appreciative inquiry

Thinking Out Loud: Recognize the Good Things Happening in Your Life

by

Learning to Appreciate. A look at appreciative inquiry. Excerpts are taken from, Appreciative Inquiry Handbook (2003) by David Cooperrider, Diana Whitney, and Jacqueline Stravros.

“Appreciative inquiry begins with three fundamental questions. One, can you describe a high point experience in your organization, a time when you were most alive and engaged. Two, without being modest what is it that you most valuable yourself your work and your organization? Three, what are the core factors that give life to your organization without which the organization would cease to exist?” P. 23

Note: We can apply these questions to our daily lives  They take our attention away from the dark spot on the wall and allow us to focus on the good that exists. Have you, for example, let a single negative comment from a family member, friend, or colleague ruin your day? I think it’s happened everyone. I know it’s happened to me. While we give that one comment an inordinate amount of power there are many other god things happening simultaneously. When appreciative inquiry asks us to describe high point experiences when we felt most alive and engaged that not only happens at work, but it happens in our daily lives outside of work. And it happens every day. Tonight, when you’re sitting at dinner, why not ask each other to describe a high point experience that happened during the day when each of you felt totally engaged. I think that happens to each of us every single day. I’m writing this on Sunday morning after I returned home from mass. On the way into the church, I met a friend, and we had a most wonderful conversation. I left the conversation feeling uplifted. That was a high point experience. When we begin to think of our lives this way, our lives take on a new hue of optimism, hope, and affirmation.

Thinking Out Loud: How Healthy is Your Relationship?

by

Learning to Appreciate. A look at appreciative inquiry. Excerpts are taken from, Appreciative Inquiry Handbook (2003) by David Cooperrider, Diana Whitney, and Jacqueline Stravros.

“Three factors that give life to healthy organizations are continuity, novelty, and transition. Research has established that visionary organizations and their leadership have the capacity to learn and apply lessons from the best of the past (continuity), to surface and develop ideas for creative acts (novelty), and to enact actual changes in systems and behaviors to progress toward a desired state (transition).” P. 21

Note: I think these three factors, continuity novelty, and transition give life to healthy relationships as well. In healthy relationships the partners are always learning and applying the lessons they learned to their current context. They never stop trying to grow. Great relationships are never static, they are always in growth mode. They apply novelty to their lives in the sense that they look for creative ways to express their love for each other and to find ways in which they can enjoy each other’s company. And they’re always cognizant of life’s transitions. They have desired goals. Their goals are organic and constantly evolving. How is your relationship? Do you have the three factors that make a relationship healthy and alive? It’s never too late to start.

Thinking Out Loud: What Is Your Image of Your Future?

by

Learning to Appreciate. A look at appreciative inquiry. Excerpts are taken from, Appreciative Inquiry Handbook (2003) by David Cooperrider, Diana Whitney, and Jacqueline Stravros.

“Organizations are heliotropic in character in the sense that organizational actions have an observable and largely automatic tendency to move in the direction of images of the future.” P. 18

Note: The authors are speaking of organizations. I believe what they are saying can be applied to human beings. I lived in a high rise apartment building in Columbus, Ohio. The population comprised of people from all age demographics. The young people were mostly Ohio State University students. Their image of the future was one of hope and dreams of what they could do with the rest of their life. They were filled with energy. Many of the older people had an image of life that it was over. A friend I knew, I’ll call him Bob was sitting in a chair in the lobby. He hadn’t shaved and looked depressed. I walked over to him and asked him how he was doing. I could tell from our conversation that he had given up. It was apparent in the way he was taking care of himself. Three weeks later Bob was carried out on a stretcher and taken to a mortuary. His image of the future was death; it contrasted with the image of life held by the college-aged students. What image do you want to have for your life one of life or one of death. Appreciative inquiry proposes that holding positive images of the future shape the actions we take to make that image real.

Thinking Out Loud: It’s Time to Look on the Bright Side

by

Learning to Appreciate. A look at appreciative inquiry. Excerpts are taken from, Appreciative Inquiry Handbook (2003) by David Cooperrider, Diana Whitney, and Jacqueline Stravros.

Powerful placebo: the placebo effect is a fascinating process in which projected images, as reflected in positive belief, ignite a healing response that can be as powerful as conventional therapy. . . . The placebo effect is accepted by most medical professions as genuine between 1/3 and 2/3 of all patients show marked physiological and emotional improvement in symptoms simply by believing they are given an effective treatment even when that treatment is just the sugar pill are some inert substance. p. 10.

Note: I have always been a big believer on looking on the bright side. It’s the title of my blog. I’ve found, in my experience, that believing that something was possible was significantly more helpful than believing the opposite. When we believe that something is possible and commit ourselves to working toward that possibility our mind shuts the doors to negative thinking and begins to work overtime to create a road map for that possibility. Last year, I had both hips replaced within 90 days. I was told by many people that my surgeon was the best in the city. I bought into that. I did everything I needed to do pre operation and post operation. Within three days after each operation, I was walking without a cane. Was the placebo effect at work in my belief in the surgeon? I think it all worked together. Why let your mind walk down a road that provides no benefit. This appreciative inquiry principle tells us that all things are possible within our relationships at work or at home when we choose to believe in possibilities and commit ourselves to that belief.

Thinking Out Loud: Where Do You Want to Go with Your Life?

by

Learning to Appreciate. A look at appreciative inquiry. Excerpts are taken from, Appreciative Inquiry Handbook (2003) by David Cooperrider, Diana Whitney, and Jacqueline Stravros.

The appreciative inquiry principle of simultaneity recognizes that inquiry and change are not truly separate moments they can and should be simultaneous inquiry is intervention the seeds of change are in the things people think and talk about, the things people discover and learn, and the things that inform dialogue and inspire images of the future they are implicit in the very first question asked. p. 8.

Note: “Where should we go out for dinner?” This simple question changes your life. It demonstrates how inquiry, the question about going out for dinner, and change occur simultaneously. Change occurs since you perhaps planned to kick off your shoes, enjoy a glass of wine, and when you feel right, hope there are leftovers in the fridge for two. By going to the restaurant life is changed. It’s changed by the way you travel, the people you’ll see, and the conversation you’ll have. The questions we ask have the power to determine our destination. Where do you want to go with your life? Are the questions you’re asking the right questions to get your there?

Thinking Out Loud: There’s Something Good in Your Relationship

by

Learning to Appreciate. A look at appreciative inquiry. Excerpts are taken from, Appreciative Inquiry Handbook (2003) by David Cooperrider, Diana Whitney, and Jacqueline Stravros.

Appreciative inquiry is driven by two basic questions:

1.  What in this particular setting and context gives life to this system (think of a system such as your family, work group, team, anyplace where a group of people gather in a common purpose)  when it is most alive, healthy, and symbolically related to its various communities?

2. What are the possibilities expressed and latent that provide opportunities for more effective forms of organizing. 4

Note: think about your current family setting or relationship setting and let’s put appreciative inquiry to work. Imagine you and your partner or significant other go out to Starbucks to have a coffee and conversation about your relationship. You sit down and talk about your relationship. Instead of talking about what’s wrong with your relationship you change the direction of the conversation. Together you brainstorm what gives life to your relationship when it is most alive, healthy, and expresses the kind of values the both of you share. To discover the moments in your relationship that are most alive and healthy think of specific experiences you shared where your relationship was most alive and healthy. What was it about these experiences that made it special? You’ll quickly discover that you have a history of experiences where you experienced joy, overcoming challenges, and supporting each other.

Thinking Out Loud: It’s Time to Practice the Art of Possibilities

by

Learning to Appreciate. A look at appreciative inquiry. Excerpts are taken from, Appreciative Inquiry Handbook (2003) by David Cooperrider, Diana Whitney, and Jacqueline Stravros.

Appreciative inquiry is inquiry into the art of the possible.  p. 4

Note: Let’s stop thinking about how impossible something may be. When we begin to change our viewpoint and believe that everything is possible, suddenly, the impossible becomes possible. Illusionary fears stop us from considering possibilities. Our illusionary fears want us to play it safe. There is no safe place. There are no guarantees. When we combine our thinking of what is possible with others who are thinking the same way we create a generative atmosphere where new ideas and new thoughts arise. Don’t listen to the naysayers. Don’t listen to the fear mongers. Listen to a heart that tells you, yes, it is possible; go for it.

Thinking Out Loud: Looking for the Best – Brings Out the Best

by

Learning to Appreciate. A look at appreciative inquiry. Excerpts are taken from, Appreciative Inquiry Handbook (2003) by David Cooperrider, Diana Whitney, and Jacqueline Stravros.

Appreciative inquiry is the cooperative search for the best in people, their organizations, and the world around them. . . . Appreciative inquiry is based on the simple assumption that every organization has something that works well, and these strengths can be the starting point for creating positive change.  p. 3

Note: When we look for the best in ourselves and other people the dynamic changes. I was working with a group in a rural community. There were two members of the group who had not spoken to each other in years. I asked the group to share an experience where something meaningful and positive happened in their lives. The group began to share. When it came to a woman, part of the non-speaking couple, she took a deep breath and said (I paraphrase), “When the tornado came through and destroyed my house he (she named and pointed to the person with whom she had the problem) came to my house with a van filled with his science class students and they helped me pick through the rubble of my home. They found a metal box that held photos of my parents and other mementos. It was all that was left. The man got up from his seat and walked around the table to her. She was crying. She stood up, they embraced, and their problems disappeared. That’s what happens when we search for the best in ourselves, others, and our organizations.

Thinking Out Loud:

by

Learning to Appreciate. A look at appreciative inquiry. Excerpts are taken from, Appreciative Inquiry Handbook (2003) by David Cooperrider, Diana Whitney, and Jacqueline Stravros.

Appreciate (v.) To value.; To recognize the best in people of the world around us.; affirm past and present strengths, successes, and potentials, to perceive those things that give life, Health., vitality, excellence. Inquire: To explore and discover. To ask questions. To be open to seeing new potential and possibilities. p.1

Note: How often do we appreciate others or ourselves? How often do we reflect on our journey and affirm the strength we had to overcome difficult times and challenges? We are culturally trained to be critical, to find fault with others and ourselves. When we choose to change our focus and inquire by asking different questions we discover different answers. Try asking questions that draw out data describing the best in those around you. It’s something to think about. In future posts I’ll describe the kinds of questions you can ask. Today, look at the people near you with an openness to seeing positive attributes they have that may be hidden or overlooked and let them know you appreciate them.

Thinking Out Loud: It’s Time for a New Way of Thinking

by

When I was in academia my research was in the field of appreciative inquiry. Appreciative inquiry often shortened to AI has nothing to do with artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, Bard, or other artificial intelligence applications. It has everything to do with human intelligence and the inherent belief that human beings can construct the type of world in which they choose to live. It provides real hope to people who feel as if they’ve hit the bottom and the only option to give up. If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, there’s barely a week that goes by where I fail to mention the words never give up or never quit. I must have had the appreciative inquiry gene in my DNA when I discovered it’s existence. It made all the difference for me, the students enrolled in my appreciative inquiry classes, my doctoral students, and the organizations and communities where we applied appreciative inquiry. I will share and reflect on appreciative inquiry over the next week with the hope that you will discover the best of what is in your world and use it to stimulate your imagination to make it even better.

Verified by MonsterInsights