Appreciative Inquiry does some of its best work when it brings together a whole system of stakeholders and gets them excited about meaningful and purpose-driven goals. It helps map strengths, discovers where stakeholder energy lies, and builds confidence in existing system capacities to make innovative changes. By co-creating inspiring images of the future, and envisioning their role in that future, people are pulled through the change (rather than pushed).
An appreciative approach to people creates organizations that thrive! That is, organizations with high levels of trust, retention, engagement, and productivity (and returns to the bottom line). By leading with curiosity, asking questions that lead to innovative possibilities, and helping people understand how the work they do aligns with the company’s broader purpose, you can mobilize the power of your organization’s deepest source of strength – its people!
Strong connected teams lead to higher productivity and happier employees. Bring out the best in your teams by tapping into their strengths and motivations, ensuring role and goal clarity, celebrating their humanity, and fostering generative conversations.
Appreciative Inquiry can be used to show individuals how to tap into (or rediscover) their own sense of wonder and excitement about their present life and future possibilities. Rather than focusing on individuals in limited or problem-oriented ways, this approach focuses on what they most want and how to empower their strengths to get there.
Sustainability needs are urgent, complex, and will require change at the scale of the whole. Whether its transitioning our energy and infrastructure systems; promoting sustainable water, forestry and fisheries; investing in regenerative agriculture; building walkable cities; or designing effective economic polices that lead to flourishing… ALL of these will require a different approach to convening, stakeholder engagement, and leadership. Success will require aligning strengths, interests and priorities at all levels of a supply system, across public–private sectors, and across entire industries, regions and countries.
An appreciative approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion typically involves identifying commonalities and building on small agreements, the use of storytelling to convey meaning and promote connection, building trust and forging new relationships through shared uplifting experiences, and co-constructing a vision for a desired future. It tends to lead to a safe space where the connection and goodwill created is strong enough to overcome difficult conversations – aligning people around how they might create solutions together rather than feel defensive.
Appreciative inquiry can be used as a personal operating system to help you find more joy and purpose in your life. It can help you transform negative fears and thoughts, improve your relationships with others, and help you navigate life’s chaos from a grounded perspective.
The Appreciative Inquiry approach unleashes tremendous power, tremendous enthusiasm and collective capacity, and gets people fully engaged…the value of AI is that, in anything we do, there’s a positive foundation to build on in addressing any problem or big league opportunity.
Interested in learning more about AI? Want to help you or your organization grow in positive ways? Have research or real-world successes to share?
Thanks for reaching out! We will be in touch soon.
