Appreciative Inquiry @ Work for REAL Team Building
AI introduction
Appreciative Enquiry...“ . . . it is through language that we create the world, because it’s nothing until we describe it. And when we describe it, we create distinctions that govern our actions. To put it another way, we do not describe the world we see, but we see the world we describe.” - Joseph Jaworski
REAL Appreciative Enquiry
As it has evolved, there are a number of ways in which to conduct an appreciative inquiry, but the processes all tend to follow a common path of 4 phases:
Discovery conducting appreciative interviews and identifying the themes and life-giving forces),
Dream (developing provocative propositions for the future)
Design (integrating wishes for the future with plans for needed changes to structure, systems and processes)
Destiny (making it happen and making it sustainable over time Appreciative enquiry is a new way of approaching problem solving, team-building and solution development.
Set of Appreciative Inquiry Assumptions:
Appreciative Inquiry works from a set of assumptions. These are:
1. In every society, organisation or group, something works well.
2. What we focus on, becomes our reality.
3. Reality is created in the moment, and there are multiple realities.
4. The act of asking questions of a person, or group influences the group/person in some way.
5. People have more confidence to journey to the future (the unknown) when they carry forward parts of the past (the known).
6. If we carry forward parts of the past, they should be what is best about our past.
7. It is important to value differences.
8. The language we use creates our reality and experience. While these may seem obvious, we know from our own experience that we can look at what isn’t working and start problem solving.
This pulls us backwards/downwards rather than forwards. If we focus on difficulties in the past, people become self defensive and feel that life is hopeless. When we ask them about their successes, they become enthusiastic and start to hope again and explore possibility.
Updated Appreciative Inquiry ‘5-D’ Cycle for Teambuilding
Discovery: The Appreciative Inquiry approach to personal, or organisational, change is to begin by looking for what is working - APPRECIATING the best of our experience.
Dream: This is to consider what might be - ENVISIONING RESULTS
Design: What should be the ideal? - CO-CONSTRUCTING
Destiny: How to empower, learn & adjust or improvise - SUSTAINING
Do-It: Action towards achievement - Commitment, response, action
The tangible result of the Appreciative Inquiry process is a series of statements that describe where the person or organisation wants to be, based on the best moments of where they have been.
Because these statements are based in real experience and history, people know how to repeat their success. They have created before, they can create once again.
The purpose is to reconnect with the life giving forces-what is working, and then go beyond that to, what could be if we expanded our paradigm of possibility.
2. COACHING EXAMPLES
* Discovery - What do you want more of?
Tell me about those times in your career when you felt most alive, engaged, energized; when everything worked to produce the desired results.
What factors in the environment, the organization, the team contributed to this wonderful experience?
What did you do to contribute?
What do you value about yourself as a professional and what you have to offer?
What is the core factor which gives life to your work, without which work would not be the same?
What 3 wishes would you make to enhance the life and vitality of your work and life?
* Dream - Guided imagery or meditation followed by creation of story, picture, song, etc. which depicts the ideal future work situation. Creation of the ideal job description, life style or experiences.
* Design - Creation of a purpose statement. Creation of a resume geared to the desired situation. Creation of a profile of the ideal company. Evolution of a strategy for creating an incredible experience or lifestyle.
* Destiny: How do you make a difference that really makes a difference on a sustainable basis, that fits in with your passion, talents & capabilities.
* DO-IT! What can you do right now to move powerfully towards your Purpose in an incremental, step by step process.
Are readt for real teambuilding with Appreciaitive Enquiry as the foundation of the approach - then call us now
Namaste'
Tony Dovale