1 Children’s Research Center A nonprofit social research organization and division of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency Integrated Safety-Organized Practice Module Eleven: Organizational Environments: Reflection, Appreciation, and Ongoing Learning

2 Steve Edwards Andrew Turnell …and we hope YOU will continue to build on these ideas and approaches. Sonja Parker CRC Staff Insoo Kim Berg Steve de Shazer Our Thinking Draws From the Legacy of Others Rob Sawyer Sue Lohrbach Carver County John Vogel Sophia Chin Heather Meitner Nicki Weld Susie Essex

3 Safety-Organized Practice Safety is: Actions of protection taken by the caregiver that mitigate the danger demonstrated over time. Adapted from Boffa, J., and Podesta, H. (2004) Partnership and risk assessment in child protection practice, Protecting Children, 19(2): 36–48. Turnell, Andrew & Susie Essex Working with Denied Child Abuse, Open University Press, 2006.

4 Agreements “Try on.” Everyone always has the right to pass. Know that silence is a contribution. We agree to share airtime and stick to time limits. We agree to speak personally, for ourselves as individuals. We agree to disagree and avoid making assumptions or generalities. We agree to allow others to finish speaking before we speak and avoid interrupting and side conversations. We will all work together to hold to these agreements and authorize the trainer to hold us to them.

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6 Let’s Review and Reflect! What have you tried from last month’s module? What worked well? What were your challenges? How did you handle those challenges?

7 Appreciative Inquiry Facilitation Skills Group Supervision What are we going to learn about today?

8 If, as a leader, you are not creating hope and helping people see the way forward, chances are no one else is either. Strengths-Based Leadership – The Gallup Organization

99 Opening Activity Think about a time when the organization was functioning in such a way that you were able to do exactly the kind of work you hoped to do—a time the organization supported you, in some way, in being the worker, supervisor, or manager you wanted to be. How did this occur? What did you do? What did others do? How was the organization helpful at this moment?

10 Organizational Implications Organization Climate relates to employee perceptions of the impact the work environment is having on their ability to effectively do their work and on their well-being. (Adapted from Glisson, 2007)

11 Improved Climate Leads to Better Outcomes for KIDS! Three-year study of 250 children served by 32 public children’s service offices in Tennessee. (Glisson & Hemmelgarn; 1998) Organizational climate (low conflict, cooperation, role clarity, and personal relationships) was the primary predictor of positive service outcomes (children’s improved psychosocial functioning) and a significant predictor of service quality.

12 Organizational Implications Nationwide study of 100 mental health clinics in 26 states. (Glisson, et al. 2008) Organizations with strong organizational climates and cultures had half the employee turnover and sustained new programs for twice as long as organizations with weaker organizational climates and cultures.

13 Factors That Contribute to Individual Resilience Feeling cared about Opportunities to meaningfully contribute High expectations

14 Factors That Contribute to Organizational Resilience Feeling cared about Opportunities to meaningfully contribute High expectations Small-Group Exercise

15 What is Appreciative Inquiry?

16 1.Valuing The act of recognizing the best in people and the world around us; Affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials; and To perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, and excellence) to living systems. 2.To increase in value, e.g., the economy has appreciated in value. Synonyms: valuing, prizing, esteeming, and honoring. Ap-pre’ci-ate

17 1.The act of exploration and discovery 2.To ask questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities Synonyms: discovery, search, study, and systematic exploration In-quire

18 Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is an approach to organizational change that draws on a core belief very closely related to solution-focused practice: What we pay the most attention to has the best chance of growing. AI involves taking time to notice and then ask questions about the skills, knowledge, and high point moments of people’s work. What is Appreciative Inquiry?

19 It can be used to help solidify new ways of working within an organization, and with families, and it can help individuals recognize their own skills and solutions to difficult problems. What is Appreciative Inquiry? Organization Family Individual Problem Is this a parallel process?

20 AI helps support the “parallel process.” »If we ask workers to treat families in different ways we have to be prepared to treat our staff in different ways. We as a field need to increase the strategies we use to learn from practice. »The development of “practice-based evidence.” AI can be used in multiple settings. »Between worker and family, supervisor and worker, group supervision, coaching, training, etc. Practice-Based Evidence? “What is now proved was once only imagined.” – William Blake

21 Cooperrider’s Definition Appreciative inquiry is the cooperative search for the best in people, their organizations, and the world around them. It involves systematic discovery of what gives a system “life” when it is most effective and most capable. AI involves the art and practice of asking questions that strengthen a system’s capacity to heighten positive potential. Cooperrider, D.L., & Whitney, D. Appreciative Inquiry: A positive revolution in change. In P. Holman & T. Devane (eds.), The Change Handbook, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 245–263.

22 The Traditional Approach The traditional approach to change is to look for the problem, do a diagnosis, and find a solution. The primary focus is on what is wrong or broken; since we look for problems, we find them. By paying attention to problems, we emphasize and amplify them. Hammond, S. (1998). The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry. Thin Book Publishing Company.

23 A New Way Forward… Appreciative inquiry suggests that we look for what works in an organization. The tangible result of the inquiry process is a series of statements that describe where the organization wants to be, based on the high moments of where they have been. Because the statements are grounded in real experience and history, people know how to repeat their success. Hammond, S. (1998) The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry. Thin Book Publishing Company.

24 Problem Solving Felt need Identify the problem Find the “root cause” Lack of insight + responsibility Analyze possible solutions What are available services? Develop actions plan Treatment Basic assumption: “Problems” are challenges we can solve if we just find the right solution

25 Problem SolvingAppreciative Inquiry Felt need Identify the problem Valuing What are we like at our best? Find the “root cause” Lack of insight + responsibility Imagining How do we wish things could be? Analyze possible solutions What are available services? Dialogue and design How can we build on what we already do well? Develop action plan Treatment Create Participating together in making what will be Basic assumption: “Problems” are challenges we can solve if we just find the right solution Basic assumption: Systems are alive and have infinite, untapped energy and imagination

26 Problem-Solving Focused Discussion Think about a challenge you are facing in your work at the current time: What is the background of this problem? When did this problem start? Who is contributing to the problem? Why do you think this problem is continuing? What have you tried to do to solve the problem? What do you think is keeping this a problem for you? What, if anything, from this conversation would you want to bring to this current problem in order to solve it?

27 Appreciative Inquiry Focused Discussion Now have another conversation about the same problem: Quickly restate the background of this problem. Has there ever been a time, when something you did had some positive effect on the problem, even if just for a moment? What did you do? When you are at your best—when you are really “on top of your game”—how have you responded to similar moments in the past? If I was a fly on the wall when you were responding to a problem like this in a way you felt good about, what would I see you doing? How did you do that? Who helped? What, if anything, from this conversation would you want to bring to this current problem?

28 Why Do This in Child Welfare? In child welfare organizations there is great potential for practice to be regularly surrounded by fear, blame, and defensiveness. In this context, the idea of making one’s work visible, sharing it with others, and even learning from your own and other’s practice can be hard to imagine. AI is one vehicle for helping make this possible. Turnell, A. (in press). Building a culture of appreciative inquiry around child protection practice. Draft chapter in Turnell, A. (in press) Building Safety in child protection practice: working with a strengths and solution focus in an environment of risk; Palagrave-Macmillian. Contact author at for more info.

29 Develop Local Practice Wisdom AI provides a method for countering the tendency to isolate or silo one’s work by encouraging everyone to ask questions about the details of everyday practice when it is at its best. This allows everyone in the organization to share stories of high-point moments, new practice innovations they have made or discovered, successful interventions they have used, and general good practice. When these stories are described and circulated, the “know-how” about what really works in the organization grows, and people become more willing and interested in sharing and learning from their work.

30 Safety and Solution-Based Practices When child welfare organizations begin to try to adopt Safety- and Solution-Focused approaches, workers will look to agency leaders, managers, and supervisors to see if they “practice what they preach.” Using AI can help embed new approaches throughout that organization, giving workers a chance both to practice some of the new skills and to see the depth of the commitment in the leadership of the organization to different ways of thinking and practice.

31 How We Become a Learning Organization Whoever makes the most mistakes wins! Two-way learning

32 Grounding Organizational Culture in Reflection, Appreciation, and Ongoing Learning Staff begin to see their own knowledge and skills recognized publicly. They develop greater enthusiasm for sharing what they know with others. There is a greater sense that everyone in the organization appreciates each other and the collective work being done. Learning can become exciting and contagious.

33 Much like solution-focused work, AI works from the belief that the areas we pay the most attention to grow. It is far easier to co-create solutions than to dissolve problems. Joining in an appreciative inquiry can reach untapped energy and enthusiasm for change. “Motivation (to change) is linked to the degree of hope that change is possible.” How we interact with our staff in the organization is a parallel process for how social workers can interact with children and families in the field. Summary National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect

34 Facilitation Skills The Super 8!

35 Facilitate = To Make EASY

36 Structure and Predictability “When I have some structure I feel like I can deviate, freelance, and improvise and have some way to come back to it. When I don’t have that structure I feel like everything is improvising and it can be exhausting and I lose attention.” – social worker We can do more to prevent “shooting ourselves in the foot!” Having a (flexible) structure doesn’t have to be constraining. It allows people a sense of predictability—“I know what’s coming next and can let myself be really present.”

37 The Super 8! 1.Purpose 2.Context 3.Group Agreements 4.Network/Stakeholders 5.Desired Outcome 6.Content 7.Next Steps 8.Plus/Delta

38 1. Purpose Have you ever been at a meeting with no idea why you are there? Think of ways you can describe the purpose of your meeting. As facilitators, we will make sure the purpose of the meeting, interview, or mapping is clear before we start.

39 2. Context External – Do we have any external pressures or constraints we should name? (We have court tomorrow, closure date is due, or “my manager is really on me about this.”) Internal – Is anything going to make it hard for us to work together today? (Tiny room, “I just got an immediate response referral,” or limited time.)

40 3. Group Agreements Agreements are about HOW we are going to work together. You could post these agreements on the wall. You could make a handout and share it with families.

41 Agreements “Try on.” Everyone always has the right to pass. Know that silence is a contribution. We agree to share airtime and stick to time limits. We agree to speak personally, for ourselves as individuals. We agree to disagree and avoid making assumptions or generalities. We agree to allow others to finish speaking before we speak and avoid interrupting and side conversations. We will all work together to hold to these agreements and authorize the trainer to hold us to them.

42 4. Network/Stakeholders Who are the most important people needing to be here? Who really cares about this child? Who are we going to ask to play a role in making a decision? Is there anyone we wish could be here but is not?

43 5. Desired Outcome What is it we want to walk away with from this meeting? This is a solution-focused imagery question. »Examples: We make an action plan; we make a decision; we figure something out; we get agreement on next steps; we formulate a question to bring to a family or a manager.

44 6. Content Facilitation is the search for the best question to ask, rather than the best answer to give… The Three-Column Map is a format we can use to organize content. Secret Weapon: The questions we ask »Questions are an intervention in and of themselves. They promote thinking. »How can we get better and better at asking questions?

45 Solution-Focused Questions Past Success (Answer embeds the learning) Preferred Future Scaling (Set Scale; what got you to this number; how can you move it up one?) Strength & Coping (Answer = future compliment)

46 7. Next Steps We will: Capture discussion items from the content phase. Summarize and write down action items. Determine how to know if the action items are completed.

47 9. Plus/Delta We will get feedback from the group about how the session went. »What worked well? »What should we consider changing in future meetings?

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49 One structure for facilitating any meeting Stage of the meetingKey question to guide the meeting PurposeWhy are we meeting today? What are the key decisions to make? ContextIs there anything that might pull our attention away from our focus today? Group AgreementsHow do we want to work with each other? Network/StakeholdersIs everyone who should be here actually here? Desired OutcomeWhat do we hope to accomplish? ContentWhat do we want to talk about? Next StepsWhat steps do we need to take from here? +/∆How did we do? What should we do differently next time?

50 It could look like this for a case consult Stage of the meetingKey question to guide the meeting Purpose Why are we meeting today? Because we need to decide if we are all comfortable reunifying this family. Context We have had the child out of home for X days and have court coming up in Y. We need some kind of direction. Group Agreements Agree to disagree/all voices heard from? Is this a joint decision or will one person ultimately decide? Network/Stakeholders Do we have the most important people for making the decision here today? If not, how should we address that? Desired Outcome We need to make a plan we can bring back to the family and court. Content What’s the harm, danger, risk level? What acts of protection have we seen demonstrated? Has the safety plan been followed? Who has helped with that? SDM Reunification tool; On a scale from 0–10, how confident are we… Next Steps Do we have sufficient agreement to move forward? +/∆ What was positive or helpful about this? What would we need to tweak or change?

51 It could look like this for a first family meeting… Stage of the meetingKey question to guide the meeting Purpose We are meeting today because we received a report of concern… Context We have 30 days to make an initial decision. I will be coming out, talking with you and your child and would love to know who else… Group Agreements You don’t have to answer my questions but it would really help…you can ask me anything and I will do my best to answer… Network/Stakeholders Is there anyone else who really cares about you or your child who should be here today? Desired Outcome I hope we can talk about the worries and what’s working well…this is how we do that…what would you like to make sure we discuss? Content What are we worried about? What’s going well? Next Steps What do we need to do next? +/∆ How was this conversation today?

52 Short and Sweet WHY are we meeting? WHAT are we going to walk away with? HOW are we going to get there? HOW are we going to get there? Pre-Work Group Agreements Purpose Desired Outcomes Content (SFQ) Next Steps +/ Content (SFQ) Next Steps +/

53 Tying It Together PurposeDanger Statement Desired OutcomeSafety Goal AgreementsSafety Plan

54 Group Supervision

55 What Facilitated Group Supervision is NOT It’s not: A place to put out fires and respond to crises. A place to trouble-shoot the latest performance measure. (“We need to get our referrals closed on time!”) An information download. A place to complain.

56 What Facilitated Group Supervision IS It’s basically a “learning environment.” It’s a place to: »Think »Learn »Reflect »Collaborate »Offer mutual support »GROW

57 What Facilitated Group Supervision Can Look Like Small groups, meeting regularly, focused on dialogue, experimentation, and group learning. It offers opportunities for lots of different kinds of learning: »Sharing a piece of work and reflecting on why it worked and what the challenges were. »Mapping sessions to dive deeply into a case and critically think through it together. »Practicing solution-focused questions with each other. »Applying SDM assessment tools to a case.

58 Closing Activity Form groups of four or five and select one person to be the facilitator. The facilitator will set the stage using the first five steps of the facilitation process. For step six, practice the appreciative inquiry questions by going around the group and having everyone answer the AI questions (including the facilitator!) Facilitators: Help move your group to step seven – next steps and step 8 – a plus/delta.

59 One last thing: Thinking ahead In pairs: What is one thing you heard today that you value or makes sense to you? What are you already doing to put that into action in your work? What else would you like to do to “land it” even more in your work between now and next time?

60 Next month we will do a closing exercise. Please bring a piece of work of which you are proud to Module 12

61 References Cooperrider, D. L., & Whitney, D. Appreciative Inquiry: A positive revolution in change. In P. Holman & T. Devane (eds.), The Change Handbook. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 245–263. Handout by Philip Decter, MSW. For more on appreciative inquiry please see: Farson, R. (2002) Whoever makes the most mistakes wins. Free Press. Gallup Organization – Strengths-Based Leadership Glisson & Hemmelgarn, Glisson, Hammond, S. (1998) The thin book of appreciative inquiry. Thin Book Publishing Company, 6–7. Heath, C. & D. (2008) Made to Stick, Random House. Rath, T. (2010) Strengths Based Leadership. Gallup Press. Turnell, A. (in press). Building a culture of appreciative inquiry around child protection practice. Draft chapter in Turnell, A. (in press) Building safety in child protection practice: Working with a strengths and solution focus in an environment of risk; Palagrave-Macmillian. Contact author at for more info.