1. ai ‘Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of the Imagination’ – Watkins & Mohr, 2001 An Approach to ^ Change appreciative inquiry 2 ACCELERATED.

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ai‘Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of the Imagination’ – Watkins &

Mohr, 2001

An Approach to ^ Change

appreciative inquiry

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ACCELERATED

“Felt Need”Identify problem

Conduct root cause analysis

Analyze Possible Solutions

Develop action plan (Treatment)

Basic assumption: “problem-to-be solved”

Problem solving (deficit based change)

(Dialogue and design What should be)

Create (What will be)

Basic assumption: “mystery” organization is a web of

strengths linked to infinite capacity, infinite

imagination… alive

Appreciative inquiry(strength based innovation)

“Valuing the best of what is”Appreciate

Imagine (What might be)

PROBLEM ANALYTIC CHANGE VS. APPRECIATVE INQUIRY

Change - Traditional approach vs Ai The burning platform / what is wrong?

Executive/ Senior leaders agree the solution (define the new beginning/vision); workshop the strategy (over a period of time)

Project team formed to implement and lead the change

Communication Plan & campaign developed to engage all stakeholders and drive desired responses/ behaviours

Measurement

The business opportunity/what do we want

to create?

The whole system is invited to co-create the

future – full voice and personal investment

The change begins ‘in the moment’ and

continues as an integrated strategy

Follow-up in the form of progress checks,

and support, where required

Measurement

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1. valuing; the act of recognising the best in people or the world around us; affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials; to perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, excellence) to living systems

2. to increase in value

appreciate

synonyms: esteeming, valuing, honouring

1. the act of exploration and discovery

2. to ask questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities

inquire

synonyms: discovery, search, study, systematic exploration

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‘Managing Transitions’ – William Bridges

Neutral Zone

New Beginnings

The change/futurewe envision

Confusion

Creativity

Endings Letting go: what do we

want to take with us/ what will serve us?

Transition model

David CooperriderCase Western Reserve University

“Ai is the cooperative search for the

best in people, their organisations,

and the world around them.

It involves systematic discovery of

what gives a system “life” when it is

most effective and capable in

economic, ecological, and human

terms.”

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“I’m not good enough” “They are to blame”

“We have lost” “I am depressed”

“The organization is hopeless”

”My family is dysfunctional”

“What is your problem?” “It’s your fault”

“I am a bad person” “You are wrong!”

“I will never be able to” “That was a

mistake” “It is a disaster!”

“I don’t have enough” “You are a failure”

“There is a lack of ……..”

vocabularies of human deficit are the opiates of the masses

David Cooperrider is one of the founders of Appreciative Inquiry

Assumptions of Ai• In every organisation/ situation – something works• What we focus on, and the language we use,

becomes our reality

• Sustainable action is more likely from a place of

positivity

• The act of asking questions begins the change• Moving forward is easier when we bring forward the

best parts of the past – when we pay attention to the positive core

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aiThe 5-D Cycle

DEFINEDecide what to learn about,how and who to involve in each phase

DISCOVERConduct the inquiry,share insights andcapture the Positive Core

DREAMEnvision the impact & internal functioning as if those insightsand the Positive Corewere fully alive

DESIGNInvent the initiatives and the socialarchitecture whichwill make yourdreams inevitable

DESTINYInnovation Improvisation and Inquiry. Expand all learning Competencies

DVD

ai summit

aiThe 5-D Cycle

DEFINEDecide what to learn about,how and who to involve in each phase

DISCOVERConduct the inquiry,share insights andcapture the Positive Core

DREAMEnvision the impact & internal functioning as if those insightsand the Positive Corewere fully alive

DESIGNInvent the initiatives and the socialarchitecture whichwill make yourdreams inevitable

DESTINYInnovation Improvisation and Inquiry. Expand all learning Competencies

Interview

ai summit

“what are you most curious about?”

“what do you most want to see more of?”

“If you find and inquire into the most powerful topics, you will find the

system’s wisdom written on the wall”.

Sallie Lee

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Transformative topics

It is the collective wisdom, knowledge, strategies,

attitudes, skills and capabilities of the organization at

its best.

Often undiscussed, an organization's positive core is a

source of life-giving potential, consisting of all its

creative, life-affirming qualities, capabilities, and

resources.

It is the essence of the organization at its best: its

remembered past, its enacted present, and its

imagined future.

Diana Whitney Corporation for Positive Change

positive core

• ANZ• Boeing• British Petroleum• RAC• US National Intelligence Community• Allstate• Smith Kline Beecham• Walmart• The Inspire Foundation

• Nextel• Green Mountain Coffee Roaster• British Airways• Roadway Express• American Red Cross• Newark Beth Israel Medical

Center• Georgia Pacific• British Gas• World Vision

Some organisations using ai

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What we ask determines what we find

What we find determines how we talk

How we talk determines how we imagine together

How we imagine determines what we achieve together

Positive Image Positive Action

• Social Constructionism: Human systems are made and imagined by those who live and work in them. Our reality and meaning are socially created

• Simultaneity: Change begins the moment we ask questions

• Poetic: (poets are not constrained) We have no boundaries on what we can inquire and learn from. Everything is open to reinterpretation

• Anticipatory: Our behavior in the present is influenced by the future we anticipate

• Positive: The more positive the question and conversation, the longer-lasting the change

“Our organizations evolve in the direction of the images we create based on the questions we ask as we strive to understand the systems at work.”

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5 Principles

• See the positive in a given situation

• Reframe a given situation

• Act now – seeing how the future unfolds from the present

“Seeing the mighty oak in the acorn” – Tojo Thatchenkery & Carol Metzker

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Appreciative Intelligence

Outputs from the Summit process

Tangible• Whole system shift in the one direction• Clear, shared direction• A new story for the organisation (re-

story)• A re-focus/ concentration of effort• Action Plans (short term & long term)• New ideas• New energy and enthusiasm• Current activities & processes enhanced• ‘Double-up’ dramatically reduced -

streamlined• Collaboration• Accountability • Individuals invested in what the business

does• Ownership of actions & outcomes at all

levels• Self-organised workgroups• Designed for s

Less tangible/ emergent• Networks developed• Informal relationships formed• Individuals feel acknowledged • Sense of belonging• Individual confidence = more robust

system• Sense of achievement • Self-awareness in a group • Emergence of strengths• Participants understand their role in the

big picture• Mutual appreciation & respect • Sense of purpose & connection• Strategic thinking at all levels• A more positive outlook• A desire (&ability) to find the possibilities

in a situation• Appreciation for the power of inquiry &

genuine curiosity• Innovation

ReferencesRecommended texts

• Ludema, Whitney, Mohr & Griffin (2003). The appreciative Inquiry

summit – a practitioners guide for leading large-group change.

Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

• Watkins & Mohr (2001). Appreciative Inquiry. Change at the

speed of the imagination. Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer

• Thatchenkery & Metzker (2006). Appreciative Intelligence. Seeing

the mighty oak in the acorn. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

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Recommended websites• Ai commons: http://ai.cwru.edu• Ai Practitioner: www.aipractitioner.com