Appreciative Inquiry: The 5D process in Action Team Building

Summary

The team underwent significant changes, including a new manager, leading to a period of uncertainty. To refocus, they adopted the appreciative inquiry method, following the 5D process. This involved defining their goals, discovering team strengths, dreaming of future success, designing a shared vision, and planning actions to realize their dreams. The process included enhancing communication, engaging with stakeholders, and celebrating achievements, resulting in a more cohesive team with a clear vision and direction.

Takeaways

• 🔄 **Team Transformation**: The team underwent significant changes with new members and a new manager, leading to a period of adjustment and a desire to refocus.
• 🌟 **Appreciative Inquiry**: The manager suggested using appreciative inquiry through a 5D process involving meetings and discussions to build the team.
• 🎯 **Defining Goals**: The team aimed to engage well with each other, ensure their organization's work was recognized, and connect effectively with their community of stakeholders.
• 🤝 **Community Engagement**: As community workers, the team valued their relationships with the community and sought to represent their organization positively.
• 🧐 **Discovery Through Dialogue**: Team members paired up to discuss past successes, identifying strengths and contributions that led to effective teamwork.
• 🏆 **Recognizing Achievements**: The team took pride in their past work, particularly in community projects and a successful regional forum, which reflected positively on the organization.
• 💭 **Dreaming Phase**: During the dreaming phase, the team envisioned a future where they partnered effectively, had strong community relationships, and their organization was seen as a leader.
• 📈 **Designing the Future**: The team combined their discoveries with their dreams to create a shared vision focused on high-level engagement and communication.
• 💡 **Identifying Strengths**: They recognized the need to understand the strengths, passions, and skills of team members to leverage them for team success.
• 📚 **Training and Development**: The team realized the importance of training in engagement techniques and being more open with their community stakeholders.
• 📊 **Action Planning**: They developed a plan with immediate and long-term actions, ensuring everyone was responsible for delivering on the plan and celebrating successes.

Q & A

What major changes did the team experience?

The team experienced significant changes including some members leaving and the appointment of a new manager, which led to a sense of being lost and a need to refocus.

What was the manager's suggestion to refocus the team?

The manager suggested using appreciative inquiry to rebuild the team through a series of meetings and discussions following the 5D process.

What was the team's aim during the definition phase?

The team aimed to engage well with each other, ensure their organization knew their value and importance, and connect with their community of stakeholders.

How did the team members reflect on past effective moments during their pair discussions?

Team members reflected on times when they felt the team was effective, accomplished great things, and when they felt fulfilled, discussing what made the team good and their personal contributions to success.

What did the team discover about themselves and their strengths?

The team discovered they had many unnoticeable strengths, were respected by the community, and were proud of their collaborative achievements, including hosting a successful regional forum.

How did the team envision their future during the dreaming phase?

The team envisioned a future where they partnered with each other on projects, had the best relationship with their community, and their organization's reputation had grown as a go-to entity for getting things done.

What key elements did the team identify as central to their success?

The team identified communication and engagement as central to their success, both with their community stakeholders and within their organization.

What strategies did the team develop to achieve their vision?

The team planned to discover and utilize the strengths, passions, skills, and interests of team members, undergo training in engagement techniques, be more open with stakeholders, increase time spent in listening conversations, report more frequently to senior management, and celebrate successes.

How did the team plan and execute their actions?

The team listed immediate to long-term steps needed to achieve their vision, designed a co-creation plan where all ideas were accepted, and reviewed the plan at every team meeting, with everyone being responsible for delivering on the actions.

What was the role of the manager in the team's progress?

The manager championed the team's efforts up the management chain, reminded them to communicate if he was an obstacle, and supported their plans and actions.

What early signs of success did the team experience?

Early signs of success included the team working closer together, planning training on engagement, increased excitement about achieving their dream, and some initial accomplishments.