1. Appreciative Inquiry (AI)
as a military leadership philosophy for mentors at
Afghanistan National Army Officers' Academy (ANAOA)

2. Let’s talk about me

3. Mentoring is separate from leadership theories and teaching methods!

12. What if we can’t take them to a five star hotel in Chicago?
No excuse!

21. ANAOA Best team 2018

22. We have the most to learn from those who are least like us

23. What is Appreciative Inquiry?

26. Understanding AI
TO UNDERSTAND AI AT ITS FUNDAMENTAL LEVEL, ONE NEEDS SIMPLY TO UNDERSTAND THESE POINTS:
AI focuses on leveraging an organization's core strengths, rather than seeking to overcome or minimize its weaknesses.
Organizations move in the direction of what they study.
AI makes a conscious choice to study the best of an organization, its positive core.
AI is not a “top down” or “bottom up” change process, but rather a “whole system” approach.

27. Positive Core
The positive core of organizational life is one of the greatest, yet least recognized, resources in the change management field today. AI has demonstrated that human systems grow in the direction of their persistent inquiries, and this propensity is strongest and most sustainable when the means and ends of inquiry are positively correlated. In the AI process, the future is consciously constructed upon the positive core strengths of the organization. Linking the energy of this core directly to any change agenda suddenly and democratically creates and mobilizes topics never before thought possible.

28. Affirmative Topic
Once the basic concept of the positive core is understood, the 4-D Cycle can be better explained. The first step in an AI intervention is selecting the affirmative topic choice. This is, in short, the selection of topic(s) that will become the focus of the intervention.
Selecting the affirmative topic choice begins with the constructive discovery and narration of the organization’s “life-giving” story. The topics, in the initial stages, are bold hunches about what gives life to the organization. Most importantly, the topics (usually three to five for an inquiry) represent what people really want to discover or learn more about. The topics will likely evoke conversations about the desired future.

29. Discovery
The primary task in the Discovery phase is to identify and appreciate the best of “what is.” The distinguishing factor of AI in this phase is that every carefully crafted question of the topic choice is positive.
This task is accomplished by focusing on peak times of organizational excellence, when people have experienced the organization as most alive and effective. Seeking to understand the unique factors (e.g., leadership, relationships, technologies, core processes, structures, values, learning processes, external relationships, planning methods, and so on) that made the high points possible, people deliberately “let go” of analyses of deficits and systematically seek to isolate and learn from even the smallest wins.

30. Dream
Once an organization “discovers” its positive core, the next step is to imagine and envision its future. The Dream phase of the AI 4-D Cycle accomplishes this step. One aspect that differentiates AI from other visioning or planning methodologies is that images of the future emerge out of grounded examples from its positive past. These images are compelling possibilities precisely because they are based on extraordinary moments from an organization’s history. For many organization stakeholders, this is the first time to think “great” thoughts and create “great” possibilities for their organization. The process is both personally and organizationally invigorating.

31. Design
The Dream phase articulated the strategic focus, such as a vision of sustainability, a powerful purpose, and a compelling statement of strategic intent. In the Design phase, attention turns to creating the ideal organization in order to achieve its dream. Future images emerge through grounded examples from an organization’s positive past. Good-news stories are used to craft provocative propositions that bridge the best of “what gives life” with a collective aspiration of “what might be.”
The Design phase of the 4-D process is key to sustaining positive change and responding to the organization’s most positive past and highest potential. The positive core identified and expounded in the first two phases begins to take form.

32. Destiny (or deploy/deliver)
The Destiny phase represents both the conclusion of the Discovery, Dream, and Design phases and the beginning of an ongoing creation of an “appreciative learning culture.”
The Destiny phase delivers on the new images of the future and is sustained by nurturing a collective sense of purpose. It is a time of continuous learning, adjustment, and improvisation (like a jazz group) — all in the service of shared ideals. The momentum and potential for innovation are extremely high by this stage in the process. Because of the shared positive image of the future, everyone is invited to align his or her interactions in co-creating the future.
Stakeholders are invited into an open-space planning and commitment session during this phase. Individuals and groups discuss what they can and will do to contribute to the realization of the organizational dream as articulated in the provocative propositions. Action commitments then serve as the basis for ongoing activities.

33. My way or the highway…?

34. Afghan royal soldiers of the Durrani Empire

35. Afghan infantry soldier 1890

36. Afghan Army soldiers in the 1950s

37. Male and female troops during a military parade in 1988

38. Soviet-Afghan War: December 24, 1979 – February 15, 1989 (9 years, 1 month, 3 weeks and 1 day)
Soviet failure to quell the Afghan mujahideen insurgency…
The Soviet Army of 1980 was trained and equipped for large scale, conventional warfare in Central Europe against a similar opponent, i.e. it used armored and motor-rifle formations. This was notably ineffective against small scale guerrilla groups using hit-and-run tactics in the rough terrain of Afghanistan. The large Red Army formations weren't mobile enough to engage small groups of Muj fighters that easily merged back into the terrain. The set strategy also meant that troops were discouraged from "tactical initiative", essential in counter insurgency, because it "tended to upset operational timing".
620,000 Soviet troops served in Afghanistan

40. Cultural parameters Power distance Individualism Masculinity
Uncertainty avoidance
Coping with criticism/pride
Direct/indirect communication
Good relations

41. The Afghan artillery grenade factory case
Assembling artillery grenades
Working in three shifts: 1: 08:00-16:00 - 2: 16:00-00:00 - 3: 00:00-08:00
The three shifts work under supervision of: 1: The Commander - 2: The 2IC - 3: The oldest Lance Corporal in the unit
Average output by the three shifts: 1: : : 86
The Commander is your mentee. She ask you for your advice on what to do?

42. Three elements of a change
Perturbation
Reflection
Love

43. Amitai Etzioni

44. The Hawthorne effect

45. Robert Rosenthal The Pygmalion effect
Self-fulfilling prophecy: People will end up being good at doing what we emphasise

46. Rome wasn’t built in a day
But let’s still pick the low hanging fruit first...

47. Conclusion
Don’t use AI as a tool! We don’t do mentoring through tools - the same way as we hopefully don’t communicate with our spouse through a communication theory…
Instead keep asking yourself:
Am I focusing on what works?
Am I appreciating things that the mentee is doing well?
Am I inquiring into why they do as they do?
Am I focusing attention on how things could be?

48. Questions? Thoghts? Reflections? Inspirations?
Thanks for listening