© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved The Art of the Question …. nurturing change from within Dean Bonney, Johanna Vodicka, Ellen Ward 16 August 2005

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved Appreciative Inquiry Dean Bonney

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 3 Why This Topic? n Modernizing an enterprise involves more than just fixing infrastructure, technology, and processes n Organizational issues are complicated, complex, and embedded in the culture n Enterprise transformation cannot be imposed; to take root, it must come from within the organization

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 4 Inquiry that originates from a base of trust, which acknowledges and respects the positive images an organization holds of itself, can induce the ‘tipping point’. This is the point from which an organization will begin to transform itself. -- Dean Bonney

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 5 What is Appreciative Inquiry (AI)? n An approach to questioning n A skill which, practiced correctly, can produce a powerful catalytic effect on leadership and organization n An open style of engaging that can produce a true and trusted view of a system or an environment n A tool for extending our capacity to transform organizations through the use of unconditional methods in the unbounded domain of an Enterprise environment

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 6 What makes AI Different? Program Domain (Conditional) n Identify problem n Conduct root cause analysis n Brainstorm solutions & analyze n Develop action plans Enterprise Domain (Unconditional) n Appreciate ‘what is’ n Imagine ‘what might be’ n Determine ‘what should be’ n Create ‘what will be’

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 7 Shifting From Conditional to Unconditional source: "The Power of Appreciative Inquiry"

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 8 Why is AI Important? source: "Systems Engineering in the Information Age: The Challenge of Mega-Systems"

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 9 “The ultimate paradox of Appreciative Inquiry is that it does not aim to change anything. It aims to uncover and bring forth existing strengths, hopes, and dreams; to identify and amplify the positive core of the organization. In so doing, it transforms organizations.” -- Diana Whitney

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved Interview & Inquiry Styles Ellen Ward

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 11 Heliotropic Hypothesis n Organizations evolve towards the most positive images they hold of themselves. n Where do positive images come from? n History n Culture n Language n Based on images, organizations will grow in the direction of what they measure

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 12 Questioning Skills Listening Skills

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 13 The key to a good interview 1.Preparation 2.Preparation 3.Preparation Based on… n Knowing your interviewee n Knowing your objectives

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 14 Determine your objectives n What do I want (or need) to accomplish? –Relationship building –Fact-finding –Testing assumptions or hypotheses –Validating –Assessing intangibles –Level-setting n What can I find out before the interview? –Time is money –Important people are busy people n What are my priorities (vs. my interviewee’s?) –The 2-minute rule –What’s essential, what’s optional

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 15 Interviewing Styles n Who’s the client? (Who’s the subject or prospect?) n What do I know already (or, what can I find out) about their style? n Know your subject’s ‘type’ –Analytic –Pragmatic –Visionary –Relationship

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 16 Analytic Pragmatic Visionary Relationship detailed data process- driven analysis methodical Decision-making styles benefits results capabilities cost/value trade-off future scenarios ‘big picture’ possibilities time vs. cost vs. investment personal rapport comfort understanding of needs alliances

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 17 Small things make a huge difference n Phrasing n Tone n Style n Prefatory & positioning remarks

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved Questioning Skills Johanna Vodicka

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 19 “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on it, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.” -- Albert Einstein

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 20 The Architecture of Powerful Questions Construction Assumptions Scope Construction: Closed vs. open-ended? Scope: How large an area to cover? Assumptions: What are the underlying beliefs or views? Source: “The Art of Powerful Questions”

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 21 Construction: Closed vs. Open-ended Questions Less Powerful More Powerful Why How, What Who, When, Where Which, Yes/No Questions EITHER open our minds OR Narrow the possibilities Caution: Unless a ‘why’ question is carefully crafted, it can easily evoke a defensive response. e.g., Why did you do it that way? Source: “The Art of Powerful Questions”

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 22 Scope: How large an area to cover? nMatch the scope to meet your needs nTailor and clarify the scope as precisely as possible nKeep within the realistic boundaries & needs of the situation nKeep within the scope of people’s capacity to take effective action Construction Assumptions Scope Source: “The Art of Powerful Questions”

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 23 Assumptions: What beliefs underlie the question? What beliefs does the group have? Examples nHow should we create a bilingual educational system in California? nHow might we eliminate the border between the U.S. and Mexico? Contrast nWhat did we do wrong and who is responsible? nWhat can we learn from what happened and what possibilities do we now see? Construction Assumptions Scope Source: “The Art of Powerful Questions”

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 24 Craft your Questions to: √Rivet attention √Create possibilities √Frame solutions √Invite deeper reflection √Invoke positive feelings √Focus on the future √Identify, define and clarify root cause

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved Wrap-Up Dean Bonney

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 26 The Five Principles of Appreciative Inquiry 1.The way we know is fateful. 2.Change begins the moment you ask the question. 3.Organizations are an open book. 4.Deep change equals change in active images of the future. 5.The more positive the question, the greater and longer- lasting the change. source: "The Power of Appreciative Inquiry"

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 27 What to Take Away? n ‘Problem solving’ alone is not a sufficient methodology to inspire, mobilize, and sustain organizational change n Organizations are defined by the positive images they hold of themselves n Organizational transformation is not a problem to be solved; it is a possibility to be realized

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 28 For Further Information The Appreciative Inquiry Commons …contains white papers, briefings, case studies, and great links.

© 2005 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved 29 References n Whitney, D., Trosten-Bloom, A., and Cooperrider, D., The Power of Appreciative Inquiry: A Practical Guide to Positive Change (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2003). n Vogt, E., Brown, J., and Isaacs, D., The Art of Powerful Questions (Pegasus Communications, Inc., 2003). n Stevens, R., Systems Engineering in the Information Age: The Challenge of Mega-Systems, Presentation to MITRE JHU ESE Course (MITRE Corporation, June 2005).