Appreciative Inquiry: The 5D Format
Summary
TLDRThe 5D model of Appreciative Inquiry is a widely used and user-friendly approach for organizational development. It focuses on identifying and enhancing the 'positive core' of a team or organization, which includes knowledge, successes, and strengths. The process consists of five stages: Definition, Discovery, Dream, Design, and Delivery (or Destiny), each designed to build on the positive aspects and foster creative thinking. This model not only aims to inspire and motivate but also encourages continuous review and adaptation, making it a flexible roadmap for positive change.
Takeaways
- 🌟 The 5D format is a widely used structure for appreciative inquiry, aiming to identify and build on the positive core of an organization or team.
- 🔍 The positive core encompasses knowledge, best practices, successes, strengths, and aspects of history, present, and future that instill pride and motivation.
- 💡 The 5D process enhances understanding and trust among participants by focusing on positivity and fostering creative thinking.
- 📋 The process consists of five stages: Definition, Discovery, Dream, Design, and Delivery (or Destiny), each priming participants for the next.
- 🎯 During the Definition stage, an affirmative topic is set, which guides the appreciative inquiry and initial planning.
- 🔎 The Discovery stage involves exploring people's best experiences related to the topic and identifying values and factors behind exceptional performance.
- 🌈 In the Dream stage, participants create a vision of the ideal future without constraints, aiming for a metaphorical and inspiring image.
- 🛠️ The Design stage is about generating options to realize the dream, potentially redesigning structures and processes within the organization.
- 🚀 The Delivery stage commits to action from the Design stage, implementing changes and learning from the experience of execution.
- 🔄 The 5D cycle is not linear; it's a roadmap that can be revisited at any point to refine topics, discover more of what's working, or adjust the dream vision.
Q & A
What is the 5D format in appreciative inquiry?
-The 5D format is a widely used structure for appreciative inquiry processes, which aims to discover, build on, and refine the positive core of an organization or team. It consists of five stages: Definition, Discovery, Dream, Design, and Delivery (or Destiny).
What is the overall aim of the 5D cycle?
-The overall aim of the 5D cycle is to identify and strengthen the positive aspects within an organization or team, such as knowledge, best practices, successes, and strengths. It also aims to foster a sense of pride and motivation among members, as well as to enhance understanding and trust between them.
How does the 5D process help in building trust and creative thinking?
-The 5D process is designed to keep participants focused on the positive aspects, which liberates their creative thinking. Each stage psychologically primes participants to be open and ready for the next, thus fostering an environment of trust and collaboration.
What is the purpose of the Definition stage in the 5D cycle?
-The Definition stage sets the direction for the appreciative inquiry by identifying an affirmative topic or area to be inquired into. It involves planning the process, forming a steering group, and defining questions for the initial appreciative interviews.
What are some key elements discovered in the Discovery stage?
-In the Discovery stage, participants share their best experiences related to the topic, discussing times when they felt engaged, achieved great results, and felt a sense of pride. The stage aims to uncover values and factors that contributed to these exceptional performances.
How does the Dream stage encourage creative thinking?
-The Dream stage encourages creative thinking by asking participants to envision the organization's ideal future without constraints of feasibility or existing problems. It promotes metaphorical thinking and artistic representation to define a positive image of the future.
What is the focus of the Design stage?
-The Design stage involves developing options and strategies to bring the envisioned dream or parts of it into reality. It includes redesigning structures, processes, and information flows within the organization to support the vision and generating ideas for actions that move towards the dream.
What actions are taken in the Delivery or Destiny stage?
-In the Delivery or Destiny stage, selected actions from the Design stage are committed to, with the goal of realizing the dream. This could involve formal action planning or immediate small changes, and it focuses on implementing and learning from the experience of these changes.
How is the 5D cycle used for reviewing progress?
-The 5D cycle can be used to review progress by revisiting the stages of Discovery, Dream, Design, and Delivery to identify what worked and what didn't, update the dream with new learnings, design solutions for emerging problems, and deliver improvements.
What is the significance of the appreciative interview format?
-The appreciative interview format is a key method used in the Discovery stage to uncover valuable information about people's best experiences and the factors that contributed to their success. It helps to identify the positive core elements of the organization.
Why might an organization return to an earlier stage in the 5D cycle?
-An organization might return to an earlier stage in the 5D cycle to refine the affirmative topic based on new information, or to identify areas where the dream vision is already partially happening. This non-linear approach allows for continuous improvement and adaptation.
Outlines
🌟 Introduction to the 5D Appreciative Inquiry Process
The first paragraph introduces the 5D format as the most widely used and user-friendly approach for structuring an appreciative inquiry process. The 5D cycle aims to discover, build on, and refine the positive core of an organization or team, which includes its knowledge, best practices, successes, strengths, and aspects of its history, present, and future that inspire pride and motivation. The process strengthens understanding and trust among people and is designed to keep participants focused on the positive, liberating their creative thinking. The 5D format can be applied to various scales of inquiry, from organization-wide projects to brief coaching sessions, and includes stages of definition, discovery, dream, design, and delivery/destiny. The paragraph also mentions the 4D version and other models like the MOD Jacobs Guard 4 Eyes model, but emphasizes the 5D/4D model as the most commonly used.
🛠️ The 5D Stages: Definition, Discovery, Dream, Design, Delivery
The second paragraph delves into each stage of the 5D process. The definition stage involves setting an affirmative topic for inquiry and planning the process. The discovery stage focuses on uncovering people's best experiences related to the topic through appreciative interviews. The dream stage involves co-creating a vision of the organization's ideal future without limitations, aiming for a high-level, metaphorical vision. The design stage is about developing options to bring the dream vision into reality, which may include redesigning structures, processes, and information flows. The delivery or destiny stage involves committing to and implementing selected actions to make the dream happen and learning from the experience. The paragraph also highlights the iterative nature of the 5D cycle, which can be used to review progress, refine the affirmative topic, and update the dream vision based on new learnings.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Appreciative Inquiry
💡5D Cycle
💡Positive Core
💡Definition Stage
💡Discovery Stage
💡Dream Stage
💡Design Stage
💡Delivery or Destiny Stage
💡Participation
💡Creative Thinking
💡Organizational Development
Highlights
The 5D format is the most widely used structure for appreciative inquiry processes.
The 5D cycle aims to discover, build on, and refine the positive core of an organization or team.
The positive core encompasses knowledge, best practices, successes, strengths, and aspects that make people proud and motivated.
The 5D process strengthens understanding and trust between people.
The 5D format is user-friendly and can be completed in as little as half a day.
The structure is designed to keep participants focused on the positive and liberate their creative thinking.
The 5D model can be applied to organization-wide projects or brief one-to-one coaching sessions.
The 4D version of the model omits the definition stage.
The Mod Jacobs Guard 4 Eyes model is another example of an appreciative inquiry model.
In the definition stage, an affirmative topic for the appreciative inquiry is determined.
The discovery stage involves inquiring into people's best experiences related to the topic.
The dream stage is about co-creating a vision of the organization's ideal future without limitations.
The design stage develops options for bringing the dream vision into reality.
The delivery or destiny stage commits to taking actions to make the dream happen.
The 5D cycle can be used to review progress by discovering what worked and what didn't, and updating the dream with new learnings.
The 5D cycle is not linear and serves as a roadmap or guide, allowing for revisiting and refining previous stages.
Transcripts
[Music]
let's take a look at the most widely
used format for structuring an
appreciative inquiry process
the 5d format it's not the only format
available
but it is the default one for
appreciative inquiry
and it certainly is user friendly as any
other format
so it's the one i normally use
the overall aim of the 5d cycle like any
appreciative inquiry process
is to discover build on and refine the
positive core
of the organization or team by the
positive core we mean
its knowledge best practices successes
and strengths
as well as the aspects of its history
present experience
and imagined future which make people
proud to feel part of it
and motivated to work there
at the same time going through the 5d
process
strengthens understanding and trust
between people
a 5d process bringing together everyone
involved in the change in one room
can be completed in as little as half a
day
the format is carefully designed to keep
participants focused on the positive
and to liberate their creative thinking
each stage in the process
psychologically primes participants to
be
open to and ready for the next stage
the structure is the same whether the
inquiry is an organization-wide project
that takes years or a brief
one-to-one coaching session the aim is
always to
discover strengthen and build on the
best of the organization
the elements that give life to it that
people are proud of that motivate them
and which give rise to exceptional
performance
these elements are often referred to as
the positive core
of the organization you may also
encounter a 4d version of the model
which leaves out the definition stage
in some books on appreciative inquiry
you'll see the delivery stage referred
to
as the destiny stage although i believe
in most organizational settings people
will find it easier to relate to
delivery as a term relevant to business
there are other models for example the
mod jacobs guard
4 eyes model but the 5d or 4d model
is the most widely used
the definition stage first we define
an affirmative topic or topics for the
appreciative inquiry
this determines the area to be inquired
into
and sets a direction for what is to be
achieved
how do we achieve the desired outcome
is a practical format for stating the
affirmative topic
this would also be the stage where you
plan your appreciative inquiry process
get your steering group together define
the questions for the first appreciative
interviews
and so on the discovery stage
in this stage we inquire into people's
best experiences in relation to the
topic
times when people felt alive engaged and
worthwhile
and when they produce great results and
achievements to be proud of
we can also ask what's important to
people
about these experiences to discover the
values that motivate them
and the factors that made these examples
of exceptional performance possible
the appreciative interview format is the
method most often used to uncover
this information the dream
stage next the people involved in the
inquiry
ideally in a large scale project
everyone in the organization
plus representatives of outside
stakeholders
co-create a vision of the organization's
ideal future
without limiting themselves at this
stage with concerns about whether it's
possible or how to get there
the aim is to define a positive image of
the future
so that the organization is inspired to
grow towards it
and to open new possibilities for action
that are not constrained by assumptions
that may have led to existing problems
we're going for a high level vision of
the desired future
metaphorical rather than prematurely
going into concrete details
so that it's easier for participants to
agree
the key question is not what will the
future be
but what will it be like
to encourage creative and metaphorical
thinking at this stage
so we can break free of the previous
patterns of thinking that led to current
problems
we ask participants to create some kind
of artistic representation
of the desired future the design
stage we can now develop options for
bringing the dream vision or at least
parts of it
into reality this may involve
redesigning structures processes
and information flows within the
organization
so that it becomes capable of supporting
the vision
at a team or individual level it's also
about generating ideas for possible
actions that can take us closer to the
dream
we're not committing to any of the ideas
at this stage
so we can be as wild and creative as we
want
the delivery or destiny stage
we commit to taking the actions we've
selected from the design stage
in order to make the dream happen
depending on the scale of the project
this could involve
formal action planning or just making
some small changes immediately
this stage is also about actually
implementing the chosen changes
and learning from the experience of
implementation
reviewing previous performance we can
also use the
discover dream design deliver parts of
the 5d cycle
to review progress we can discover
what worked and what didn't update our
dream with our new learnings
design ways of dealing with whatever
problems showed up
and deliver those improvements
finally the 5d cycle isn't a linear
process where you can
only go one way it's more like a road
map or guide
that shows you where you are at any
point in the process
for example once you've discovered the
best of what's currently working
you might want to go back to definition
to refine your affirmative topic
in the light of new information or
when you've created your dream vision of
the desired future
you could go back to discover where
parts of that dream
are already happening even if they're
only happening
partially or occasionally
you
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)