social worlds are converging simultaneously

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November 2012

International Journal of Appreciative Inquiry

Inside continued:
37
Appreciatively Embracing the Shadow in Training and Supervision: Acknowledging the Darkness, Reframing Reactions and Exploring Intentions by John C. Wade
How can the inherent challenges and vulnerabilities of the supervision and training process be managed from an Appreciative Inquiry perspective through embracing the shadow?

40 42 46

The Power of Yes Within the No: Embracing the Shadow Self by Marjorie R. Schiller and Theresa Mortimer Bertram
Saying no can get us to a more profound and meaningful place in our lives and work

The Shadow of Managerial Logic by Robbert Masselink

AI can act as a counterbalance between managerial and experiental logic

Positivity Kills the Cat: Appreciative Inquiry in the Shadow of a Capitalist World View by Patrick Goh and Phil Simpson
If AI, when equated with positivity, is in danger of killing the cat, a more critical form of AI can help revive it

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Stepping Cautiously Past The Positive in Appreciative Inquiry by Gervase Bushe

There are dangers lurking in embracing the shadow, just as there are dangers in too facile an embrace of the positive

54

Appreciative Inquiry Research Notes by Jan Reed and Neena Verma, new editor of Research Notes
We welcome the arrival of the new editor of Research Notes, Neena Verma Report of developing a research methodology which incorporated AI with co-operative research and conversational consulting

59

Appreciative Inquiry Resources by Jackie Stavros and Dawn Dole

Resources grounded in the concept of shadow

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About the November 2012 Issue

Guest Editors: Neena Verma, Ronald Fry and Zeb Waturuocha Appreciative Inquiry and India: A Generative Connection between Ancient Wisdom and Todays Endeavors in the Field

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IAPG Contacts and AI Practitioner Subscription Information

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Volume 14 Number 4 ISBN 978-1-907549-13-7

November 2012

Neena Verma, Ph.D.

is a keen practitioner of AI and Shadow Integration. She is passionate about developing process models that promote AIs application for reframing shadow experience; sustainable development and generative inquiry. She consults for and facilitates leadership and OD interventions. She writes extensively on individual and organization development matters. Contact: drneenaverma@gmail.com

Appreciative Reframing of the Shadow Experience

ABSTRACT

I would rather be whole than good. Carl Jung As humans, we are all born whole. But over time, driven by social norms we start obsessing with expectations around good/bad and right/wrong. In the process, we tend to fragment our life experiences into desirable and undesirable. In our pursuit to present only the desirable side, we tend to reject, deny or project some of our dark experiences and realities. These undesirable aspects create a personality sub-system called Shadow. The Shadow is that out-of-sight area where we dump all that does not fit our ego image of ourselves. Carl Jung, the pioneering analytical psychology maestro wrote that, everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individuals conscious life, the blacker and denser it is . The truth is that Shadow is not just about the messy dark of coal but also the glittering diamond hidden inside the coal-mine. Shadow is where the dark and light co-exist and get co-created. As we appreciate the possibility and value of honouring and creatively working with the shadow experience, we become whole and lead ourselves to spectacular learning and growth. The big question is how to do it! The strengths-based Appreciative Inquiry (AI) methodology shows us a way. Why and how AI works with shadow experience The fundamental belief in AI is that there are inherent life-giving generative forces in all organic beings and experiences. This makes it possible to work with what we would otherwise construe as a shadow experience. Once an individual is ready to non-judgmentally accept a shadow experience as a reality of life and intentionally work with it, AI helps locate its heliotropic element by affirming, liberating and harnessing the possibility-abundant generative intent of such an experience. It becomes possible to uncover and creatively integrate lost or fragmented consciousness, thanks to its purposefully generative reframing. It is with such a premise and the tested potential of AI in mind that I developed MARG, an AI application process to work with the shadow experience that helps

This article presents a case for reframing and transforming shadow experience through an intentional Appreciative Inquiry intervention called marg. Marg (Hindi word for path) is a 4-step AI based intervention process created by the author that applies AI principles to purposefully engage with the shadow experience, uncover its gift and transform its energy. Field experiences illustrate the application and practical usefulness of MARG.

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MARG stands for ... Making the dark visible Appreciating its generative intent Reframing meaning and metaphor Generating a new integrative reality

individuals engage generatively with their shadow experiences and unleash meaning, transformation and fulfilment. MARG, a 4A process Marg is a Hindi word that means the path with a direction. Its 4A process applies AI principles to generatively reframe the shadow experience. Making the dark visible This first step is guided by the Simultaneity principle. The premise that inquiry is intervention and that organic beings move in the direction of the questions they ask encourages an individual to inquire into his shadow experience rather than deny, dump or project. The process works as below:

Engage yourself in an awareness dialogue by inquiring: What is it about an experience that is creates strong, unpleasant
energy or feelings in you? experience or feeling?

What is something deep to own up and/or work with about this

Appreciating its generative intent The second step is guided by the Poetic principle. The premise that we can choose what we study about an experience helps an individual make the choice to understand, appreciate and pursue the generative intent behind a shadow experience, rather than remain stuck with its manifest impact or the why me, how bad and who did this? The process works as below:

Engage yourself in an appreciation dialogue by inquiring: What might the meaningful purpose be of this unpleasant
experience for you??

What generative potential is there to uncover beneath this

seemingly troubling experience? Reframing meaning and metaphor This is the third step, guided by the Constructionist principle. The premise that words create worlds and the frame defines the meaning encourages an individual to create a reframed metaphor/vocabulary for the shadow experience. The process works as below:

Engage yourself in an assimilation dialogue: How would you reframe the original perception of your shadow
experience in light of what has emerged as its generative intent?

What new metaphor would you like to create for your experience? What consciousness shift or expansiveness do you undergo with
this reframing? Generating a new integrative reality The fourth step is guided by the Anticipatory principle. The premise that images inspire action and that expansive consciousness is generative encourages an

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What does the reframed shadow experience invite and inspire you to do or be?

individual to imagine and strive for a regenerated/harmonized reality. The process works as below:

Engage yourself in an action dialogue seek to know from yourself: What does the reframed shadow experience invite and inspire you to
do or be?

What does the transformed you seem like? What do you visualize yourself doing to become so?
Genesis of MARG: from deep anguish to authentic engagement MARG is an articulation of a life-transforming experience that I underwent while struggling with a medical condition. Even as its correct diagnosis and treatment did not arrive, a faint voice inside kept asking if there was a good purpose in the occurrence of this condition. Initially this question evoked deep anguish. As I accepted, an authentic engagement with my condition ensued. Soon I began noticing some of my self-depleting behavioural patterns. MARG emerged from:

Non-judgmental acknowledgement of my self-depleting behavioural

patterns and medical condition as simple life events

Appreciative engagement with the hidden generative intent Mindful understanding that dark and light co-exist with their respective
meanings

Conscious pursuit of my reframed metaphor

M and A helped me see connection between my auto-immune disorderly condition and my long repressed/disowned/projected self-depleting behavioural patterns. My resilient pursuit with MARG in the context of my own life processes helped me reclaim my whole self without polarizing myself between good/bad dichotomies. Practicing MARG: leadership coaching Later, I experimented with MARG in my coaching work, thereby crystallizing it as an apt process for transforming shadow experience. The process, application and impact of deploying MARG in a professional setting is better understood through a story. Context: Protagonist: Impact: Leadership coaching X, a successful HR leader Team engagement Leadership transformation and example setting for other leaders in the system X is a successful HR leader with significant board room presence and impact. However, prior to MARG, his engagement with his own team was one of trust deficit, showing up as an unenthused and disenchanted team, which was evident to all except him. In the course of my coaching work with him, I deployed MARG in a subtle way, gradually setting up the climate for awareness and

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The hardest part was making the dark visible.

acknowledgement of his leadership engagement issue with his team, which the HR leader himself found hard to believe and accept. The HR professional in him felt awkward with his own situation and the successful organizational leader in him strongly denied this shadow experience, thereby suppressing his own voice through meaningless team building sessions to keep the impression that all was well. Impact of MARG: replacing the metaphor brought partnership As we progressed, I realized that the hardest part was M Making the dark visible the non-judgmental and authentic acceptance of the shadow experience. I flexed my approach by fusing the M and A steps, and helped X stay focused on what the generative potential was of his shadow experience. This helped thaw the stalemate. Step A made him notice his hunger to be recognized as a high performing organizational leader, which often led him to be obsessively hands-on with his team, not letting them perform autonomously. Slowly he began to see how his success addiction and poor tolerance for any mistakes were driving workaholism and manipulative behaviour in his team, thereby eroding team trust and creating alienation. Partnership in the journey Step R helped him reframe his reality. He replaced his old metaphor of successful leader with a new metaphor of impactful leader. This led him to ask himself if he could achieve it alone or he needed partnership from his people in this journey! This reframed question opened a new vista since he could see that partnership was a two-way street, inspiring him to be mutual and facilitative, not unilaterally instructive. As he acknowledged his needs for business visibility and people leadership as being real and co-existent, he could engage with his team more authentically. He engaged them in a mutual inquiry about how to carve their distinctive niche as one group. As of today, two of his erstwhile team members have grown to become successful HR business partners in the organization. It is interesting to note that prior to MARG, one of them had had a compulsively defiant relationship and the other a mindlessly compliant relationship with X. MARG what next? I have subsequently leveraged MARG in various other coaching, leadership development, culture shadow and personal growth contexts. I look forward to your feedback response from your experience of MARG to further strengthen its process and phenomenon. References
Barett, F. J. and Cooperrider, D. (2001) Generative Metaphor Intervention: A New Approach for Working with Systems Divided by Conflict in Defensive Perception. In Coorperrider,D., Sorensen. P., Yaeger, T. and Whitney. D. (Eds.) Appreciative Inquiry: An Emerging Direction for Organization Development. Champaign, IL: Stipes Publishing. Branden, N. (1978) The Disowned Self. New York: Bantam Books, Jung, Carl G. (1973) Memories, Dreams, Reflections. New York: Pantheon Books Ricoh, D. (1997) The Power of Coincidence. Boston: Shambhala.

Back to Table of Contents

Zweig, Connie. (1997) Romancing the Shadow. New York, Ballantine Books.

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International Advisory Practitioners Group IAPG
Members of the International Advisory Practitioners Group working with AIP to bring AI stories to a wider audience: Dhruba Acharya, Nepal Anastasia Bukashe, South Africa Gervase Bushe, Canada Sue Derby, Canada Sara Ins Gmez, Colombia Lena Holmberg, Sweden Joep C. de Jong, Netherlands Dorothe Liebig, Germany John Loty, Australia Sue James, Australia Maureen McKenna, Canada Liz Mellish, Australia Dayle Obrien, Australia Jan Reed, United Kingdom Catriona Rogers, Hong Kong Daniel K. Saint, United States Marge Schiller, United States Jackie Stavros, United States Bridget Woods, South Africa Jacqueline Wong, Singapore Margaret Wright, United Kingdom

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Purpose of AI Practitioner
This publication is for people interested in making the world a better place using positive relational approaches to change such as Appreciative Inquiry. The publication is distributed quarterly: February, May, August and November.

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The editor-in-chief and publisher is Anne Radford. She is based in London and can be reached at editor@aipractitioner.com The postal address for the publication is: 303 Bankside Lofts, 65 Hopton Street, London SE1 9JL, England. Telephone: +44 (0)20 7633 9630 Fax: +44 (0)845 051 8639 ISSN 1741 8224 Shelagh Aitken is the production editor for AI Practitioner. She can be reached at shelagh@editorproofreader.co.uk AI Practitioner 2003-2012 Anne Radford

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