Jon Cawthorne and I presented on Appreciative Inquiry, Strengths Finder, Positive Intent, and culture change in libraries. From leveraging strengths to asking generative questions, moving from problem solving to unleashing what is good and what could be.
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Imagining the infinite: Having Powerful Conversations using Appreciative Inquiry
1. I believe we can change the world if we
start listening to one another again.
Simple, honest, human conversation. Not
mediation, negotiation, problem solving,
debate or public meetings. Simple,
truthful conversation where we each have
a chance to speak, we each feel heard and
we each listen well.
• ~M. Wheatley (2002) Turning to One Another (San
2. IMAGINING THE INFINITEHaving Powerful Conversations through Appreciative
Inquiry
Annie Bélanger (@annie_belanger) & Jon Cawthorne
3. APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY IS…
The co-evolutionary search for the best in people,
their organizations, and the relevant world around
them
The art and practice of asking questions that
strengthen a system’s capacity to apprehend,
anticipate, and heighten positive potential
Asking the questions in a positive frame, seeking the
strength as opposed to the problem.
4. PROBLEM SOLVING VS AI
What to fix
Problem, symptom,
causes, solutions, plan
Break things into
pieces, fragmenting
response(s)
Responds to past
Assumes constellation
of problems to
overcome
What to grow
True, good, better,
possible
Define ideal first,
coherent response
Expands vision of
future
Assumes infinite
capacity for
imagination
5. APPLICATIONS OF APPRECIATIVE
INQUIRY
Structural evolution Onboarding process and hiring
process;
leaders at every level, help provide context and
generative approaches
Define rules of engagement in group settings to
define brave spaces
8. APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY – NOT
JUST THE POSITIVE
“A focus on the positive is useful for appreciative
inquiry but it’s not the purpose. The purpose is to
generate a new and better future.”
9. AI IS ABOUT CONVERSATIONS THAT
MATTER
what matters most to people
may make real and tangible the highest
potentials of an organization and its people
may transform communication into open,
whole-system dialog
expand the realm of positive possibilities.
UL @ GVSU ~ CONVOCATION AUGUST 2017 9
10. AI IS ABOUT CONVERSATIONS THAT
MATTER
what matters most to people
may make real and tangible the highest
potentials of an organization and its people
may transform communication into open,
whole-system dialog
expand the realm of positive possibilities.
UL @ GVSU ~ CONVOCATION AUGUST 2017 10
11. USE APPRECIATIVE / GENERATIVE
QUESTIONS
The person who sets the question sets the direction and has
the power of a change agent.
Every question has a direction. Where it leads depends on its
often hidden assumptions. Few questions are neutral; most
carry a generative or destructive energy.
Images of the future are powerful. We can only move in the
direction of what we can imagine.
Human systems want to move in a positive direction
12. HOW TO BUILD GENERATIVE
QUESTIONSAsk about ultimate concerns (e.g. What do you value most?)
Use positive questions that build on positive assumptions; (e.g. What about
this library makes you especially glad you work here?)
Give a thought-provoking, appealing definition of topics; (e.g., “Constructive
experiences of difference inspire new ways of thinking.”)
Present questions as an invitation using expansive, positive, feeling,
experiential words. (What has inspired you to get engaged? What do you most
hope to contribute?)
Enhance the possibilities of storytelling by asking questions about trusted
personal experience. (Thinking back on your year, please share a high point
when…)
Phrase questions in a conversational, friendly tone (and listen eagerly as to a
friend.)
Ask open questions to which you do not know the answer, and expect to learn
something interesting and important. (Open ended questions cannot be
answered “yes” or “no”)
13. FLIPPING THE NARRATIVE IN VITO
Name it > Name the
problem
Flip it > Flip to the
statement of what you
want
Frame it > Frame it in
reality
Name it > “No one ever tells
me anything”
Flip it > What would you like
more of? What would it look
like if you were communicated
it with? “I would like to have
regular updates”
Frame it > How can you
contribute to open
communication? “I can commit
to reading the updates sent by
email”
14. Q&A
Your conversations help create your world.
Speak of delight, not dissatisfaction. Speak
of hope, not despair. Let your words bind
up wounds, not cause them.
~ Tao Te Ching
Hinweis der Redaktion
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is "about the coevolutionary search for the best in people, their organizations, and the relevant world around them. In its broadest focus, it involves systematic discovery of what gives “life” to a living system when it is most alive, most effective, and most constructively capable in economic, ecological, and human terms. AI involves, in a central way, the art and practice of asking questions that strengthen a system’s capacity to apprehend, anticipate, and heighten positive potential.” The first phase of AI is discovery. It asks the questions in a positive frame, seeking the strength as opposed to the problem. That is not to say it seeks to ignore problems, but its seeks to find the solution by focusing on what is the positive outcome we would seek to have.
removes the excuses
United Nations of all important people - new decision making structure to reimagine Library Leadership Team tied to pillars for Strategic Directions in the Strategic Plan
Digital Publishing
Student Retention
…
...
Always same folks working on things - put call for teams. Middle managers will lead and manage it; Dean will sponsor, and join as needed. Ensure accountability and process to share. Dean will focus on Dean’s leadership council on strategy.
Another way of thinking about appreciative inquiry is generative inquiry. You are appreciating in order to see what is good and what is best. These qualities help you remain centered in a positive intent of betterment, of improvement, of growth, of sustainability. In other words, it helps you stay out of the vortex of despair. You are inquiring in order to generate a better future, a better iteration.
Every question has a direction. Where it leads depends on its often hidden assumptions. Few questions are neutral; most carry a generative or destructive energy. What questions build a bridge or turn on a light? Which offer a path into shared understanding? What questions invite new ways of seeing and connecting to a community or country’s future as one that citizens have the choice to create working together? “
The person who sets the question sets the direction and has the power of a change agent.
Images of the future are powerful. We can only move in the direction of what we can imagine.
Human systems want to move in a positive direction (like plants seeking the sun). Positive questions and feedback create energy — like the sun, they literally make it more possible to live and to grow.
It is important to name and claim what’s working as well as what needs work. This is a trustworthy foundation on which to build.
Negative images and conversations weaken us mentally and physically; positive images strengthen us and what we can accomplish.
Positive communication is essential to mental and community health and requires practice. We are surrounded by negative vocabulary. We can choose to replace it with affirmative communication and community affirmation.
To design good appreciative inquiry generative questions, remember to:
Ask about ultimate concerns (e.g. What do you value most?)
Use positive questions that build on positive assumptions; (e.g. What about this neighborhood makes you especially glad you live here?)
Give a thought-provoking, appealing definition of topics; (e.g., “Constructive experiences of difference inspire new ways of thinking.”)
Present questions as an invitation using expansive, positive, feeling, experiential words. (What has inspired you to get engaged? What do you most hope to contribute?)
Enhance the possibilities of storytelling by asking questions about trusted personal experience. (Thinking back on your year, please share a high point when…)
Phrase questions in a conversational, friendly tone (and listen eagerly as to a friend.)
Ask open questions to which you do not know the answer, and expect to learn something interesting and important. (Open ended questions cannot be answered “yes” or “no”)
Good questions invite thinking—they stretch the imagination and inspire new thoughts without evoking defensiveness or hostility. Reach for the “um”!
