AN INTRODUCTION TO “APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY”

It is a time for re-thinking More than a method or technique, the appreciative mode of inquiry is a means of living with, being with, and directly participating in the life of a human system in a way that compels one to inquire into the deeper life-generating essentials and potentials of organizational existence. -David Cooperrider

Breaking it up “Ap-pre-ci-ate, v” “… to value or admire highly; to judge with heightened understanding; to recognize with gratitude.” “In-quire, v” “… to search into, investigate; to seek for information by questioning.”

The Philosophy New Challenges Require New Thinking First “The world we have made as a result of the level of thinking we have done thus far creates problems we cannot solve at the same level of thinking at which we created them” – Albert Einstein New Challenges Require New Thinking First You cannot solve a problem from the mindset that created it

Assumptions of appreciative inquiry: What we focus on becomes our reality The act of asking questions of an organization or group influences the group in some way People have more confidence and comfort to journey to the future (the unknown) when they carry forward parts of the past (the known) If we carry parts of the past forward, they should be what is best about the past The language we use creates our reality

Appreciative Inquiry Focuses organizations on their most positive qualities. Leverages those qualities to enhance the organization Appreciative Inquiry is the study of what works well.

Empirical Process vs. Appreciative Process Define the immediate problem Fix what is broken Focus on decay What problems are you having? Learning from our mistakes Search for solutions that already exist. Amplify what is working Focus on life-giving forces What is working well around here? Learning from what works.

4-D Model of Appreciative Inquiry Discover The identification of organizational processes that work well Delivery The implementation (execution) of the proposed design Dream The envisioning of processes that would work well in the future Design Planning and prioritizing processes that would work well

4 Foundational Questions The Best Experience Tell me about the best times that you have had with your college or organization. Looking at your entire experience, recall a time when you felt most alive, most involved, or most excited about your involvement. What made it exciting? Who was involved? Describe the event in detail. Values Without being humble, what do you value most as a human being, a friend, teacher and so on? When you are feeling best about your work, what do you value about it? What about your college or organization do you value? What is the single most important thing your college or organization has contributed to your life?

4 Foundational Questions Core Life-Giving Factor What are the core factors that give “life” to the organization? What is it that, if it did not exist, would make your organization totally different than it currently is? Three Wishes If you had three wishes for your college or organization, what would they be?

Check-list Is it provocative? Does it stretch, challenge or innovate? Is it grounded in examples? Is it what we want? Will people defend it or get passionate about it? Is it stated in affirmative, bold terms and in present tense.

Thomas White, President GTE “ AI can get you much better results than seeking out and solving problems. We concentrate enormous resources on correcting problems that have relatively minor impact on our overall service performance. But when used continually and over a long period of time, this approach can lead to a negative culture. If you combine a negative culture with all the challenges we face today, it could be easy to convince ourselves that we have too many problems to overcome – to slip into a paralyzing sense of hopelessness. If we dissect what we do right and apply the lessons to what we do wrong, we can solve our problems and re-energize the organization at the same time”

Giving Meaning… Positive Image creates, Positive Action. It is how experiences are reflected upon, talked about, defined, and the reality we co-create that ultimately makes it positive or negative. AI is a way of reclaiming our imaginative competence

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