Appreciative Inquiry Introduction

http://learnthis.ca/2009/06/appreciative-inquiry-introduction/
I mentioned a course I was in a previous article about strategy that I learned some new things at. ell that
course was !or strategic planning but the !ocus o! it was doing so with the system o! appreciative inquiry. I
!ound this method to be a valuable way o! enabling change and questioning using tools and methods that
were highly engaging and potentially" relationship builders. #hat speci!ically interested me and so I$m
determined now to learn more about it" utili%e it and activate change around me as a result.
What is Appreciative Inquiry
&ppreciative Inquiry is a method or system o! discovery !or see'ing out the positive aspects that !eed (li!e)
into a living system. Its about !inding the strengths" a!!irming the best" encouraging by highlighting positive
potential and ultimately it strengthens a systems capacity i! you loo' at the appreciative portion. #he
inquiry component is then about the discovery process" the questions" the methods and the art o! e*ploring
these positive elements o! a living system. #his system di!!ers !rom traditional problem solving by loo'ing
at the positive core o! actions and plans" instead o! analy%ing the problem" what went wrong and how to !i*
a negative issue. #his generates more and more negative attention" unli'e how appreciate inquiry wor's to
bring out only the best in things.
5-D Cycle
#he process o! appreciative inquiry is one o! + items in a cycle. #hese items are not ordered steps and don$t
always run sequentially. Its more typical that during an inquiry you ,ump bac' and !orth between steps and
come bac' to repeat steps and even the whole cycle as you progress. It$s much easier to understand i! you
'now what each step is as outlined below.
http://www.clergyleadership.com/clergy/ai.html
Define
-et the scope or topics !or which an appreciative
inquiry will be held. #his is done to manage an area
o! a change agenda or a strategic area to !ocus on. #his
stage is not always neccessary as you could run an open
ended appreciative inquiry session with no topics pre-
de!ined in order to !ind them. I! you do de!ine ahead o!
time it is to help !ocus or 'eep the topics within some
conte*t or range.
Discover
#his stage is done with a number o! tools" one o! which is
through paired interviews .more on that below/ and story based questioning with an intent to discover what
ma'es up the positive core o! a company. #he value and core !actors are o!ten drawn out through interview
questions or summary o! stories and topics told about the positive e*periences and best practices. 0uestions
about individuals values" nature and reasons !or staying or doing the ,ob they do draw out and help one
discover the elements that !orm the positive core.
#his stage is e*cellent on drawing on what is right or good in an organi%ation or situation.
Dream
#he dream phase is where you remove the barriers" and loo' to e*pand the imagination into a world o!
what things could be and what you wish it to be i! there was no limits. #he dreams that are e*plored
through this process ought to !ocus on what the best image or visuali%ation could be li'e in the !uture i!
things were everything you wanted them to be.
Design
#his phase uses the results o! the !irst 1 2s to identi!y the things that should occur. It is the start o! building
in areas that are needed to support the !urther out dreams and aspirations. #he design is all the elements that
are used to !orm a bridge across the e*panse that otherwise lies as a barrier to results. #his design is
something that allows the positive core to emerge stronger and in more areas o! li!e.
Deliver
2eliver is the process or system in place that e*ecutes whatever is needed to build the design and ultimately
achieve the dreams that are desired. #he deliver stage involves the action plans" teams and systems but it is
in !act" the act o! actually engaging those areas to ma'e progress based on the design.
Next teps
&s I mentioned above" I have much more to learn about this system o! appreciative inquiry and it highly
interests me. I will e*plore a !ew more o! the tools and methods in my ne*t article that I$ve utili%ed now !or
appreciative inquiry. I have much to learn o! this speci!ic process and would love to hear any !eedbac' and
recommendations i! you have any on the sub,ect. It relates greatly to personal development in the sense o!
loo'ing to improve and drive change and so I thin' it is a valuable system to learn !or anyone here at
3earn#his.ca.
Appreciative Inquiry !ools and "ethods
In my last article I introduced appreciative inquiry and some bac'ground !or the methods and why it is
use!ul. #his article I share some o! the tools and methods that can help you per!orce or apply appreciative
inquiry in areas o! your li!e.
-ince I have really only loo'ed at how appreciative inquiry is used !or strategic planning and thin'ing" that
is what I am going to angle the methods !or this article as well" but 'eep in mind these could easily be
ad,usted !or other purposes. -o" again the method is to discover what ma'es an organi%ation (alive) in the
sense o! its li!e blood or vitality4 hat ma'es it tic' and be at its best4 #hen to ta'e that discover and use
the learned e*periences by imagining a !uture and then designing the processes and structures that will
enable it to become the !uture reality.
Creating and #ocusing on $ositive %oals
&ll too o!ten we position a situation based on what cannot be done or we hear someone say what can$t be
done. & great tip to respond in a meaning!ul inquiring way instead o! simply" (hy 5ot4) is to as'" (hat
would you need in order to respond on this way and what would it ta'e to enable that i! you had to4) #his
positions the question to loo' more at what is possible instead o! what is not. 6ocusing on the problems and
limitations ,ust puts borders in place that ma'es it harder and harder to achieve what you do desire. #a'e
the resources !rom the past to build on your strengths.
Affirmative !opics
&s with !ocusing on positive goals" i! you spend time loo'ing to resolve problems by tal'ing about the
problems" little !ocus is actually spent building !rom e*periences o! great e*periences. ith appreciative
inquiry" you can ta'e any topic and change the wording to ma'e it a more positive !or what you want"
instead o! a topic based on things you don$t want. &rswino wrote a recent guest article here on setting a
new mind pattern which !ollows the same approach o! setting and wording topics to be that o! which you
do want more o!" not the things you don$t want.
$aired Intervie&s
#his inquiry tool is a great way to discover more about the strengths" aspirations and dreams o! another
person. 7aired interviews with a set o! questions that wor' well with the -8&9 .stengths" opportunities"
aspirations and results/ !ramewor' as a !ocus will help you to discover more about the core !actors" values
and strengths o! a person or organi%ation. 2uring an interview" !ocus on basing the questions on the best
past e*periences and dreams or hopes o! a person and stay !ocused on the questions and as being an active
listener. #here are many e*amples o! questions to use !or interviews some o! the ones I$ve used !or paired
sessions are listed below:
e$ve all had times o! nostalgia and thought bac' about past e*periences and how
great they were. #hin' o! the best moments or time!rames in your career .not only
at &:I/ when you were having the time o! your li!e" your high point in your
pro!essional li!e or your most rewarding pea' points. 9ecall that time and tell the
story o! the situation4 hat made the e*perience e*ceptional to you4
ithout being modest" what is it you value most or are most proud o! about
yoursel! in your career4 hat do you most value in the nature o! your wor'4
hat about in the organi%ation4
hat is strong in the organi%ation that enables people and the organi%ation to
operate at its very best4 ithout those !actors" the organi%ation would cease to
e*ist or at least be very di!!erent than it is today.
2escribe an e*ceptional customer e*perience you have been part o!4 hat made
it e*ceptional42escribe an e*ceptional customer e*perience you have been part
o!4 hat made it e*ceptional4
6ast !orward !ive years into the !uture. #hin' o! the organi%ation now how you
would li'e to see it. ;verything the organi%ation and you have strived !or has
become a reality and the core strengths and values have been preserved. #he
organi%ation is thriving. <ou loo' around and see evidence o! many successes
everywhere you turn= in business results" in technology and services" and in the
way people interact and wor' to unleash the power o! one another. hat do you
see that is new" better and di!!erent4 2escribe it in detail.
Creative Design
>reative design can be done in many ways. #he idea o! this one is use an e*ercise that has a creative !ocus
to build or design the ideas !or the !uture o! what ought to be. ?etting people to thin' outside o! their
normal bo* and to e*pand in some new creative way is one o! the best techniques to ensure there are new
ideas and an active imagination" which is e*actly what you want !or planning the !uture o! what you want
to have. #here are many di!!erent ideas here and you only need to use something that !orces people out o!
there com!ort %one. -ome starting places !or an e*ercise might be any o! the !ollowing:
create a poster or collage to demonstrate what you want things to loo' li'e
per!orm a short s'it and act out an e*ample o! what you are designing
draw a picture or build a cra!t / e*ample o! what things will loo' li'e
write a poem or song to demonstrate it
create a story to describe what things will be li'e
Application of Appreciative Inquiry
8ne o! the great things o! &I is that it can be applied in many di!!erent ways. It can be used in in!ormal
ground up methods o! inquiry right through to structured !ull on organi%ational change driving systems
with pro,ects and cycles o! each phase. 8s course not only systems can bene!it !rom using appreciative
inquiry" but many areas in li!e. It can be used in e*plore the a new purpose" discover what e*periences and
practices ma'e up the best" most vibrant systems. &s well" it can be applied !or setting new vibrant goals
that have !ocus on both the positive results desires as well as having room !or imagined dreams and
aspirations.
&ppreciative inquiry is also a use!ul method to building closer relationships through the stories and
understanding it drives out. It emphasi%es learning and change with a strong positive core. &nd !inally" &I
is also very help!ul !or coaching others" as it enables the relationship to be strengthened and helps to change
things in the present in such a way that one$s dreams and hopes are more li'ely to become reality.