This article describes appreciative pedagogy in the management classroom. Appreciative pedagogy rests on the values of appreciative inquiry, an organizational development framework. At its core, appreciative pedagogy focuses on peak performances and successful experiences of students and professors. It believes that inquiring into these types of experiences allows both students and professors to create positive images that energize and generate positive action. In applying this approach, our students exhibited heightened energy in the classroom and an increased sense of relevance of content to personal and professional life.

Given the scope and intent of Maslow's work, the current textbook treatment is wanting. Therefore, an inductive exercise has been created and is o fered here to build “the road map of human nature.” This age-old, philosophic focus on our true nature has been a way to successfully engage and inspire both our students and our pedagogy. In the spirit of Maslow, the meaning of self-actualization is explored, and the understanding and managing of motivation is embedded into the larger context of leadership, for example, quality, spirituality, ethics, self-awareness, and personal growth.

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In response to the challenge of assigning and conducting group projects, this article lays out a brief context for team projects and puts forth a positive vision of teams and leadership. The authors provide some guiding values, tools, and goals and propose a model that expands the usual conceptualization of the student-team leadership challenge. The authors also share a number of project worksheets that they have developed over the years that have helped increase the learning that occurs through group projects.