appreciative inquiry: big picture, big passion, exceptional achievement

Big Picture, Big Passion: Exceptional Achievement


Appreciative InquiryAppreciative Inquiry

Loretta L. DonovanPresident

[email protected]


It is a time for re-thinking human organization and change. Deficit based modalities are increasingly falling short. And cynicism, about the very idea of planned change, is rampant.

David Cooperrider


Discovery•Identifying your

Positive Core

Discovery•Identifying your

Positive Core

DesignPossibility Propositions

Ideal Organizational Designs

DesignPossibility Propositions

Ideal Organizational Designs

Igniting Igniting Leadership Leadership

at Every Levelat Every Level

DreamImages of FutureShared Visions

DreamImages of FutureShared Visions

DestinyActions/Projects

Continuous Learning

DestinyActions/Projects

Continuous Learning

The AI ProcessThe AI Process


4-D AI Model4-D AI Model

•Purpose: Value the best of “what is”

•Task: Conduct an inquiry into the topic and assemble stories and key ideas that come out of the inquiry

•Purpose: Generalize key ideas into image of how group would function if discoveries were fully alive

•Task: Envision what might beAgree on possibility statements

•Purpose: Develop ideas about the relationships and practices for when the group is infused with the exceptional

•Task: Align values, structures & processes with the idealGet everyone in the conversation

•Purpose: Innovate/align the framework within which people operateBuild AI learning competencies into the system•Task: Co-construct a sustainable preferred future embracing innovation at many levels


TheTheAppreciative Appreciative InterviewInterview


Tips for Conducting Tips for Conducting Appreciative Inquiry Appreciative Inquiry InterviewsInterviews

• Use the interview form as your “script”. • Take the “listener” stance• Be genuinely curious about your partner’s

experiences, thoughts, and feelings• Allow for silence• Listen for great quotes and take good

notes of the quotes or stories • Manage your own time. Have fun!


Let’s Talk About ItLet’s Talk About It


Sharing Sharing Interview StoriesInterview Stories


Form a GroupForm a Group

• Join another pair or triad• Share highlights and insights of the

story you heard from your partner• Everyone listens for patterns/insights • Record key points on easel paper


Themes from Interviews Themes from Interviews

• Cull a list of the themes that were present across the highlights you scribed:– high points– life-giving forces– ideas that “grabbed” you

• List the top ones on the wall chart• Identify one best high point story and be

ready to share it with the whole group


“We inhabit a world that is always subjective and shaped by our

interactions with it. Our world is impossible to pin down, constantly

changing and infinitely more interesting than we ever imagined.”

- Margaret Wheatley Leadership and the New Science


Appreciate What IsAppreciate What Is


PositivePositive

CoreCore

Create a knowledge link between the entire enterprise and the life-generating core of past, present, and future capacities… to ignite change.

An OpportunityAn Opportunity


EvidenceEvidence

When organizations or groups capture positive imagery internally and make it visible, it starts to drive change in an individualistic, self-directed way. It creates a sense of focus.

Our image of thefuture drives our

ACTION!

Placebo EffectHelp someone construct an

image of how something mighthappen, and it drives behavior

which creates a change in that direction

Pygmalion EffectChange a teacher’s image of a

student, and their behavior changestoward the student, improving

student performance

SociologyThe study of problems creates an increase in number & severity of

problems. But opposite also occurs.

Internal ConversationsStudies of pre and post operativepatients. Difference in recoverybetween positive and negative

imagery.

SportsVivid visualization of one’s performance guides physical performance. Speed of learning when only correct images are

reviewed.


AI Success Stories


High-Potential Design High-Potential Design Possibilities Possibilities

Job descriptionsWork flowsInformation flowsJob designBusiness processesEducation, training, and leadership development processPolicies on social responsibilityCompensation & incentive systemsKey organizational strategiesPlanning processesCommunication systemsTechnology systemsDecision-making approaches

Measurement systemsPerformance review processCompetenciesOrganizational structuresPlanning processesCommunication systemsTechnology systemsDecision-making approachesOrganization, departmental and individual goalsMeasurement systemsPerformance review processStrategies for attracting and retaining talentMission, vision and values


Diana Whitney & Amanda Trosten-Bloom

“Through conscious conversationsabout organization design it seeks to answer the question, “What forms oforganization can bring out the best of people, liberate cooperation and give form to our highest values and ideals?”

The Power of Appreciative Inquiry – A Practical Guide to Positive Change


"You can't depend on your eyes when your

imagination is out of focus."

-- Mark Twain