Appreciative blogging confirms personal strengths and successful leadership experiences
Appreciative blogging led to the self-discovery and confirmation of personal strengths
and successful leadership experiences among the students. The appreciative blogging
experience created a generative space where a student’s reflection stimulated deeper
and richer appreciative blogging from others reading the student’s blog.
For many students everyday work was ordinary. They were unable to see the
extra-ordinariness of their leadership actions or realize the transformative nature of
simple leadership acts until they began to appreciatively blog. When their blogs were
guided by AI questions, the students discovered a hidden positive core of strengths
and successful leadership experiences within themselves and their classmates. Sara
blogged, “Kathy, your story reminds me of a time when I gave an award to one of my
students who was an exceptional [emotionally challenged] student. Teachers came to
me afterward, applauding that I did something nice for this student”. Moreover,
appreciative blogging caused students to reflect and learn from each other. Ellis stated:
Your story is powerful for me. I attended a Native American sweat lodge with a friend several
years ago. After it was over, we walked through rocks arranged in a special way and we saw a
spirit standing in the center of the rock formation. He was pointing to the sky directly at the big
dipper. I do not know what it means or why we saw him [...] but it proved to me that there is a
lot more to our world than we perceive on a daily basis. I became much more open and accepting
of the mystical and special world we are in after the blindfold was lifted from my eyes that night.
The mystical experience shared by the student may not have been offered in the
context of a classroom discussion; yet, appreciative blogging created a safe and
encouraging environment for Ellis to share an insight that would have normally
remained hidden for fear of being ridiculed. Ellis’s affirmation by other students in
their posts reinforced his view of the efficacy of his Native American sweat lodge
experience. The affirming practice by peers reinforced the identification of strengths
and leadership experience, bolstering the student’s blog response.
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Landry posted a typical affirming blog entry:
Geoff, it was great to read how you helped your student with his immediate needs while
allowing him to save face and preserve his self-esteem. Acts like this demonstrate going the
extra mile to help someone without making it about you and what you did. Thanks for
making a difference that student’s life.
Affirming support encouraged voluntary responses. Students voluntarily added
multiple contributions beyond class requirements. These voluntary responses added
depth to the student’s discovery of strengths and leadership experience. Pamela, for
example, stated, “My mother always says that, ‘Nothing builds character like growing
up barefoot’. Your story about your grandfather reaffirms that strong, persistent
people can overcome any obstacles to success”.
Pamela’s entry is anchored in folk wisdom passed on to succeeding generations
through oral traditions. Some people may not be privy to the depth and richness hidden
in folk wisdom. Pamela’s sharing of her mother’s folk wisdom served to bolter a
classmate as well as strengthening her conviction related to the importance of
persistence as a leadership trait.