Download the full article.

Alexandra Arnold

Alexandra Arnold (she/her) Arnold MSPsy, MSHR/OD, ACC, is a personal development and climate coach with a certificate in Positive Organization Development from Champlain College, USA. She is the host of The Quiet Activists online community, where she uses positive psychology and Appreciative Inquiry to help introverted and highly sensitive people shift from climate anxiety to inspired action. She is the Program Director at The Taos Institute and recently joined Community Harvest of Central Vermont, a gleaning program reducing food waste and providing neighbors in need with fresh & nutritious food.

Contact: almacoachingusa@gmail.co

www.almacoaching.org

Appreciative I(nquiry)mprov

About two months ago, I received an email from a graduate student of the Penn State World Campus Master’s in Organization Development and Change. One of the required courses in this program is Appreciative Inquiry (AI), which “provides a foundation in the theories, principles, and techniques of Appreciative Inquiry”. One of the assignments for this course is to complete an interview with an AI practitioner to consider such questions as: 

• What is a peak experience in your AI practice? 
• What strengths and skills underpin your effectiveness as an AI practitioner? 
• What strikes you about the idea of “being versus doing AI”? 

Little did we (my interviewer Jason Hoskins and I) know that our conversation about Appreciative Inquiry would become a conversation about Appreciative Improv.

Like so many conversations among those who practice or learn about AI, the energy was immediate and palpable. We quickly discovered that we were speaking the same language – except I had learned it in the AI context, while Jason learned it in the improv context. Jason shared that when he learned about AI in his Master’s program, he thought it was “a breath of fresh air… and very similar to my experiences in doing improv comedy”.

He pointed out that we were improvising right then and there during our interview:

He acknowledged me as the interviewee & I acknowledged him as the interviewer – referred to as the “initiation” in an improv act

We were following the number one rule of improv which is “yes, and”: one person talks, the other acknowledges what his/her partner offers and builds upon that, all in a very positive way

Our conversation took a turn into the intersection between Appreciative Inquiry and Improvisational Comedy. 

What is improv?

The Covert Theatre website says: “Improv is an art form where the performers make up the theater, usually comedy, on the spot […] It is the wonderful vehicle for leadership development, whether it’s self-leadership or leadership of others, as it imparts crucial life skills that every person needs.”

Making room for fun

In my opinion, using AI is like getting permission to do things differently, to play, to have fun. It is particularly encouraging because there is over 20 years of research that shows how it works to reassure those who are hesitant to move away from traditional management styles. 

Jason was very gracious when I responded to his first question with one of my own: How can we approach this differently and still get to where we need to go? 

I explained that the reason I was suggesting this was to invite us both to jump right into “being AI” instead of going through the interview in the linear way the assignment was designed. My interviewer was immediately on board with this more playful, creative, and challenging approach: “I like it to be more of a give and take rather than just a straight interview”.

Whether we were doing comedy is debatable, but there was plenty of joy and laughter in our conversation. According to comedian Tina Fey (known for her work on Saturday Night Live), in an appearance in Alan Alda’s Clear+Vivid podcast called The Transformative Power of Improv, improv is not about being funny, it’s about relating.

If you’re still not sure you’re up for playing in this way, check out performer and corporate facilitator Gary Ware’s Ted Talk on how play saved his life. His mission: “to infuse improv with positive psychology so that his students leave with a renewed sense of life.”

A connective tissue

It was hard to answer Jason’s question about a peak experience using AI because what is most memorable to me is how I learned to pay attention to the words I use and the questions I ask, and to notice the different outcomes. 

From the beginning of his class, Jason also had the feeling that AI is not something that you do, but that it’s a way of life, a “connective tissue” between the many roles we play in life. Just like improv, AI offers a new perspective on your whole world. Both help you get through the tough times in life. 

His work with Human Resources, implementing HCM systems, is data-driven and linear. Improv concepts have seeped through his way of being with clients: he helps them shift from resistance to being more comfortable and engaged with the changes.

Powerful and immediate

Discussing the power of words, Jason shared that he has a sticky note on his desk that reads “try not to lose patience” to help him soften emails when needed. This was a great opportunity for a positive reframe – dropping what he doesn’t want, stating what he does want and embodying it by using the present tense. Sure enough, he now has a new post-it that reads “I have an abundance of patience” and a new, inspiring ideal vision of himself as he deals with annoying emails. In his words, the shift was “powerful and immediate”. 

The point of improv is that nothing is prepared or rehearsed, and the effect is instantaneous. Your partner responds to your offer without missing a beat and in a good performance, the audience responds right away, typically with laughter, a powerful tool for life.

Jason is inspired by his three-year-old daughter: she doesn’t judge, she is not on a schedule, she isn’t trying to get something done, yet she does get a lot of things done, she learns, and she’s happy. 

In AI, just like in improv, we are inspired by children’s curiosity, creativity, playfulness, and ability to be in the moment. Both remind us that adults can play too!

A multiplicity of voices 

In AI, co-creation comes from including as many voices as possible in the conversation and from giving the same weight to every person regardless of their titles. 

On stage, when a suggestion (or prompt) comes at the start of an improv act, it is assumed that whatever character is going to appear is going to have the full respect from his/her partner. There is no power differential, only pure teamwork. 

A misconception about performing is that it is reserved for confident, outgoing and extroverted folks. In fact, it is the opposite. Many actors, including Tina Fey, are introverts. Many find a certain freedom on stage, it’s a way to find their voice. Improv is particularly appealing (compared to stand-up comedy for example), because you are engaged in an intense one-on-one dialogue with your partner, and at that moment, everything else disappears, even the audience. Don’t take my word for it: in an appearance on Paul Vaillancourt’s Improv Tip YouTube channel, Ali Reza Farahnakian, founder of The Pit (New York City), says “take the cotton balls out of your ears and put them in your mouth”.

To be able to respond to your partner on stage, you have no choice but to listen intently. You have to pay attention and forget everything else but the present moment. Deep listening is not a practice unique to AI, yet when we become more intentional with the words we use, we naturally develop a new way of listening to others. 

No failure

AI calls it “prototyping”. We don’t wait until it’s perfect, we try something new as early as possible and learn as we adjust and try again. Keli Semelsberger is a corporate team building facilitator, a Medicine Woman, an improviser, and the founder of the Charlotte Comedy Theater in North Carolina. In an interview with Jimmy Carrane for the Improv Nerd podcast, she says “there is no failure in improv, only something to create more on.”

Saying yes to whatever comes

“Life is one big improvisational sketch.” Episode 3 of the Unpolished Therapy Podcast with Rachel Silver Cohen and Dr. Lori Fineman makes a good case for the benefits of relinquishing control. Life is unrehearsed. Rather than trying to plan for everything and getting upset when things don’t turn out as expected, we would be better off to “roll with the punches” and to laugh more. In AI terms, retraining our negativity bias to noticing the positive core of every person and situation is much more generative. 

It comes from the heart

Whether introducing a strengths-based approach to an organization or standing in front of an audience in an improv act, it only works if you are sincere. It is not about selling an idea, proving that it works, or forced family fun. It’s about a genuine belief in what you do and showing up as who you are. Again quoting Tina Fey, improv is a way to break social protocols: It takes vulnerability, and being ok with being embarrassed. Keli Semelsberger adds, “it’s not about fame or success, it’s about being authentic, true to your core values, and being of service.” 

Not knowing where you’ll end up 

It goes without saying that when you improvise in a performance, you don’t know where you’ll end up. When Jason reached out to me for an interview to complete his assignment, we had no idea that we would end up a few weeks later having a live conversation about improv in the context of climate change in my online community, The Quiet Activists. Or that after a few more weeks, this article would come to life. 

Jason has been doing improv for 14 years. Discovering AI in the course of his graduate studies in organization development made him wonder how he could bring his hobby of improv into any kind of work environment where he is helping people change their whole frame of thinking. “That would be really, really interesting to me.”

He wouldn’t be the first to bring improv into the workplace. At the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, improv has been a key part of training over 12,000 scientists to communicate clearly with lay people. As we know, change happens the moment we ask a question, so who knows in what context Jason will be performing next.

Download the full article.

Alexandra Arnold

Alexandra Arnold MSPsy, MSHR/OD, ACC, is an ICF-accredited personal development coach with a certificate in Positive Organization Development from Champlain College, USA. She uses positive psychology and Appreciative Inquiry to coach her clients, especially those with High Sensory Sensitivity, through transitions and out of overwhelm. She is the Program Director at the Taos Institute.

Contact: almacoachingusa@gmail.co

www.almacoaching.org

Hi, how are you?

Ok. I haven’t left my house in a few weeks because of the smoke from the wildfires.

How tragic. Here, hundreds of people were stranded on the highway for over 24 hours because of the blizzard.

Awful.

Yeah … the weather really has changed over the last few years.

If you live in a culture where greetings start with small talk about the weather, you are likely to have such encounters frequently. 

How are you after such an exchange? Is it time to reshape these greetings so they lift us up instead of bringing us down? Do we have the tools to do so? According to Dr. Stowe, co‑director of the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements and executive director of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program, the most important impact individuals can have on climate change is by increasing “climate conversations”. So – let’s talk. But let’s choose our words carefully since, as we know from the Constructionist principle of Appreciative Inquiry, “words create worlds”.

To help, here are just a few of the resources on climate change that I’ve gleaned in the past few months – resources that can move us forward, not leave us stuck. My hope in compiling them into this “gift basket for the planet” is to spark different kinds of dialogues about “how we are”. 

Starting with hope

“Hope is what enables us to keep going in the face of adversity. It is what we desire to happen, but we must be prepared to work hard to make it so. Like hoping this will be a good book. But it won’t be if we don’t bloody work at it.” Jane Goodall, The Book of Hope

My journey started last autumn with an email announcement for the Activating Hope Summit celebrating Jane Goodall and her new book, The Book of Hope. The four-day online event aimed at “sparking lasting change by illuminating and celebrating hope around the globe” through a diverse collection of workshops given by celebrities, wellness leaders, musicians, activists and more. 

Attending these webinars was overwhelming at first, but then, it really did give me hope. I was struck by the lack of alarmist, guilting and shaming messages. Instead, it was an invitation to soothe the soul. I felt validated. My experience was normalized. I learned techniques to manage stress – and a whole new way to speak about the topic of climate change. 

Words, indeed

Sadly, a whole new vocabulary has emerged in the last decade: Climate-anxiety is defined as “a chronic fear of environmental doom” (APA and ecoAmerica, 2017) or “anxiety or worry about climate change and its effects” (www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/eco-anxiety, 2021). Solastalgia is “the distress that is produced by environmental change impacting on people while they are directly connected to their home environment” (Albrecht et al., 2007). Ecological grief is “the mourning of the loss of ecosystems, landscapes, species and ways of life” (Comtesse, Ertl, Hengst, Rosner & Smid, 2021). 

There is also something empowering about having these new phrases to use in conversation, especially since most of them are recognized by the American Psychological Association (APA). These complex emotions are not rare diagnoses (to be clear, they are not diagnoses at all). They are more widespread than we think. Now that there are words to talk about them, we can do something about them.

And people…

Indeed, once I started using these terms, I discovered new fields of study and practice that address the range of human experiences triggered by global warming. Ecopsychology, for instance (Division 34 of the APA), explores “humans’ psychological interdependence with the rest of nature and the implications for identity, health and well-being”. The Climate Psychology Alliance, Climate Psychology International and the Climate Psychiatry Alliance all raise awareness of the impact of the climate crisis on mental and physical health.

In one of my “climate conversations”, I learned about climate coaching. As an emerging coach, and someone who experiences climate grief and often wonders “what can I do?”, I was thrilled to find a meaningful way for me to contribute. Since then, I have joined an inspiring community of coaches at the Climate Coaching Alliance (CCA), given a presentation at their Coaching in the Great Awakening global festival on the topic of Climate Anxiety meets Appreciative Inquiry, and started an International Coaching Federation (ICF)-accredited course hosted by Climate Change Coaches. Amazing what one conversation can do!

Put your own oxygen mask on first

Anxiety, fear, grief, despair, hopelessness, powerlessness … no one denies that these are part of the journey. And there is hope. Here are a few more resources to support and nourish ourselves as we take on these critical conversations. 

Book  Climate Courage: How Americans Are Bridging the Political Divide and Tackling Climate Change – A Bipartisan Citizens Guide by Andreas Karelas. While US-centric, this book can only leave you with a big dose of hope and optimism, no matter where you are in the world. Did you know that solar installer and wind technician will be two of the fastest-growing jobs in the next decade according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021)?

Book  The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams. The author’s scientific approach will help fight off any nay-sayer as “she uncovers the powers of the natural world to improve health, promote reflection and innovation, and ultimately strengthen our relationships”. 

Podcast  – Climate Change and Happiness. As the name of Episode 2 implies, this podcast is for Holding Space. Launched in January 2022 with this provocative title, it is already getting five stars, making listeners feel heard, validated, resilient and hopeful. 

Podcast  The Jane Goodall Hopecast. Even intrepid world traveler Jane Goodall was slowed down by the pandemic. To our delight, her message is now captured in a podcast series launched in December 2020 where she “reinvented herself as Virtual Jane, and without ever leaving her childhood home in Bournemouth, England, recorded intimate conversations with humans who have dedicated their lives to helping people, animals, and the planet.” 

Virtual meeting  Climate Café. A safe space with no guest speakers, no lectures and no advice. Free and available once a month. 

Virtual meeting  Good Grief Network. A ten-step program to personal resilience and empowerment in a chaotic climate. In less than four years, this new program has reached 1000 participants all over the world.

Taking Action  Citizens’ Climate International. If action is what you need, CCI “empowers citizen volunteers to exercise personal and political power in the shaping of effective climate policy”.

Taking Action  TreeSisters. Still overwhelmed or unsure of what to do next? Plant a tree. Reforestation plays a major role in fighting climate change. TreeSisters is a UK-based charity “in support of humanity’s identity shift from a consumer species to a restorer species. [Their] approach is the balance of inner and outer, spiritual and practical, behavioural and ecological pathways towards that shift.”

There is so much more already happening that can lift us up, give us life, make us smile, and help us do the work required to keep going, with hope. 

As we know from AI’s Simultaneity principle, change begins the moment we ask a question. Imagine what would happen if, in our next small talk about the weather, all of us also asked “have you heard of this great [book/podcast/organization/news…]?!” How much can we collectively add to this gift basket for the planet?

The Systems Thinker

https://thesystemsthinker.com/

Systems thinking perspective requires curiosity, clarity, compassion, choice, and courage. This approach includes the willingness to see a situation more fully, to recognize that we are interrelated, to acknowledge that there are often multiple interventions to a problem, and to champion interventions that may not be popular. Michael Goodman in Systems Thinking: What, why, when, where, and how?

Download the full article.

Alexandra Arnold

Alexandra Arnold MSPsy, MSHR/OD, ACC, is an ICF-accredited personal development coach with a certificate in Positive Organization Development from Champlain College, USA. She uses positive psychology and Appreciative Inquiry to coach her clients, especially those with High Sensory Sensitivity, through transitions and out of overwhelm. She is the Program Director at the Taos Institute.

Contact: almacoachingusa@gmail.co

www.almacoaching.org

Thesystemsthinker.com is an archive of published articles aimed at “catalyzing effective change by expanding the use of systems approaches”. The website was launched in the early 1980s thanks to Daniel Kim, organizational consultant, facilitator, teacher, public speaker and contributor to almost 100 articles on the site, and to Colleen Lannon, co-founder of the original publisher, Pegasus Communications. In 2013, The Systems Thinker was acquired by Ebay founder and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar’s The Omidyar Group. 

The site is a repository of hundreds of free articles, case studies, how-to guides, pocket guides, tools (causal loop diagrams, archetypes, management flight simulator, the iceberg framework and more) and videos/webinars. These can be searched by topic (archetypes, fundamentals, leadership, management, managing conflict, organizational learning, personal mastery, public policy, scenario planning, strategy, sustainability and system dynamics almost all show over 100 results); by sector (business, education, government, healthcare and social change); by type; or by author. 

Among contributors are internationally acclaimed organizational learning and complex system change gurus like David Peter Stroh, Peter Senge, Gene Bellinger and Michael Goodman. Dozens more authors are listed with handy short bios. Contact information or links to their other work would be a plus.

From technical to inspirational

The content can be technical, like A pocket guide to using the archetypes, by Daniel Kim and Colleen Lannon or inspirational – How can we solve our toughest problems peacefully, by Adam Kahane – and addresses what feel like current, relevant topics. None of the articles are dated. The articles are presented on a clean, modern, advertisement-free platform that makes it appealing to browse and easy to share with quick links to social media, print and email on each page, as well as the option to bookmark articles of interest.

This review was hard for me to write. For a long time, I couldn’t figure out why. I wanted to do justice to the depth and breadth of the topic, the articles and the authors that make up thesystemsthinker.com. Yet I felt ill-equipped to tackle this big task. There was something else, some deeper block that prevented me from capturing the essence of it. Finally, in a conversation with my coach, it became clear, in unexpected ways, and with unexpected tears. 

All along, I was trying to find a way to explain that systems thinking is a better approach to problem-solving than linear thinking. I wanted the reader to understand that this methodology and mindset could be used on topics ranging from service quality excellence, to mindfulness, to climate change or conflicts like the one between Israeli and Palestinian.

A miracle solution?

In other words, I wanted to provide a miracle solution to some of the world’s toughest issues. Not surprisingly, it was overwhelming. That’s when the tears came. I became aware of my own discomfort and fears when faced with the proposition that most problems don’t have a simple solution, that no matter how much we wish to believe in simple laws of cause and effect, it is not the most effective way to make progress. 

The unexpected consequences of linear thinking

In fact, systems thinking suggests that such a linear view can be harmful. In their article Acting and Thinking Systematically, David Peter Stroh and Kathleen Zurcher give the example of starvation and call our attention to the unintended long term impact of food donations as they drive local food prices down and indirectly hinder local agricultural development. They offer four key areas in which a systemic approach surpasses a linear one:

●There are more than symptoms and direct causes. One must look at the interdependencies between the elements of a system, at the relationships that are circular, indirect and non-obvious. 

●Without such analysis, quick fixes only create problems in the long term. 

●Well-intentioned but isolated groups contribute to the very problem they are trying to solve unless they work together, like distributing food aid without collaborating with local food producers. 

●Aristotle said “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”, and indeed, improving the relationship between parts, or local initiatives, or people, yields a greater positive impact on the system as a whole than improving each of these separately.

Systems thinking and AI: Stakeholders, diversity and interconnectedness

Systems thinking mirrors the Wholeness principle of Appreciative Inquiry in that it invites many stakeholders into the conversation, it finds value in diversity of views, it reminds us that we are interconnected, and it shows that embracing the system generates creativity, capacity and generativity where everyone flourishes.

“Nothing good in the world happens until people get together, talk, understand one another’s perspectives and assumptions, and work together toward a compelling goal or a vision,” says David Berdish in Learning and leading through the badlands.

All in all, this resource is valuable because its content and contributors share a common mission: they call for curiosity, for asking new types of questions to unveil diverse perspectives; they recognize that there is not one perfect solution but many stories embedded in our teams, organizations, societies and global networks; they remind us that it is ultimately about people and relationships.

So rather than offering an answer, I hope that thesystemsthinker.com can, as it did for me, give you more courage to look complexity in the eye, nurture compassion for your sense of being overwhelmed, and fuel your hope with the belief that our small, individual actions do indeed make the whole system shift, just like an invisible breeze moves a baby’s mobile above the crib in sometimes significant and beautiful ways. 

This November 2021 issue is about AI and technology. “Resources” when the journal started meant primarily books and journal articles, hence the title Book Appreciation. Neena Verma, who has supported AI Practitioner in so many ways, took on the role of editor of the column of the journal in May, 2018. She wrote thoughtful, in-depth reviews about books she perceived to be especially relevant for AI practitioners until February 2021. We’d like to thank her for the rich diversity of treasures she shared.

“Resources” more than ten years after the column started means something quite different: not only books and journals, but blogs, videos, podcasts … and all the other technologies that will develop to connect people with the information they are looking for. So it is fitting that we change the name of the column to “Appreciative Resources”. Alexandra Arnold has agreed to take on the role of editor of the column. It will be exciting to see where the resources take us in future.

The Co-Publishers

Download the full article.

Alexandra Arnold

Alexandra Arnold MSPsy, MSHR/OD, ACC, is an ICF-accredited personal development coach with a certificate in Positive Organization Development from Champlain College, USA. She uses positive psychology and Appreciative Inquiry to coach her clients, especially those with High Sensory Sensitivity, through transitions and out of overwhelm. She is the Program Director at the Taos Institute.

Contact: almacoachingusa@gmail.co

www.almacoaching.org

From Physical Place to Virtual Space:
How to Design and Host Transformative Spaces Online

Gwen Stirling-Wilkie

BMI Publishing, 2021

ISBN 978-1-7771846-2-9

A brand-new book, From Physical Place to Virtual Space, has just been published, in the spring of 2021, by BMI Publishing, a branch of the Bushe-Marshak Institute for Dialogic Organization Development. The author, Gwen Stirling-Wilkie, has over 20 years of consulting experience in OD. This little green book is an account of her personal experience, written in the moment, without jargon, as she had to transition to virtual interventions when the Covid-19 pandemic shook the world in the spring of 2020. She admits that she didn’t believe it was possible, but because she was just starting a big project involving 600+ stakeholders with a new client – like many of us – she jumped right in.

Her intention is to share her own experience while answering three questions:

●How do we design virtual interventions?

●How does one host online gatherings to create connection and safety that increase contribution?

●How do we facilitate relational dynamics that create “transformative moments that matter?”

The term is key here: transformative, as in spontaneous and open, as opposed to transformational, or planned. One of the book’s appeals is that it takes the view that the expertise of DOD (dialogic organization development) professionals lies in “creating generative conversations that enable or unlock the transformative potential” of teams and organizations (p.11). This book is not for experts giving webinars, presentations, courses, training sessions or calling regular meetings. It is for consultants and leaders involved in workshops or large group events who are willing to embrace the idea that there is no right way, who work with what is unfolding, live in the moment, and recognize that “solutions” are socially constructed within conversations.

A reminder of how much we’ve learned

For those of us in the field, much of the content may be second nature. Those who will benefit most are new practitioners, managers and leaders, or those just entering the virtual space. A year before publication, this book would have been a lifesaver for many who had to swiftly reinvent their ways of working due to the pandemic. Today, it is a reminder of just how much we have learned and how much is possible to achieve online – especially if we plan and execute as carefully as the author has done.

Seasoned facilitators are likely to pick up a few new, practical tips out of the many the author shares (for example, use the “slides as background” feature in Zoom to avoid sharing your screen and keep the group together in gallery view). Or, perhaps they will understand what is behind the best practices they have naturally embraced over time: the specific elements that impact psychological safety, group dynamics or presence.

The book is structured in two parts, one about preparing virtual spaces, with chapters on participation, design, technology (offering options for both low- and high-tech organizations), and presence. This section is particularly valuable as it invites practitioners to reconsider the time dimension of their work. For reasons beyond “Zoom fatigue”, the author emphasizes the importance of the invitation, preparation and follow-up phases, as well as the “in-between” spaces (checking-in, checking-out, breaking, reconvening, etc.). Also a stretch for those who might underestimate the complexity of virtual gatherings is the break-down of design principles, design options and organization maturity levels to be considered.

Mastering virtual consulting

The second section, mastering virtual consulting, introduces facilitation skills, from understanding group processes to reading the room, tuning into or using your body, how/when to intervene (and there is much more to it than you might think). A succinct chapter on common dialogic approaches suggests that Open Space Technology, World Café, and Appreciative Inquiry can be adapted to the virtual space – not enough details are given for practitioners unfamiliar with these approaches, though. On the other hand, another chapter recounts in detail the decision points, approaches and lessons learned from the author’s client engagement at the time.

Overall, this book fits perfectly within the theme of this AI Practitioner issue: Technology and the Wholeness Principle. Tips on how to use online platforms may be basic for some, but the dialogic (vs diagnostic) OD focus is where the real value is: a real-life story showing that for generative change, the whole system needs to be in the room. Virtual OD, according to Stirling-Wilkie, increases our chances to have an impact. These platforms “democratize contributions by removing hierarchy, power dynamics, and strong presences” (p. 80) when we each inhabit the same-sized square displayed in random order. In 135 pages, this short read raises some very big questions. One is whether virtual organization development interventions, when done skillfully and thoughtfully, are in fact more effective, or even essential, to today’s diversity, equity, and inclusion agendas. Another prompt is for readers to consider that, sooner than we think, OD facilitators might have to trade flip charts and sticky notes for avatars, holograms and 3-D virtual reality platforms.

Sharing stories is a practice as old as time. From ghost stories around a campfire to the most recent viral news on your phone-screen, storytelling has always been an essential part of human communication and connection.

Throughout my two years interning with the David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry, I have had the privilege of hearing individuals’, communities’, and organizations’ stories through interviews, which I then turn into bite-sized videos to share their stories with the world for the AI World Inquiry Project (AIWI).

AIWI emphasizes the human-interest component in a way that can embrace people outside of the AI community. This vital element can often get lost in more formal scholarly resources. Creating connections of the heart keeps AI on one’s mind and hopefully encourages further exploration of the topic as it did for me.

Having truly been shaken to the core by many of the accounts, I have witnessed the power of sharing stories of impact first-hand and believe in AI’s potential to change the world. I could have never imagined how deeply or profoundly I would be affected by my time with the Cooperrider Center and the AIWI project. AI has become a part of my own mindset, really honing in on the strength-based focus and principle of wholeness. As a budding young professional, I am excited to take this mindset with me throughout my career and personal life, illuminating the value of Appreciative Inquiry for all.

AIWI videos can be found in a variety of locations, with the main hub of videos on YouTube. The videos consist of group and individual interviews conducted by Sallie Lee, Ada Jo Mann and the Cooperrider Center. The interviewees include AI practitioners from across the globe and from a variety of AI backgrounds and experiences. The multiplicity of contributors to the project aligns with the overall goal of AIWI to highlight stories of impact amongst the AI community in order to project the value of AI for everyone in a new inclusive light. While the videos depict stories from vastly different scenarios (ie: individual, organizational, corporate, community), there are three common themes throughout the project:

1. The power of inclusivity
2. The power of inquiry
3. The power of a conversation

The power of inclusivity, inquiry, and generative conversations are at the core of Appreciative Inquiry and positive change. AIWI might not directly teach the five principles or the 4D cycle of AI; however, it gives the audience a fundamental understanding of Appreciative Inquiry and the versatility of its application and impact. From hospital protocols to children on the streets of Africa, AIWI covers a spectrum of inspiring Appreciative Inquiry stories that would be of value to anyone and everyone with a beating heart.

Download the full article.

Brianna Newman

Brianna is a Communication major with a specialization in Public Relations and a minor in Event Management at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, USA. The two years interning with the David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry has greatly benefited her thinking process in all aspects of life. As a budding young professional, she strives to embody this mindset throughout her career, focusing on how we can best lift up each other and our communities.

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In this article, you will find a description of a procedure for Appreciative Peer Review.

This method is a combination of:

• Kurt Lewin’s Action Research Model;
• Peer consultation as developed by Caplan and translated into Dutch by Jannie de Weerd;
• Appreciative Inquiry (David Cooperrider, Jane Magruder Watkins).

Duration: 1.5 hours

Useful: having one of the facilitators take notes during the session, write down the steps in the process.

Below you will find information on all steps in the process:

• Discovering;
• Sharing;
• Dreaming;
• Designing;
• Delivering;
• Evaluating.

Discovering

We start our discovery when someone brings an unsolved and current work-related issue to the table. In this first phase, we look at what the person asking the question (“the subject”) would like to happen, and how we can help.

The goal of Discovering is: agreeing on the “affirmative theme” (the question we work with) and the input of everyone in the group. The key is that the subject retains ownership of the issue, and is responsible for the follow-up. The affirmative theme is the original question, rephrased in a positive way.

Questions that may help in this phase are:

• Imagine we are at the end of this session and it has been extremely successful. What has happened? What would make you feel content?
• What can I or what can we do for you in the next hour and a half?

An example
A manager feels her team lacks motivation. Occasionally, they simply don’t seem to care. A facilitator has asked her: “Could you tell me a story about a situation in which your team performed exactly as you envisioned?”

She answers that this had actually happened just the week before: a problem that urgent attention and everyone came together to fix it. She ordered pizzas, and everyone worked late so the customers would not be affected for longer than absolutely necessary. This is something she would love to happen more often: for her team to really be there for the customers. And she would like for the peer-review group to give her some tools and ideas on how to achieve this.

Reflection
The manager’s “problem” – lack of motivation – has been changed into the opportunity to serve her customers with her team. Her question to the group is clear: provide me with the tools to achieve this.

Sharing stories

Once we have formulated an affirmative theme, we can invite the subject to share their story. We do this on the premise that they have already experienced the desired outcome their affirmative theme relates to at least once. Together, we determine a concrete situation in which the subject has had a positive experience with the issue at hand, and identify which factors and conditions contributed to this success.

The goal of Sharing stories is to: formulate the “positive core”, the factors that have in the past contributed to the successful realisation of at least part of the affirmative theme.

Questions that may help in this phase, are:

• Can you share a story about a situation in which you had a good experience with … (the affirmative theme)?
• What happened, exactly?
• Who was involved?
• How did you contribute?
• What was the effect of your contribution?
• Which of your qualities and skills did you use?
• Which conditions played a vital role?
• Listening to your own story, what can you conclude?
• Are you perhaps already starting to formulate an answer to the question we started this session with?

The contribution of the other participants in this phase is to provide explicit feedback on what they hear: the qualities and skills involved, and the relevant factors and conditions. It helps to write these down to hand them to the subject later on.

An example, continued
The manager we met before most definitely has a story about customer satisfaction. She might say: “Last week we had a situation that caused problems for a large number of customers. We had to act fast. My whole team went above and beyond the call of duty. We took hardly any breaks and worked together till eight at night to solve the issue. We ordered pizzas and I was able to assist a few customers myself. Other than that, I didn’t need to do that much. I just walked around the department and thanked my team for their efforts. I did notice Frank excelled, which I hadn’t expected because he can be a bit of a slacker. I complimented him on his work and he looked very pleased. Yes, that was a wonderful day indeed.”

A facilitator can capture a list of the “positive core” of this story. For example:

• There was an emergency.
• All team members put in a lot of effort.
• The manager ordered in pizza.
• She assisted the team in their work.
• She walked around and thanked the team.
• She complimented a team member who did unexpectedly well.

Reflection
If we ask the subject for a concrete example, a lot of information comes to the fore, especially when we ask her direct questions to bring her back into that situation. She might not even be aware of all of the factors that contributed to this success story. Often people will say: “Well, of course – that is part of my job.”

Something else happens when people share their story. We as a group get involved in the story, and we feel a connection to the person sharing, making for a more involved group process.

Dreaming

This phase is about creating images around the ideal situation relating to the affirmative theme. It might help to read aloud all of the factors and conditions for success that came to the fore during the last phase, followed by the question: “What if all these conditions are met by … [a relevant date in the future], and you have achieved your ideal. What will that look like?”

We explicitly ask for images to invite the subject to paint their perfect picture. This is a creative and non-linear process, requiring our mind to operate in a different manner than when we are writing a memo, for example, when we are using the analytical part of our brain.

The goal of Dreaming is: to create an image of the desired future that is so attractive that actions become a matter of course.

Questions that may help in this phase, are:

• If all the factors for success that you just listed were completely realised by … (relevant date in the near future), what would that look like?
• How did you get there? What were your contributions?
• What metaphor for that situation comes to mind?
• If you could make a movie of that situation, what would it be called?
• What role would you play in this movie?
• If a newspaper would interview you this time next year, what is the story you would want to tell?
• How would you summarise your success in one sentence for the interviewer?
• In this phase, the peer-review group asks the subject for concrete images, not for a plan of action.

An example, continued
Reiterating for the manager the qualities, skills, factors and conditions that led to success, will probably reinforce the feeling that the team is doing pretty well, at least at crucial moments. But of course it would be even better if the team performed like that in other situations as well.

This is the time for us to ask her how she envisions this: “Imagine, in three months, everything we have just listed has been realised and your team is performing as you want, what will that look like? What picture comes to mind?”

After some consideration she answers: “A great metaphor for me, is that we are a rowing team doing our best to all go in the same direction, in order to help our customers. At the moment, we each tend to do our own thing, leaving us without direction.”

“So, would you be the cox?”

“Yes, that’s how I see myself. And I feel that’s how the team would like me to act too; to give them direction.”

“And will you be a rowing team battling for first place?”

“No, that’s not very important to me. In fact, I don’t care if all other teams beat us, but I do care we get the best out of ourselves. Because that is what I saw last week: if we are our best selves, our customers are happy.”

Reflection
Often it can take a while for a subject to come up with an image or metaphor that inspires them and applies to their situation. It is important we ask for our subject’s contribution, or possible contribution, to the success story.

As the desired future image takes shape, the next step to reach the ideal situation also comes into focus. If needed, there can be an intermediate step, for example, asking the subject for a mission statement. In the above example this could be something like: “A rowing team that has a clear course, in which each team member participates to their best abilities.”

Designing

“Between dreams and actions there are laws and practical issues…” When people want to realise their ideal situation, they are inclined to create a plan of action and start doing something. In the Design phase, we give them the opportunity to pause in order to increase their chance of success.

The goal of the Designing phase is: to create an overview of which people to approach and what means to use to engage them to achieve the ideal situation.

Questions that may help in this phase, are:

• Who could help you realise the ideal situation?
• And who else?
• Who haven’t you considered yet?
• How will you approach these people?
• Which other communication tools could you use?
• What can others do for you?
• Which books, articles, films, and so on could help you with that?

In this phase the peer-review group is encouraged to think along, out loud. Any tips or pointers are welcome. They might know people who could help, know of a useful book, be able to advise on means of communication that have worked for them, and so on.

An example, continued
How can the manager increase the odds of her team becoming that rowing team in which everyone aims to get the best out of themselves? In the Design phase we are not yet looking to create a plan of action, but rather to increase the chance of success by providing the subject with insights and perspectives from which to choose.

In this situation, these could be things like:

• Peter Block has written an interesting book, Empowerment in Organisations, which could give our manager new insights.
• There are inspiring videos available on YouTube.
• She might know a fellow manager who is well-liked by her team, who can think along with her.
• She could reach out to someone in higher management, for instance if she needs funds for a team-building activity.
• If someone in her team under-performs, she could get them a coach.
• She herself might benefit from some coaching sessions.
• One of the peer-review group members could meet her for coffee to think along with her.

Reflection
In this phase a sort of brainstorm takes place, during which the entire group can make suggestions to further aid the subject. Of course, the subject retains responsibility for the next step: they are best suited to determine what they have already tried and what could work. It might be frustrating to the group members to not have their advice followed, but again, the subject determines what is valuable in this specific situation.

Delivering

In the Design phase, many ideas will have been considered to bring the ideal situation closer. The subject can now determine which small concrete step(s) they want to take first. After all, they know the context, and are best able to determine which steps will lead to success.

The role of the peer-review group in this phase is to help the subject make this next step as small and concrete as possible. They could repeat the question: “What is your first small step?” a few times to make the action more concrete.

A first small step may appear tiny
The importance of the first step is to get moving, no matter how small that movement may be. The first step is not taken during the group session but afterwards. The idea behind this is that the moment the action is taken there is the opportunity to give meaning to it: “I know what I think when I see what I do.” (Karl Weick). The realisation phase combined with the evaluation phase leads to answering the original question.

The goal of the Delivering phase is: to get a clear picture of the first action that will help answer or nuance the original question, and to instil confidence and determination in our subject.

Questions that may help in this phase, are:

• What is your first step? (Ask four times if necessary!)
• Who can help you take this first step?
• What will people say to you after you’ve taken this step?
• On a scale of one to ten, how much confidence do you have that this will work? And why? How could you raise that number? And how can I help you with that? Or can someone else?

An example, continued
Our manager has collected a number of ideas and suggestions during the previous phase, both her own and those from members of the group. She can now choose the idea that appeals to her the most, at least in the short term.

She might say: “Now that I think about it, I was recently at a conference where I met a colleague from another organisation who was experiencing the same issues with her team. I think I might contact her, I must have her business card lying around somewhere…”

“So what could be your first small step?”

“I could contact her.”

“So what will be your first small step?”

“Call her? But I’d have to find her card first! It might be in my bag, hang on … Ah, here it is. You know what, I’ll call her tomorrow to set up a meeting. I hope that eases your minds!”

Reflection
Getting someone to undertake action during the group session is a nice bonus. It means we can ask her immediately whether she has placed the call and what could be her next small step. It can feel forced to keep asking the question “What is your first small step?”, but it helps the subject to become specific and take responsibility for the follow-up.

Evaluating

This step is something I miss in the Appreciative Inquiry literature; at the same time, I feel that it is vital to go back to the original question. Has this session provided a solution for the problem? It helps me to go back to the original question the subject asked – not the affirmative theme, the actual question, word for word. By referring back to this we are able to get a clearer idea of the result of our peer-review session.

Evaluating is not only important to get an idea of what we have accomplished and how we got there, it also re-emphasises the first step. Moreover, we may find that during the session another issue has arisen that is worth looking into, so that evaluation leads to reconnaissance again.

The goal of this last step is to: find out in how far this process has helped the subject answer the unsolved current work-related issue that started this peer-review group meeting. Additionally, it serves to determine the outcome of the result(s) and examine whether the original question has really been answered or whether it has shifted, been nuanced or become irrelevant.

Questions that may help in this phase:

• What did you get out of this meeting?
• What is the most important thing you learnt today?
• Has another question arisen during our session?
• What has helped you?
• What else could we have added, did you miss anything?
• What could we have done differently?

An example, conclusion
Our manager started out by saying that she felt her team lacked motivation. During the reconnaissance phase, a new question emerged, but we could still ask her whether she feels her team is more motivated now.

She might say: “Oh right, that’s something I did raise a while back. But it has become irrelevant now. The discussion we ended up having was much more valuable than a discussion about my team’s motivational issues.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, by looking to my team for the problem and its solution, I took away my responsibility to act. Now, I am the one undertaking action and that really is a lot fairer.”

“And how did that happen during our peer-review group meeting?”

“Firstly, by rephrasing what the problem actually was. But also by focusing on how I could use my skills and qualities, and by creating an ideal image and making that concrete. This led me to take responsibility for my team, and that has led to a better way of influencing them. And a greater mutual appreciation! So thank you all very much!”

Reflection
During a peer-review session, the subject’s question often moves. While talking, people discover what is actually troubling them. In fact, by simply talking about their issue and stating their question out loud, it often disappears on its own accord. During this last phase, the subject marks this process for themselves and the group.

This article has been published in the November 2017 issue of AI Practitioner. You can download the full issue ‘What Really Matters: Celebrating Wick van der Vaart’ the author of this peer review for € 19,95.

You can read the original version of this article in Dutch on the website of Instituut voor Interventiekunde.

Appreciative Inquiry Resources features a rediscovery of classic and new resources for your use. Resources will include list-serves, books, journal articles, book chapters, DVDs, websites, blogs, podcasts, etc. … all in one place useful for learning more about AI to help with your consulting practice, internal work, teaching, training and extending your knowledge base and resources.

The Spring 2017 issue of AI Practitioner focuses on AI and strengths-based disciplines in business schools, businesses and communities.

The Resources column editors of the Spring 2017 issue of AI Practitioner have brought together resources relating to Appreciative Inquiry and strengths-based disciplines, and the ways in which they are being integrated in business schools in particular, but also in businesses that are game changers and in communities worldwide.

Books

Positive Psychology and Appreciative Inquiry in Higher Education
Peter C. Mather and Eileen Hulme (2013)
John Wiley & Sons

This book explores how positive psychology and AI can contribute to the mission of higher education, presenting a variety of strategies for bolstering student learning and development. During a time of daunting challenges, positive psychology and AI can help leverage higher education’s assets to optimize the potential of students, faculty and staff.

Articles and Papers

Universities: Can they be considered as learning organizations? A preliminary micro-level perspective
Ozlem Bak (2012)
The Learning Organization, 19 (2), 163–172
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09696471211201515

This study explores a department in a UK higher education institute based on Senge’s five characteristics of learning organizations. The findings show that learning‐ organization characteristics were present.

Appreciative Inquiry as a Model for Assessing the Value of Business School Education
Michelle Browning (2014)
Journal of Business and Educational Leadership (1) 64

The focus of the research is to discuss current methods and challenges associated with assessing student learning in business school education, with AI highlighted as an effective alternative method for assessing the value of the business school education reflected through student learning.

Mobilizing Change in a Business School Using Appreciative Inquiry
Gina Grandy and Judith Holton (2010)
The Learning Organization, 17(2), 178–194
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09696471011019880

The purpose of this paper is to explore how AI as a pedagogical tool can be generative in creating opportunities for development and change in a business school context. The experiential nature of the AI process was successful in encouraging collaboration and team building, and empowering individuals toward a collection vision.

Developing Globally Responsible Leaders in Business Schools: A Vision and Transformational Practice for the Journey Ahead
Katrin Muff (2013)
Journal of Management Development, 32(5), 487–507
Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.169–195.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120140000002033

Most educational activities still take place in a conservative format of the hierarchical teacher–student relationship in rather traditional educational facilities. But students are motivated and engaged when they understand why information is important for them. Through an inquiry-based approach, abstract information becomes tangible and contextualized. Although addressing courses for architecture students, the inquiry-based learning and teaching experiences from these courses will inform a larger, more general audience interested in the subject matter.

The Role of Business in Society
Göran Norén (2004)
https://www.svensktnaringsliv.se/migration_catalog/the-role-of-business-in-society_532870.html/BINARY/The%20role%20of%20business%20in%20society

This report shares with readers how business is developing society globally, and continues to be the cornerstone of social development and welfare The interesting aspect of the report is the integration of benefit to business and society, by identifying the drivers for organizations’ commitment to community, and how such commitment reduces business risks and facilitate the growth of business.

Avon Products
Lynn Sharp Paine (2000)
Harvard Business School Case 301-059
http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=27576

This teaching case demonstrates the use of AI for unifying vision for Avon Products which, through integration achieved at the organizational level, created world benefit, albeit indirectly.

Websites and blogs

What is the role of business in society?
Corporate reporting blog (2011)
http://pwc.blogs.com/corporatereporting/2011/09/what-is-the-role-of-business-in-society.html

This blog has a strong message: “business is about sustaining the well-being of all those who interact with it … and in the long run its success will, in my view, be central to society’s success.”

GameChangers 500
Team GameChangers500
http://gamechangers.co//

This organization ranks and publishes the best practices of the leading For-Benefit organizations so other enterprises and entrepreneurs can access innovative techniques on topics like profit sharing, being a zero-waste office, or writing a Theory of Change.

ST Foundation
Team ST Foundation
http://www.stfoundation.org

This website reports on ST Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Geneva, established by STMicroelectronics for globally unifying people using digital education. The foundation operates in both in developing countries where there is a need to overcome social, economic and technological inequalities to achieve human progress and economic growth, and in countries where STMicroelectronics has a strong presence, including specific areas of developed countries where economic distress persists.

Imagine Chicago
Team Imagine Chicago
http://www.imaginechicago.org/how.html

This website provides details about ‘Imagine Chicago’ – a non-profit organization created and dedicated to cultivating hope and civic commitment. The organization works with change agents in organizations, institutions and communities, building local capacity with strength-based communication and development tools and opportunities for collaboration that make a difference.

Roopa Nandi
Roopa Nandi is Assistant Professor at GD Goenka World Institute I Lancaster University. Her research interest includes learning, organisational learning and spirituality. Her approach is premised on Appreciative Inquiry (AI) and she practices AI for organisational development and change.

Contact:        nandiroopa@gmail.com

Hardik Shah, Ph.D.
Hardik is a faculty member at the IMT, Ghaziabad, India. His research interests include psychometric assessment, AI and OD. He has conducted executive development programs for over 6500 managers. He has co-edited one book on AI, ’Dynamics of AI-Concepts and Applications’, and written over 25 research papers.

Contact:              hardiknim@gmail.com