In this article, the relationship of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) with the shadow, defined as censored emotional and/or cognitive content (Shadow), is explored via three varieties of AI-Shadow relationships: (1) AI as generating Shadow through both its “light” and the censoring effect of polarizing norms, (2) AI as an intervention into the Shadow, and (3) AI itself as a Shadow process. These varieties of AI-Shadow relationships are then illustrated through two case stories. Finally, implications for our collective AI conversation are presented.
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