College of LAS Retreat Appreciative Inquiry March 17, 2017 Dr. Corinne Harmon

Definition At its core, appreciative inquiry is the study and exploration of what give life to human systems when they function at their best. Appreciative inquiry is an approach to organization change that has been used successfully in small and large change projects with hundreds of organizations worldwide. It is based on the simple idea that organizations move in the direction of what they ask questions about.

21st Century Trends New generations have come of age Diversity is the norm Institutions are being reinvented Holistic, sustainable

Diversity is the Norm Organizations and communities: Wide variety: Ethnic/Cultural Backgrounds Languages Stories Leadership Challenge: Collaborative and Just

Institutions Are Being Reinvented More fluid More agile Distributive leadership

Holistic, Sustainable Approaches are Essential Today’s decisions: Global: Social Economic Environmental Political Need an appreciation of differences and collaboration = APPRECIATIVE LEADERSHIP

APPRECIATIVE LEADERSHIP The relational capacity to mobilize creative potential and turn it into positive power – to set in motion positive ripples of confidence, energy, enthusiasm, and performance – to make a positive difference in the world.

POWER “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light, not our Darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? WHO ARE YOU NOT TO BE?

Five Principles Constructionist Principle Simultaneity Principle Positive Principle Anticipatory Principle Poetic Principle

Constructionist Principle Words Create Worlds: Reality, as we know it, is a subjective vs. objective state It is socially constructed through language and conversations

Words Create Worlds In language, we build our own identities, our relationships with others, the countries that we live in, the companies we have, and the values that we hold dear. With language, we generate life. Fernando Flores

Simultaneity Principle Inquiry Creates Change: Inquiry is intervention The moment we ask a question, we begin to create change.

Positive Principle Positive Questions Lead to Positive Change Momentum for large-scale change requires large amounts of positive affect and social bonding. This momentum is best generated through positive questions that amplify the positive core.

Anticipatory Principle Images Inspires Action Human systems move in the direction of their image of the future. The more positive and hopeful the image of the future, the more positive the present-day action.

Poetic Principle We Can Choose What We Study Organizations, like open books, are endless sources of study and learning. What we choose to study makes a difference. It describes – even creates – the world as we know it.

Formative Ideas Appreciative Inquiry and Leadership: Relational Positive Turning potential into positive power Rippling effects

The Positive Core ”People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas…and yet they pass by themselves without wandering. St. Augustine What the organization does best

The AI “4-D” Cycle

A Culture of Inquiry 4-D Process: Discovery: Dream: Design: Destiny: Identify strengths and core competencies and map organization’s positive core Dream: Collectively envision positive possibilities Articulate a shared vision Select strategic opportunities to focus on Design: Create aspiration statements and design processes and structures to achieve them Destiny: Determine a collaborative path forward and make personal commitments

Discovery Process What “Gives Life” to the Organization The purpose of this phase is to search for, highlight, and illuminate those factors that give life to the organization, the “best of what is” – in any given situation. The task is to promote organizational learning by sharing stories about times when these qualities were at their best and analyzing the forces and factors that made them possible.

INQUIRY Ask more and tell less Put value in your questions Ask questions that others are not asking Questions are fateful Describe the inner dialogue of the organization

Inquiry What gives you the most satisfaction at work? When do you feel good about your work? What are others able to do as a result of your leadership? What do you value most about yourself as a leader? Why do people respect you as a leader? What are the 3-4 values that emerge?

Team Inquiry & Performance Who are we, individually & collectively? What are our strengths, values, and capacities, individually & collectively? What energizes us, individually & collectively?

Clarifying Goals & Roles Why is our task, goal, or issue important to you? What is your vision for our success? What about our work inspires you to give your best? How do you see yourself contributing?

Diversity & Differences What do you most value & respect about the way we work as a team? What do you bring to us that no one else on the team can bring? How have you successfully resolved differences of opinion in the past? What are some of the best practices you have experienced or heard about for teams to learn to work with differences of opinion?

Fostering High Performance Tell me about a team that brought our your best? How did it do this? What is your image of us as a high-performance team? Based on your knowledge of other successful teams, what principles guide high-performance teams? How shall we celebrate our successes?

Growing from Success What was the high point of the process or project for you? Who or what made this a successful endeavor for you? What can we learn from this situation to ensure our ongoing success? If you were to give us a reward, what would it be for, and what would it be?

Interview Activity

Discovery Process Directions for Activity #1 Select an interview partner from your table group. Interview your partner using the interview guide. Each person will have 30 minutes to interview his or her partner. Encourage your partner to tell his or her story. Take good notes and be listening for great quotes and stories. Listen as if you had to re-tell the story yourself. You will share the results of your interview in the next session. The information you collect in this interview will be used to shape the strategic future of the College of LAS.

Discovery Process Activity #2 Select a discussion leader, timekeeper, recorder, and reporter.   Introduce your interview partner by sharing highlights from your interview. Focus on the stories your partner told in questions 1,2, and 3. Go around the table. Listen for values and patterns (personalized) and the supports provided (LAS and others) as people tell their stories. Recorder, make two lists on the flipchart: Values and patterns (personalized) from the High Point Stories (questions 1 & 2) Supports provided by LAS and others (question 3) Prepare a two-minute report-out to the larger group

CORE STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Inquiry Ask positively powerful questions Illumination Bring out the best of people and situations Inclusion Engage with people to support their future Inspiration Awaken the creative spirit Integrity Make choices for the good of the whole

ILLUMINATION Seek the best of: People Situations Organizations Seeing what works when people are at their best Sharing stories of best practices for learning and standardization Align strengths for development and collaborative advantage

EXAMPLE Start next conversation or meeting by: “Let’s all share a story of something that has gone well in our lives since we last talked.”

TRUST The confidence in and acceptance of what is. Trusting people to be exactly who they are.

INCLUSION Consciously engaging with people to co-create the future Invite all stakeholders Begins with YOU

Inclusion Dimensions Wide: Deep: Extending the reach of the network to widen your network of: Knowledge Perspective Commitment Deep: Enhancing the quality and strength of relationships (old, new or renewed)

INCLUSION INQUIRY How inclusive, open and accepting of all people is your inner dialogue? When you talk to yourself about other people, are you accepting? Are you judging and blaming? Do you consider people problems to be solved? Do you reflect and wonder about the strengths and seeds of potential?

DREAM PROCESS Envisioning What Could Be Dream about what could be Envision new possibilities Create a compelling picture of what the organization could and should become as it conforms to people’s deepest hopes and highest aspirations.

INSPIRATION Think about a time when you were inspired: a time when you were moved to creative action. Who or What inspires you? What awakened your creativity? What gave you confidence to take action? What did you do?

Stories Think about the stories that surround you: What stories do people tell about your team, organization, or community? What story do you wish they were telling? What would inspire them to tell a more life-affirming, more hopeful story.

VISION Five Criteria: It is desired It is inclusive It is a believable stretch It requires collaboration It inspires creativity and innovation

Directions for Activity #3 Assign a discussion leader, timekeeper, recorder, and reporter. At your tables, share highlights from interview questions 4 & 5. As a group, put yourselves in the year 2022. Visualize the College of LAS the way you really want it in order to maximize its strategic competitive advantage. Imagine it as if it exists today. What is it like? List on a flipchart the key elements of your collective dream.

Directions for Activity #4 Assign a discussion leader, timekeeper, recorder, and reporter. Capture your group’s dream in a 5-year dream statement written on a flipchart page: “In 2022, the College of LAS is…..[your image of the ideal as if it is happening right now.”]  Make sure that your statement is: Desired. Does it reflect what you really want? If you got it, would you want it? Bold, provocative. Is it a stretch that will attract others? Affirmative. Is it stated as if it is happening now? Grounded. Are there examples that illustrate your dream as a real possibility? Unconditionally positive. Will it bring out the best in people, in the College of LAS, and the people it touches?

DESIGN PROCESS Design the organization’s social architecture Norms Values Structures Strategies Systems Patterns of relationship Ways of doing things Building a commitment to a common future To create a deliberately inclusive and supportive context for conversation and co-creation

HOPE Will Power Way Power Path Forward HOPE Tangible Resources Compelling Vision Emotional Resources Community Support Way Power Path Forward Tangible Resources HOPE

INTEGRITY WHOLENESS: Making choices that serve the whole Thinking globally and acting locally

INTEGRITY

INTEGRITY INQUIRY Recall a time when you were true to yourself. What was the situation? What did you do to be true to yourself? How did it feel? What did you learn from this situation?

HOLISTIC APPROACHES MIND BODY EMOTIONS SPIRIT

SPIRITUAL RESONANCE Sharing a Purpose Task Oriented Spiritually Oriented Honoring each other and nature as living beings A collective spiritual experience

Design Process Directions Positive expression of Impact and work Key relationships, responsibilities and commitments Internal and external supports

DESTINY PROCESS An invitation to construct the future through innovation and action Determining innovative ways to move the organization closer to the ideal that are grounded in realities

QUESTIONS What do you believe creates high performance? What do you think contributes to learning, growth and human development? What, for you, constitutes healthy relationships? What do you believe makes a great team? What are your standards of excellence?

PRINCIPLED PERFORMANCE SHARED PRINCIPLES APPLIED STRENGTHS PRINCIPLED PERFORMANCE

ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS MISSION STRATEGY GOALS PRINCIPLED PERFORMANCE SUCCESS

PRACTICES Do what you love with people you respect Follow your dreams Work to your strengths Express your creative spirit Make value-based decisions Keep your word Be relationally responsible

Planning Strategically with Appreciative Inquiry DISCOVERY DREAM DESIGN DESTINY Appreciate “What Is” “What Gives Life” Imagine “What Might Be” Determine “What Should Be” Create “What Will Be”

CONCLUSION