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Appreciative Inquiry “at Work”

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

If you have not already heard of Appreciative Inquiry, check out AI Commons and learn a bit about AI and it’s founder David Cooperrider.  I first became acquainted with AI from a colleague; that inspired me to attend the AI Conference in Orlando Florida in 2008.  Since then, I use the principles of AI regularly in the work I do with organizations.  This summer, I took extensive training with Jane Magruder Watkins and Maureen McKenna on using the theory of AI in practice.

Here’s a quick peek at the principles of AI:

  • organizations (and the humans within) grow in the direction of their most frequent inquiries; when we appreciate what is best about ourselves and each other, and ask questions about that, we get more of what’s best
  • we learn about and create more success by asking ‘what is the root cause of success?’  (as opposed to creating more failure by asking ‘what is the root cause of our failure?’
  • we get higher performance by focusing on our strengths, rather than ‘fixing’ our weaknesses (inquiring about weaknesses begets more weaknesses)
  • our inquiries are fateful…the questions we ask set the stage for what we find; instead of asking ‘what is stopping us from being successful?, we need to ask ‘what is contributing to our success?’
  • our perceptions determine reality (not the other way around)
  • we socially contruct our organizations (and families, and world); our interactions are the source for what is true for us; so AI requires that the entire system (organization, family) participate in the process
  • we create what we imagine…we will notice what we anticipate, positive or negative, so anticipating a positive image of ourselves, each other, and our organizations, helps us to create that reality
  • the phases of AI are Discovery (inquiring about what’s right, what our strengths are, what is occurring when we are at our best); Dream (imagining our organization as we desire it in the future); Design (identifying the elements that will construct the dream organization); and Destiny (realizing our destiny, as we have constructed it)

There is much evidence that what we think about affects our actions which in turn determine our reality.  Most of us would agree with this idea.  Now we have the practice of Appreciative Inquiry which provides us with a process that works!

 

 

 

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Positive Psychology in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Friday, July 17th, 2009

I recently returned from The First World Congress on Positive Psychology in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  In keeping with the P theme - one word encapsulates my experience there: Powerful!  What follows is a summary of a few of my key take-aways from the Congress.

Ed Diener spoke on ‘New Findings on Happiness’: there is a difference between wanting and liking…happiness is impacted most when we learn to WANT what we LIKE.  You might WANT the high-paying executive job, but not LIKE the work that comes with that job.  If you LIKE the outdoors, learn to WANT or desire finding work that helps you do what you LIKE.  He also shared some findings about the latest Positive Psychology research, like the study you might have read that said married people are happier.  Diener said the newest research is showing – not so much that married people are happier – but that happier people tend to be married!  Interesting…

Giovanni Fava, from Italy, spoke on ’Well-Being Therapy’: he shared a powerful example of how people can identify and modify dysfuctional beliefs (or thoughts) to positively affect their well-being.  For example, if you keep a journal of your internal dialogue throughout the day and you notice a thought like ‘I can’t do this’, you can immediately decide to change the thought to ‘I can do the best I can and see what happens’.  They key is to identify the dysfuctional thought and then consider a modification of that thought, and notice what happens in terms of how you feel.  One way to modify the internal dialogue is to write down what an ‘external observer’ might say about the situation that is causing you difficulty; record an alternative interpretation…then notice what might shift for you.

Michael Frese, from Germany, discussed positive psychology at work – his research confirms that people do best at work when they are active; being able to set goals and take personal initiative positively affect achievement at work.  There is a “clear and strong correlation between personal initiative (which engages and ignites positive emotion) and performance”. 

Raymond Fowler discussed positive health and positive aging in his session “how to die young as late as possible”.  He made a compelling argument to support the point that when you die is a matter of choice – or a series of choices (eating, exercising, all the stuff we all know).  Positive emotion is critical in a long life; happier people are healthier (fewer bad habits, better nutrition, take better care of themselves).  

Barbara Fredrickson discussed Positivity – the Pathway to Flourishing.  She shared her “positivity prescription” on 3 to 1 to reinforce that you need the levity of positivity to counterweight the gravity of negativity.  Fredrickson shared her ‘Broaden and Build’ theory of positive emotion; when you experience and express positive emotion, you live longer.  It’s not enough just to ‘be positive’, the positive emotion must be genuine and heartfelt.  To create a mindset of positivity. be:

  • open
  • appreciative
  • curious
  • kind
  • real (authentic)…sincerity counts!

Visit Fredrickson’s website for free resources.

David Cooperrider was a true highlight at the conference.  He completely captivated the audience with his hopeful message on ‘The Discovery and Design of Positive Institutions’.  Mr. Cooperrider, generous in nature, makes his slides from the conference available at aicommons@case.edu.  The message from Appreciative Inquiry is ‘change at the scale of the whole’.  Ai involves a shift to see the world anew.  Mr. Cooperrider shared with us a foundation of AI; that the question we ask determines what we find.  If we look for deficits (what’s wrong here?) we find more deficits; if we look for possibilities (what’s right here?) we find more possibility.  Most organizations look for what’s wrong and let strengths take care of themselves.  AI encourages us to focus on strengths and the weaknesses will take care of themselves.  The approach is 1) appreciate the best of what is, imagine what might be, design what could be and create what will be.  The key is in the inquiry…the inquiry must be the change we wish to see in the world (not the one we want to avoid or to eliminate).

The conference ended with some words from Chris Peterson that encouraged us to look in the mirror as we are the future, and Martin Seligman, renouned as the father of Positive Psychology, who introduced a new term, ‘Positive Neuroscience’.  I, for one, am looking forward to hearing more about that in the future.  What about you?

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Presume Innocence

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

Presume innocence.  What a nice mantra for life (if not for all, at least for many parts of life).  This has come up a number of times in my seminars and keynotes of late.  The idea is that when we decide to ‘presume innocence’ on the part of others, we are often more flexible, resilient, and effective in responding or dealing with the challenges in life. 

Let’s look at an example.  Your boss has promised to meet with you at 3:00 p.m. today.  It’s 3:25 p.m. and your boss is nowhere to be found.  You might be tempted to think ‘How inconsiderate!  Why doesn’t she value my time?’.  This thinking might cause you great anxiety and tension, so that when your boss does finally arrive to meet with you, you will be less effective in the meeting because you are distracted by your negative emotions.  Now imagine that you presume innocence on the part of your boss.  You might think ‘I am sure something critical came up for her.  She would have called me had she thought of it; perhaps I neglected to tell her how important this meeting is to me.  When she gets in, I’ll be sure to tell her.’  When your boss arrives, you will be feeling much more resourceful in your meeting with her, and you can reinforce with her what you’d like her to do the next time she is running late.

The idea is, presuming innocence reminds you that generally speaking, and for the most part, the other person is not trying to negatively impact your day.  That person does not have the intention to mistreat you, and if that is the effect of their behaviour, they don’t know it (and you have to let them know). 

I remind myself constantly to presume innocence.  I find that the gift of this presumption is to myself; I am better able to communicate what I need from people and I have access to the more positive emotions I need to help me to be more effective overall.

Tell me about a time you presumed innocence.  What was the situation?  How did it work for you?

Posted in Change, Resilience | 2 Comments »

GROW Your Groove!

Monday, June 30th, 2008

Are you in a ‘rut’?  Do you find yourself doing the same thing over and over…and wondering why your results are the same?  Do you sometimes feel like you are getting in your own way?  Are you ready to move into a new groove?

 

Well, even if you weren’t born in the 70’s, a ‘new groove’ might be just the thing you need to help you GROW this year!

 

Your personal patterns and programs are deeply ingrained within you.  They are so ingrained that many of them have become deep, unproductive ruts, and you find yourself thinking, feeling, and behaving in the same way…over and over!  The patterns have become automatic, and you feel like you are not consciously deciding to think the thoughts you are thinking or consciously deciding to do the things you are doing; the thoughts and actions seem to just happen all by themselves.

 

Well, there’s good new!  Just as your present patterns and programs were once learned, you can learn new patterns and programs too!  Why not take the opportunity to move out of your unproductive ruts, and move into a new groove?

 

Okay, this is where the work comes in.  Yes, there has to be a little work – but the rewards are well worth the investment!

 

To GROW Your Groove, you need to:

1)      Get a Grip;

2)      Refocus and Rephrase;

3)      Opt for Ownership; and

4)      Wait and Watch!

 

Get a Grip:

Begin by attending to those patterns that are getting in your way, that are limiting you.  Perhaps your regular department meetings have become a dreaded event for you.  You find the meetings long and boring, and you feel resentful and impatient about having to spend valuable work time in a seemingly ‘counter-productive’ way.    You find that you have no energy in the meeting and you can’t wait for the meeting to be over.  You believe it is a waste of time.  After each meeting, you feel exhausted and frustrated!

 

Refocus and Rephrase:

Next, decide what you WANT, and focus on that rather than focusing on what you don’t want.  Rephrase your internal dialogue.  You might, for example, replace the ‘I hate these meetings.  They are long and boring.’ message with the ‘I want to take what I can out of this meeting, and I want to be energized and happy when I get back to my desk’ message. 

 

Opt for Ownership:

Follow your refocus with deciding to ‘own’ the experience.  You know there is only one thing you control in this world (yup, that’d be ‘you’!)  You know that you are the one who can create the experience you WANT (and, you are the only one who can move away from the experience you don’t want).  So, decide what you can DO so that you take what you can out of the meeting, and so that you can stay energized and happy. 

 

For example, you might decide that you can:

Ø      read over the agenda and prepare for the meeting ahead of time

Ø      confirm the start and end time for the meeting

Ø      reinforce with the chair that you look forward to an efficient and productive meeting

Ø      check out who else will be there and decide to connect with someone new

Ø      visualize:

ü      the meeting running smoothly and efficiently (how are you behaving?; how are others behaving?)

ü      yourself as an energized and happy meeting attendee

ü      leaving the meeting looking energized and happy as you head back to your desk

Ø      send your input ahead of time to the meeting chair

Ø      arrive early and chat with someone you haven’t seen in awhile (who happens to be positive!)

Ø      focus on the meeting when it starts and contribute fully where appropriate

Ø      offer to be timekeeper to keep the meeting on track

Ø      offer positive comments to others who are in the meeting and adding their input

Ø      drink lots of water (or another great, energizing beverage)

 

Wait and Watch:

Finally, wait and watch, as your energy and perspective begin to shift.  Notice how differently you feel, and how differently the meeting seems to you.  Pay attention to others around you.  As your experience begins to change, what is happening to them?  As you think differently, you begin to feel differently, and you begin to behave differently.  Savor and enjoy the shift!

 

You do not have to be a victim to the personal programs (ruts) that keep you stuck in unproductive thoughts, feelings and behaviours.  You can choose to create new patterns for success.  You can move into a new groove!  So, remember to GROW Your Groove, and:

Get a Grip!

Refocus and Rephrase

Opt for Ownership

Wait and Watch

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What’s Old is New Again

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

Leg warmers.  I remember them from the first time they were in fashion in the early 80’s, and just last week, a young woman wore them to my workshop.  It reminded me of the importance of remembering that what is old, is new again.  With these times of continuous change, you might find yourself continually thinking about doing things in a new way, in a different way.  Don’t forget about the things you used to do, and why they worked when they worked!

For example, I was hired by a client to deliver their training program, already designed by them.  Even the ‘introductions’ exercise was designed.  When I read the description, I thought to myself ‘that is SO 80’s!’  The introductions exercise was the one where participants pair up, interview each other and then introduce each other.  We used to do that regularly in the 80’s and I was sure that people might judge the course as a whole as being out of date, since this exercise was a relic from an earlier time.  I ended up being surprised and very pleased with the results.  The introductions were long and very complimentary ‘I am honoured to introduce you to Jane, a talented accouting manager….’, and of course, we learned a lot more about each person than we would have had they introduced themselves.  There was something else that happened that day.  The exercise was a huge reminder of the importance of taking time to connect interpersonally, to really listen to another person.  In today’s workplace this is a very rare occurrence.  We are stressed, time crunched, and communicate via email.  As a group, we talked about how this ’old’ way of communicating (actually getting up and connecting face to face) is new again…and, in fact, contributes to our personal effectiveness (our results are better, and our relationships are more functional).  The organization also benefits – even though communication takes longer, the results last longer.  The communicators are healthier too, benefiting from the clarity that comes form an acutal dialogue with another person.   

So, the next time you are looking to increase your effectiveness and you are seeking some innovative, new way to do that….remember what you used to do…remember that what is old can be new again…remember that sometimes your new groove is your old groove revisited. 

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