Transcending the Polarity of Light and Shadow in Appreciative Inquiry: An Appreciative Exploration of Practice

The literature surrounding appreciative inquiry (AI) has focused little on how the practitioner can work productively when negative emotions such as anger, shame, despair, cynicism, and fear emerge. The author reflects personally on her own process of coming to understand the life-giving tension of light and shadow at the heart of AI, offering insights gained by an AI into her practice, and possibility statements created to support her work. The chapter proposes that creative transcendence is not only possible but critical to the generative potential of AI, and invites the AI community to openly explore how we may work more holistically within this paradox.