What is Appreciative Inquiry?
I have adapted the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) theory as a tool to help me develop great questions. (David Cooperrider, Suresh Srivastva, Frank Barrett, John Carter, and others developed the AI theory in the 1970s at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. A Google search on Appreciative Inquiry will result in a vast array of resources on the topic. Here’s one of my FAVORITE AI LINKS)
Certainly I’m not going to give you all the details associated with AI here, but I’d like to give you a taste of the theory as I’ve adapted it to developing questions. However, before I do that, use the graphic below to help you understand what AI is not.
Focusing on Gaps
This graphic shows the approach used in most change-related activities. The theory here is this: A completed circle represents a perfect organization, team, life situation, etc. Therefore, identifying and filling the gaps must be the goal. Consequently, the question you’ll hear most often during activities like these is this: “What problems are you having?” Then, once you have your problems identified (gaps), you can focus on fixing what’s broken, repairing what’s decaying, and righting what’s wrong (filling the gaps). Most people I encounter love this approach because it’s so comfortable, so normal, so expected. However, just closing your gaps—without addressing the causes for the gaps to be there in the first place—is a bit like using spackle to patch a wall that has black mold growing behind it. The wall looks okay on the surface, but the root causes haven’t been addressed, and the mold is still growing.
AI uses a 180-degree different approach. Instead of focusing on closing the gaps, AI first involves finding (or recapturing) the core essence, the greatness, the “secret sauce” of an organization, a group, or an individual. AI uses a series of questions, and involves a large population, to drive the organization toward its most preferred future. When you’re involved in the AI process, you’ll hear this question, “What is working well around here?” The graphic below depicts (in a highly simplified form) the AI theory in action. For illustrative purposes, I depict the secret sauce using the star in the middle.
Expanding the Greatness
AI focuses on these three things: 1) searching for solutions that already exist, 2) amplifying what’s working well, and 3) using positive energy to appreciate the situation (find the value in, and increase the value of ). What happens next? The greatness expands (as shown by the arrows and the larger overall circle), and nearly all of the gaps close naturally. Why? One major reason is this: You’re not using negative energy in “problem solving.” Instead, you are using positive energy in “solution finding.” As a result, the resistance you typically find in change-related activities is mitigated, buy-in happens quickly and grows rapidly, and the overall experience looks like magic. It’s wonderful.
One caveat: AI is not usually 100 percent effective in closing all gaps. As such, you may need to employ more traditional means to close some gaps. Sometimes you still need to look at remediating or removing certain employees through formal, HR-related activities. Further, some gaps may require changes in behavior or strategy that need more formalized activities. Therefore, I use AI to assist me in getting great questions to come to the surface and as a means to help accelerate positive energy. I don’t rely upon it solely to help with closing all gaps in a particular situation.
Some starter questions in AI might include:
- What strengths do we have that we can leverage?
- What options are available to us?
- What else might we be able to do?
- Where are our sources of pride?
- What is working well around here?
