Accentuate

“You got to ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive
E-lim-i-nate the negative
And latch on to the affirmative
Don’t mess with Mr. In-between

AC-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Growing up, I remember hearing this song. It was a bit of a catchy tune. Didn’t think too much of the lyrics. But it was the first thing I thought of when I saw today’s word.

Tangentially, it also makes me think of how much I’ve grown. Earlier in my career, a colleague introduced the concept of appreciative inquiry, created by David Cooperrider.

Appreciative Inquiry is an asset-based approach to organizational and social engagement that utilizes questions and dialogue to help participants uncover existing strengths, advantages, or opportunities in their communities, organizations, or teams

https://organizingengagement.org/models/appreciative-inquiry/

My initial reaction to the concept of appreciative inquiry was not positive. I couldn’t get past thinking that it was espousing lack of improvement. But now, I don’t think that it. I also think my leadership style has brown and naturally gravitate to using the model. Not because I purposely embraced it, but because I realized that trying to make people do things they aren’t good at, when other people in the team have that strength, is like trying to put a square peg in a round hole.

Over time, I’ve realized that it is more efficient to determine the needs and strengths of the team and determine the best roles. Now I’m not saying that people shouldn’t improve, but I think the goal of appreciative inquiry is to “accentuate the positive” and by accentuating the positive, we don’t necessarily eliminate the negative, but we find more efficient ways to address the challenges at hand. By emphasizing strengths and advantages, weaknesses can be improved.