Appreciative Inquiry

Definition

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is an organizational development process or philosophy that

engages individuals within an organizational system in its renewal, change and focused
performance.

“Appreciative Inquiry [is] a theory and practice for approaching change from a holistic
framework. Based on the belief that human systems are made and imagined by those
who live and work within them, AI leads systems to move toward the generative and
creative images that reside in their most positive core – their values, visions,
achievements, and best practices.”

Introduction

The process of AI was founded by David Cooperrider, who has spent much of his career
studying management change and what causes change in organisations. Positive change, to
be exact. The very basic idea behind having an Appreciative Inquiry, is that if people discuss
what they are good at, or what they enjoy doing, they will feel good. This good feeling is
then translated into a dream of feeling good all the time. This dream is then made into a
vision for the future of a business, or an organisation. This vision is then delivered. So, the 4
stages of Appreciative Inquiry are : Discover (the talking stage), Dream (the thinking stage),
Design (the planning stage) and finally... Destiny.

What Is Appreciative Inquiry Used For?

 Consult with people

 Learn from past experience

 Involve whole organisation or community in change

 Build a vision for the future that everyone can share and help put into practice

 Strategic Planning

 School Improvement

 Action Research

 Evaluation

 Mentoring & Performance Management

 Leadership Training
  Community Development

 Business Excellence

 Customer Service / Client Satisfaction

 Culture Change & Transformation

6 Principles of Appreciative Inquiry

1. Descriptive or Constructionist Principle

2. Simultaneous Principle

3. Poetic Principle

4. Anticipatory Principle

5. Positive Principle

6. Wholeness Principle

8 Assumptions of Appreciative Inquiry

1. What we focus on becomes our reality

2. Reality is created in the moment and there are multiple realities

3. The language we use shapes our reality

4. The act of asking questions influences the outcome in some way

5. People have more confidence going into the future (unknown) when they carry
forward parts of the present (known)

6. If we carry parts of the past into the future, they should be what are best about the past

7. It is important to value differences

Six main areas of research:

1. Powerful placebo

2. Pygmalion effect

3. Positive affect & learned helpfulness

4. Imbalanced inner dialogue (2:1)

5. Positive imagery as a dynamic force

 6. Affirmative capability

Problems faced by companies

Traditional Approach for problem solving:

 “Felt need” & identification of problem

 Analysis of causes

 Analysis of possible solutions

 Action planning

 Assumes: Organisation is a problem to be solved

 Back Door – what’s in the way of what we want?

Leads to deficit thinking

Deficit Focus: Consequences

 Fragmentation

 Few new images of possibility

 Negative frames are self-fulfilling

 Visionless voice leads to fatigue

 ‘The Experts Must Know’

 Weakened fabric of relationships & defensiveness leads to negative culture

 Slow: puts attention on yesterday’s causes

Solving problem by Appreciative Approach

 Appreciate & value the best of What Is

 Envision: What Might Be

 Dialogue: What Should Be

 Innovate: What Will Be

 Assumes: Organisation is mystery to be discovered

  Front Door – what is it we ultimately want?

Leads to positive thinking - consequences

 Energy

 Enthusiasm

 Commitment

 Action

The “4-D Cycle”

The process used to generate the power of Appreciative Inquiry is the 4-D Cycle. Based on
the notion that human systems – people, teams, organizations and communities – grow and
change in the direction of what they study, Appreciative Inquiry works by focusing the
attention of an organization on its most positive potential – its positive core. The positive core
is the essential nature of the organization at its best – people’s collective wisdom about the
organization’s tangible and intangible strengths, capabilities, resources, potentials and assets.

The Appreciative Inquiry 4-D cycle unleashes the energy of the positive core for
transformation and sustainable success.

Affirmative Topic Choice: The 4-D Cycle begins with the thoughtful identification of what
is to be studied – affirmative topics. Since human systems move in the direction of what they
study, the choice of what to study – what to focus organizational attention on – is both
essential and strategic. The topics that are selected provide a framework for collecting stories,
discovering and sharing best practices, and creating a knowledge-rich work environment.
They become the organization’s agenda for learning and innovation.

Once selected, affirmative topics such as “inspired leadership,” “optimal margins,” or

“culture as competitive advantage” guide the 4-D Cycle of Discovery, Dream, Design and
Destiny.

Discovery: The Discovery phase is a diligent and extensive search to understand the “best of
what is” and “what has been.” It begins with the collaborative act of crafting appreciative
interview questions and constructing an appreciative interview guide. Appreciative Inquiry
questions are written as affirmative probes into an organization’s positive core, in the topic
areas selected. They are written to generate stories, to enrich the images and inner dialogue
within the organization, and to bring the positive core more fully into focus.

The results of Discovery include:

• The formation of new relationships and alliances, that bridge across traditional barriers.

• A rich description or mapping of the organization s positive core.

• Organization-wide sharing and learning from stories of best practices, golden innovations
and exemplary actions.

• Greatly enhanced organizational knowledge and collective wisdom.

These results, in turn, inspire the emergence of organic, unplanned changes – well before
implementation of the more “planful” phases of the 4-D cycle.

Dream: The Dream phase is an energizing exploration of “what might be:” a time for people
to explore their hopes and dreams for their work, their working relationships, their
organization, and the world at large. It is a time for groups of people to engage in thinking
big, thinking out of the box, and thinking out of the boundaries of what has been in the past.

The intent of the Dream phase is to identify and spread generative, affirmative, and hopeful
images of the future. Typically this is accomplished in large group forums, where unusual
combinations of stakeholders explore:

• Creative images of the organization s most positive potentials

• Innovative strategic visions

• An elevated sense of purpose.

Design: The Design phase involves making choices about “what should be” within an
organization or system. It is a conscious re-creation or transformation, through which such
things as systems, structures, strategies, processes and images will become more fully aligned
with the organization’s positive past (Discovery) and highest potential (Dream).

Destiny: The Destiny phase initiates a series of inspired actions that support ongoing learning
and innovation – or “what will be.” Since the entire 4-D Cycle provides an open forum for
employees to contribute and step forward in the service of the organization, change occurs in
all phases of an Appreciative Inquiry process. The Destiny phase, however, focuses
specifically on personal and organizational commitments and paths forward. The result of
destiny is generally an extensive array of changes throughout the organization in areas such
as:

• Management practices

• HR processes

Measurement systems

• Customer service systems

• Work processes and structures

In many cases, the 4-D Cycle provides the framework for ongoing activities. Thus, the cycle
begins again . . . and again . . . and again.
Literature review

Many cases have been done studied on AI, and most have them have given overwhelming
response in the respective companies, though some pointed out deficiencies and opportunities
for improvement. This is not surprising. The fact that almost all published cases of
organizational change are success stories, and the reasons for this, has been discussed in the
past (Mirvis & Berg, 1977).Notwithstanding the real contribution to scholarship that
publication of failures would make, little has changed. Yet even though these were all
“successes”, enough variation was found in what took place in the cases for an interesting
story to emerge.

Table 1:Results of Analyzing Appreciative Inquiry Cases

Case: New Knowledge Improvisation

Figure or
Outcome of AI or or
Ground
New Processes Implementation
Avon of Executive makeup changed
Mexico to reflective new
assumptions that Women New Knowledge Ground Implementation
must be represented at
executive levels
Medic Inn Creation of several
initiatives to align
New Knowledge Ground Improvisation
processes with positive
core
DTE Building the use of AI into New processes Figure Improvisation
Energy the culture of the company
Services
Group Improved Reward and
New processes Figure Implementation
Health Recognition systems
GTE Several independent efforts
to realign processes with
positive core leading to New Knowledge Ground Improvisation
higher levels of
performance and morale
Hunter A new social architecture
Douglas created by an array of
employee initiatives to New Knowledge Ground Improvisation
realign processes with
articulated positive core
Little The articulation and
Flower codification of the school’s
New processes Figure Improvisation
Catholic spirit
School
Loghorn Forest Adventures and
Western Loghorn now work
together, creating a New Knowledge Ground Improvisation
symbiotic relationship,
increasing business
NASA Development of a broadly-
accepted OHR strategic New processes Figure Implementation
plan
North East Core culture and process of
Catholic school changed, to reflect
New processes Ground Improvisation
“What we are like when we
are at our best”
Sigma Steps towards a strategic
New processes Figure Implementation
shift in operational method
Smith Integration of disparate
Klein arms facilitated by AI New processes Figure Implementation
Beecham process
Southview Processes and Positions
West realigned to newly created New Knowledge Ground ??
Agency mission
Star Island Updated Strategic Plan,
Corp with input from a broad New processes Figure Implementation
base
Street Assessment of organization
Childrens’ capabilities and
Home and identification of needed New processes Figure Implementation
Mother’s changes
Refuge
Syntegra Changed market approach
and leader-follower New processes Figure Implementation
relations
Touche An agreed-upon method on
Ross how to address the
challenges associated with New processes Figure Implementation
transitional leadership
change
United Establishment of a
Religions representative United New Knowledge Ground Improvisation
Religions organization
Fast Food Increased store
New processes Figure Implementation
Corp management retention 30%
World Internally driven conviction
Vision--- that a sustainable future
Bourella was indeed a possibility New processes Figure ??
within the village if all
worked at it

Methodology

 Select focus area or topic(s) of interest

 Conduct interviews designed to discover strengths, passions, unique attributes

 Identify patterns, themes and/or intriguing possibilities

 Create bold statements of ideal possibilities ("Provocative Propositions")

 Co-determine "what should be" (consensus re: principles & priorities)

 Take/sustain action

A Positive Change Network

 Special invitation & call to people to be change leaders

 AI approach to positive change

 Many applications

 Self-organizing

 Builds relationships

 Connected through knowledge sharing & storytelling

Case Study

NOKIA
Revitalising the corporate values

Nokia at a glance
Finland-based Nokia, was established as a wood pulp mill in 1865. By 1994 it was in the
technology and mobile communications business and by 2000 it had just under 60,000
employees in over 50 countries with sales of 31 billion Euros. Responding to such
extraordinary growth, Nokia’s Group Executive Board identified a need to refresh the
corporate values and to bring them to life for the thousands of new employees around the
world.

An Appreciative Inquiry (AI)

Using a high participation approach called Appreciative Inquiry, Ashridge worked in
partnership with Nokia’s Organisation Development & Change Team to find out where the
values were already most alive and help them grow from there.
Appreciative Inquiry is the art of discovering and valuing the factors that ‘give life’ to an
organisation, group, individual or relationship. Best examples of the past and the present are
recalled and rigorously understood to set the stage for well-grounded visualisation of what
could be possible in the future.

Sowing the seeds – how to reach 60,000 employees?

The first step was a leadership workshop for 20 Nokia managers, including 4 members of the
Executive Board, using the AI approach. This core group then led an inquiry process which
culminated in a three and a half day Global Culture and Values Summit for 200 Nokia
employees, in Helsinki.
The inquiry process included interviewing other Nokia employees to gather stories and
examples of how the values were currently alive in peoples’ work. Quotes and stories from
these interviews were turned into posters which covered the walls of the Summit venue. The
aim was to move away from rhetoric and intellectualisation and towards a practical
understanding of the values in real action for real people.
The aim of the Summit was to turn the 200 attendees into the ‘seeds’ who, when back in their
own regions and offices, would champion events and processes of their own to revitalise the
values.

Making it happen
The event was co-facilitated by Ashridge Consultant Caryn Vanstone, Frank Barrett (one of
the originators of AI) and Bruno Dalbiez of Nokia. One of the biggest challenges faced by
Caryn was the fact that this high profile investment by Nokia triggered high anxiety, leading
to wanting to predetermine outcomes. This could have acted against the nature of the work
itself, as it was important that people at the event felt engaged and discovered their own ways
forward.
“We needed to find a way of helping the Executives make decisions that only they could
make, including issues of direction and choice – but do it in a way that kept the
engagement high for everyone else”
Bruno Dalbiez, Nokia.

Caryn suggested a ‘fishbowl’ approach to give participants an insight into the thinking of the
Executive Team – this is a process whereby the Executives sit in a circle in the centre of the
room and have a focused dialogue in public view.
“Caryn’s quick thinking managed to unlock the dynamic - it was a breakthrough
moment.”
Bruno Dalbiez, Nokia

By the end of the Summit, a number of volunteer project teams had been created, including
one called ‘relight the fire’ whose mission was to finalise the work of refreshing the corporate
values based on the insight from the Summit.

Two years on
The ‘relight the fire’ team presented the revitalised values to the Board which were approved
and communicated to the entire organisation via a punchy brochure. The ‘seed’ people from
the Summit itself have also been proactively running dialogue sessions, events and spin-off
Summits to bring the values alive.
“Values have always been very high on Nokia’s agenda. Ashridge, via the Summit, helped
us give them new importance and the overriding feeling now is one of an energetic
connection with the new values.”
Bruno Dalbiez, Nokia