Appreciative inquiry in a nutshell | Sarah Lewis

Kogan Page

23 Aug 201603:38

Summary

TLDRAppreciative Inquiry is a people-centric organizational change methodology developed by David Cooperrider. It emphasizes the importance of human relationships and celebrates the diversity, emotions, and experiences of individuals. Based on social constructionism, it posits that our interactions and conversations shape the social world we live in. This approach is particularly beneficial as it motivates people by involving them from the start, allowing them to co-create ideas and envision a future that they are excited to be part of. Unlike traditional change methodologies that push people through change, Appreciative Inquiry focuses on pulling them through by creating attractive images of the future that resonate with their aspirations.

Takeaways

🌟 Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a methodology for organizational change that emphasizes human relationships and celebrates people's diversity and experiences.
💡 AI was developed by David Cooperrider in the United States and is a flexible approach that puts people at the center of change processes.
🧠 It is based on a psychological understanding of people and their interactions, drawing from social constructionism, which suggests that our social world is created through our interactions and conversations.
🗣️ AI focuses on how we talk to each other and the possibilities we create in conversation, which are key to sustaining or changing organizational patterns.
👥 AI is inclusive, allowing everyone to feel part of the change and to co-create ideas for the transformation.
🚀 It is highly motivating as it involves people from the beginning, celebrating current successes and resources, and envisioning the future together.
🌈 AI helps individuals develop attractive images of the future that can inspire and guide them through the change process.
🔄 Unlike many change methodologies that push people through change, AI aims to pull people through by engaging them in a positive and participative manner.
💭 The approach starts with understanding people, conversation, and relationships, making it accessible and relatable for everyone involved.
🤝 AI recognizes the human element as a non-problematic aspect, contrasting with other methodologies that may view human variability as an issue.
📈 It benefits organizations by fostering a sense of collective ownership and motivation among employees, which can lead to more successful and sustainable change.
🌱 AI encourages the celebration of what's going well and uses this as a foundation for envisioning and creating a positive future state for the organization.

Q & A

What is appreciative inquiry?
-Appreciative inquiry is an organizational change methodology that focuses on the human elements within an organization, celebrating the diversity, emotions, and relationships of people, and is centered on positive interactions and conversations to drive change.
Who devised the appreciative inquiry methodology?
-David Cooperrider in the United States developed the appreciative inquiry methodology.
How does appreciative inquiry differ from other change methodologies?
-Appreciative inquiry differs from other methodologies by focusing on the positive aspects of human potential and interaction, rather than viewing human elements as problematic.
What is the psychological understanding that appreciative inquiry is based on?
-Appreciative inquiry is based on a psychological understanding of how people interact in groups and how these interactions create the social world they operate in.
What is social constructionism?
-Social constructionism is a philosophy that suggests the social world is created through our interactions and conversations, shaping our reality and the possibilities within it.
Why is appreciative inquiry considered powerful for organizational change?
-Appreciative inquiry is powerful because it leverages accessible elements like conversation and relationship, allowing everyone to be part of the change process and enabling a collective vision for the future.
What are some benefits of using appreciative inquiry for organizational change?
-Benefits include a focus on people, allowing everyone to feel part of the change, high motivation through early involvement, celebrating current successes, and creating an attractive image of the future that guides individuals through change.
How does appreciative inquiry motivate individuals?
-It motivates individuals by involving them from the beginning in discovering the organization's best aspects, celebrating successes, and co-creating ideas for change, which fosters a sense of ownership and engagement.
How does appreciative inquiry help create a vision for the future?
-Appreciative inquiry helps create a vision for the future by encouraging individuals to imagine and articulate what the future could look like in the context of change, and their role within it.
What is the key difference between appreciative inquiry and most change methodologies?
-The key difference is that while most methodologies push people through change, appreciative inquiry focuses on pulling people through change by engaging them in a positive and participatory process.
Why is it important for everyone to feel part of the change process in appreciative inquiry?
-It's important because it ensures that all members of the organization feel valued and included, which can lead to greater cooperation, commitment, and ultimately, a more successful change process.
How does appreciative inquiry help sustain or change organizational patterns?
-It does so by focusing on the conversations and relationships within the organization, which are key to shaping and reinforcing current patterns or initiating new ones.

Outlines

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🌟 Appreciative Inquiry: A People-Centric Change Methodology

Appreciative Inquiry is an organizational change approach developed by David Cooperrider that emphasizes human relationships and celebrates the diverse and unique qualities of individuals. It is based on the psychological understanding of social interactions and the concept of social constructionism, which posits that our conversations and relationships shape the social world we inhabit. This approach to change is inclusive, allowing everyone to participate and feel a part of the process. It is particularly motivating because it involves people from the beginning, encouraging them to identify and celebrate current successes and to collaboratively envision a positive future. Unlike other methodologies that push people through change, Appreciative Inquiry aims to pull them through by creating attractive images of the future that inspire and engage them.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciative Inquiry is an organizational change methodology that emphasizes the importance of people and their relationships in the change process. It is a strength-based approach that celebrates human qualities such as imagination, emotional nature, and diversity of experiences. In the script, it is described as a 'people person based approach to organizational change,' which is a core theme of the video.

💡Organizational Change

Organizational change refers to the process of altering the way an organization operates, often to improve efficiency or adapt to new conditions. The script discusses how Appreciative Inquiry can be a powerful tool for this, starting with conversations and relationships, and allowing everyone to feel part of the change.

💡Social Constructionism

Social constructionism is a philosophy that posits the social world is created through our interactions and conversations. It is a key principle behind Appreciative Inquiry, as it suggests that by changing the way we talk and interact, we can change the social world we live in. The script illustrates this by saying 'the way we interact with each other in the way that we talk to each other we create a social world that we live in.'

💡Humaneness

Humaneness refers to the quality of being kind, understanding, and empathetic towards others. The script highlights that Appreciative Inquiry celebrates all aspects of humaneness, which includes recognizing the full spectrum of human emotions and experiences. It is a fundamental aspect of the approach, as it values the contributions of every individual.

💡Relationships

Relationships are the connections between individuals within an organization. The script emphasizes that Appreciative Inquiry puts relationships at the heart of the change process, suggesting that strong interpersonal connections are crucial for successful organizational change.

💡Imagination

Imagination is the ability to form ideas or images in the mind that are not present to the senses. In the context of the script, imagination is celebrated as a key human quality that contributes to the creation of a better organizational future. It is part of the process of envisioning what the future could be like during organizational change.

💡Emotional Nature

Emotional nature refers to the inherent emotional responses and feelings that individuals experience. The script mentions that Appreciative Inquiry acknowledges and celebrates the emotional nature of people, which is important for creating a supportive and understanding environment for change.

💡Diversity

Diversity refers to the variety of different types of people in an organization, including differences in background, culture, and experience. The script highlights that Appreciative Inquiry celebrates diversity, recognizing it as a strength that can contribute to the richness of ideas and perspectives during organizational change.

💡Co-creation

Co-creation is the process of jointly creating something with others. In the script, it is mentioned that everyone can feel they are part of the change and have helped co-create the ideas for the change, which is a key aspect of the participatory and inclusive nature of Appreciative Inquiry.

💡Motivation

Motivation is the drive or desire to achieve a goal or complete a task. The script discusses how Appreciative Inquiry is highly motivating because it involves people from the beginning, celebrating successes and creating an attractive image of the future that can inspire and energize individuals to embrace change.

💡Conversation

Conversation is the act of talking in an informal way with others. The script emphasizes that organizational change through Appreciative Inquiry starts with conversation, which is a fundamental tool for creating new possibilities and understanding the current state of the organization.

Highlights

Appreciative Inquiry is an organizational change methodology developed by David Cooperrider in the United States.

It is a robust and flexible approach that prioritizes people and their relationships at the heart of the change process.

Appreciative Inquiry celebrates the humanness of individuals, including their imagination, emotional nature, diversity of experiences, and backgrounds.

Unlike some other methodologies, Appreciative Inquiry does not view the human aspects of people as problematic.

It is a people-centric approach to organizational change, based on psychological understanding of people and their interactions in groups.

The approach is grounded in social constructionism, which posits that our interactions and conversations create the social world we live in.

Appreciative Inquiry emphasizes the importance of who we talk to, what we talk about, and how we talk to each other in shaping organizational patterns.

Organizational change can be approached through the accessible state of people talking to each other and being in relationship.

The approach allows everyone to feel part of the change and have helped co-create the ideas for the change, which is highly motivating.

Appreciative Inquiry involves people from the beginning in discovering the best of what's going on and celebrating successes and achievements.

It helps create an image of what the future could be like in the context of change and people's place in it.

People develop attractive images for the future that pull them through the change, as opposed to being pushed through it.

The majority of change methodologies push people through change, while Appreciative Inquiry focuses on pulling them through.

Appreciative Inquiry is beneficial as it focuses on the people in the organization and allows everyone to feel included in the change process.

It is a powerful approach because it starts with things we understand, such as people, conversation, and relationship.

The methodology is accessible and can be used by everyone to be part of the change.

Appreciative Inquiry is a key difference in change methodologies due to its focus on pulling people through change rather than pushing them.