Diana Whitney
Encyclopedia
Diana Whitney is an American author, award-winning consultant and educator whose writings – 15 books and dozens of chapters and articles – have advanced the positive principles and practices of appreciative inquiry
and social constructionist theory worldwide. Her work as a scholar practitioner has furthered both research and practice in the fields of appreciative leadership and positive organization development. She was awarded Vallarta Institute’s Annual 2X2 (Two by Two) Recreate the World Award.
She is President of the Corporation for Positive Change (an international consulting group that she founded); a Fellow of the World Business Academy; and a Founder and Director Emeritus of the Taos Institute
.
Whitney earned her PhD from Temple University
. She currently teaches and advises students in the capacity of distinguished consulting faculty at Saybrook University
and as faculty advisor for the Taos Tilburg PhD Program.
, Sheila McNamme, Harlene Anderson
, David Cooperrider
and Suresh Srivastva founded the Taos Institute
as a community of scholars and practitioners dedicated to furthering relational practices in the fields of organization development, family therapy and education. There are now over 250 associates around the world.
From 1995 until 2009 Whitney served as an advisor and facilitator in the design and development of the United Religions Initiative, a global inter-faith organization dedicated to peace. It was for this purpose that Whitney and David Cooperrider created the processes that Whitney entitled the Appreciative Inquiry Summit.
Whitney worked with Case Western Reserve University
Weatherhead School of Management faculty David Cooperrider
and Ron Fry to assess the need for and design the first Master’s of positive organization development program.
, Whitney studied and mapped the processes used for the dissemination of educational innovations. Her relational consultative model of the work of dissemination linking agents was implemented in educational R&D laboratories across the country.
Whitney’s most recent research, conducted in partnership with Kae Rader and AmandaTrosten-Bloom, focuses on leadership and positive power. Through a qualitative research process employing one-on-one interviews and focus groups, they discovered and subsequently confirmed five factors related to appreciative leadership: inquiry, inclusion, illumination, inspiration and integrity. The results are published in their book, Appreciative Leadership: Focus on What Works to Drive Winning Performance and Build a Thriving Organization.
In partnership with Jeff Jackson and Maurice Monette of the Vallarta Institute and funded by a grant from the Reynolds Foundation, Whitney is currently engaged in research on the impact of appreciative inquiry in Cuba.
Appreciative inquiry
Appreciative Inquiry is primarily an organisational development method which seeks to engage all levels of an organisation to renew, change and improved performance. Its exponents view it as being applicable to organisations facing rapid change or growth...
and social constructionist theory worldwide. Her work as a scholar practitioner has furthered both research and practice in the fields of appreciative leadership and positive organization development. She was awarded Vallarta Institute’s Annual 2X2 (Two by Two) Recreate the World Award.
She is President of the Corporation for Positive Change (an international consulting group that she founded); a Fellow of the World Business Academy; and a Founder and Director Emeritus of the Taos Institute
Taos Institute
The Taos Institute is a non-profit educational organization, concerned with the social processes essential for the construction of reason, knowledge, and human value...
.
Whitney earned her PhD from Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
. She currently teaches and advises students in the capacity of distinguished consulting faculty at Saybrook University
Saybrook University
Saybrook University is an educational institution for humanistic studies and is based in San Francisco.Saybrook University offers student-centered advanced degrees in psychology, mind-body medicine, organizational systems, and human science....
and as faculty advisor for the Taos Tilburg PhD Program.
Social Innovations
In 1991 Whitney along with Kenneth Gergen, Mary GergenMary Gergen
Mary Gergen is an American social psychologist specializing in feminist studies womens' studies and social constructionism. Her contributions to the field of feminist studies, organization development Organization development, and social process are reflected in numerous books, journal articles,...
, Sheila McNamme, Harlene Anderson
Harlene Anderson
Harlene Anderson is an American psychologist. Along with Dr. Harold A. Goolishian , she developed a postmodern collaborative approach to therapy. She is recognized as a leader in the field of marriage and family therapy for her contributions to theory development, as well as innovative practices...
, David Cooperrider
David Cooperrider
David Cooperrider is the Fairmount Minerals Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, and Faculty Director at the Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit at Case....
and Suresh Srivastva founded the Taos Institute
Taos Institute
The Taos Institute is a non-profit educational organization, concerned with the social processes essential for the construction of reason, knowledge, and human value...
as a community of scholars and practitioners dedicated to furthering relational practices in the fields of organization development, family therapy and education. There are now over 250 associates around the world.
From 1995 until 2009 Whitney served as an advisor and facilitator in the design and development of the United Religions Initiative, a global inter-faith organization dedicated to peace. It was for this purpose that Whitney and David Cooperrider created the processes that Whitney entitled the Appreciative Inquiry Summit.
Whitney worked with Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
Weatherhead School of Management faculty David Cooperrider
David Cooperrider
David Cooperrider is the Fairmount Minerals Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, and Faculty Director at the Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit at Case....
and Ron Fry to assess the need for and design the first Master’s of positive organization development program.
Research
In her 1980 dissertation, funded by the National Institute of EducationNational Institute of Education
The is an institute of the , Singapore.NIE, Singapore, provides all levels of teacher education, from programmes to for in-service teachers and executive for Principals, Departmental Heads and other school leaders. NIE also administers postgraduate programmes that lead to the award of in...
, Whitney studied and mapped the processes used for the dissemination of educational innovations. Her relational consultative model of the work of dissemination linking agents was implemented in educational R&D laboratories across the country.
Whitney’s most recent research, conducted in partnership with Kae Rader and AmandaTrosten-Bloom, focuses on leadership and positive power. Through a qualitative research process employing one-on-one interviews and focus groups, they discovered and subsequently confirmed five factors related to appreciative leadership: inquiry, inclusion, illumination, inspiration and integrity. The results are published in their book, Appreciative Leadership: Focus on What Works to Drive Winning Performance and Build a Thriving Organization.
In partnership with Jeff Jackson and Maurice Monette of the Vallarta Institute and funded by a grant from the Reynolds Foundation, Whitney is currently engaged in research on the impact of appreciative inquiry in Cuba.
Awards
- American Society for Training and Development, Excellence in Practice [Managing Change] Award, 1997
- 2005 – The Vallarta Institute, 2 x 2 Award for Cooperation Making a Positive Difference
Consulting
As a scholar practitioner Whitney’s consulting has directly touched people in 20 countries, and has indirectly transformed people’s quality of work life in organizations around the world.Education
Whitney holds a B.A. in Speech Communication in 1970, a M.A., Classical Rhetorical Theory in 1972, and a PhD in 1980 in Organization Communication, all from Temple University in Philadelphia. Her doctoral thesis was "The Dissemination of Educational Innovations: A Case Study of the NIE Linking Process."Books written
- David L Cooperrider; Diana Kaplin Whitney (1999) Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Revolution in Change, Second Edition, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2005. ISBN 978-1576753569.
- Harlene Anderson, Diane Whitney (with Ken Gergen, Mary Gergen, Sheila McNamee and David Cooperrider). The Appreciative Organization, Taos Institute Publications, 2001. Second Edition, 2007. ISBN 978-0971231276.
- Whitney, Diana (with Amanda Trosten-Bloom, David Cooperrider and Brian Kaplin). Encyclopedia of Positive Questions, Volume 1: Bringing Out the Best of Your Organization, Crown Communications, 2002. ISBN 978-1893435339.
- Diana Kaplin Whitney; Amanda Trosten-Bloom. The Power of Appreciative Inquiry. First ed. 2003, 2nd ed. 2010, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2010. ISBN 978-1605093284.
- David L Cooperrider; Diana Whitney; Jacqueline Stavros. Appreciative Inquiry Handbook. Lakeshore Communications, 2003. Second Edition, Crown Communication, 2007. ISBN 9781893435179
- Dawn Cooperrider Dole, Diane Whitney, Jen Silbert, and Ada Jo Mann. Positive Family Dynamics. Taos Institute Publications, 2008. ISBN 978-0971231290.
- Diana Whitney, Kae Rader, Amanda Trosten-Bloom. Appreciative Leadership: Focus on What Works to Drive Winning Performance and Build a Thriving Organization. McGraw-Hill, 2010. ISBN 978-0071714068.
Books edited
- David L Cooperrider; Peter F Sorensen; Diana Whitney; Therese F Yaeger, eds. Appreciative Inquiry: Rethinking Human and Organization Toward a Positive Theory of Change. Stipes Publishing, 2000. ISBN 978-0875639314.
- David L Cooperrider; Peter F Sorensen; Therese F Yaeger; Diana Whitney eds. (with David Cooperrider, Peter Sorenson and Therese Yaeger). Appreciative Inquiry: An Emerging Direction for Organization Development. Stipes Publishing, 2001. ISBN 978-1588741219.
- Ronald Fry; Frank Barrett; Jane Seiling; Diana Kaplin Whitney; David Cooperrider, eds. Appreciative Inquiry and Organization Transformation: Reports from the Field, Quorum Books, 2002. ISBN 978-1567204582.
- Peter F Sorensen; Therese F Yaeger; Diana Whitney; David L Cooperrider, eds. Appreciative Inquiry: Foundations in Positive Organization Development, edited with David Cooperrider, Peter Sorenson and Therese Yaeger. Stipes Publishing, 2005. ISBN 978-1588744722.