Private sector organizations have used appreciative inquiry to solidify their organizational identity and purpose, create cross-functional teams prepared to make an impact, navigate new organizational or industry changes, and to deliver bottom line results. An appreciative approach leads to better innovations, increased system capacity, and a unified focus, all while making people feel heard, engaged, and committed. By focusing on exciting futures and existing strengths, organizations can go much farther, much faster, with much more enthusiastic buy in!
You probably already know an appreciative educator. Most of the best teachers and educational leaders we know use this approach. In education, an appreciative approach means a heavy focus on the strengths of a student, a teacher, a classroom, or a community. It doesn’t mean ignoring areas for growth, but rather celebrating an abundance of strengths that renders pursuing growth opportunities more possible. In short, these educators are relentlessly pursuing what gives energy and excitement to students, teachers, classrooms, and educational communities.
Looking to revitalize your community? Attract investment? Encourage collaboration between departments or organizations? Take on an ambitious goal? Appreciative Inquiry has been used with a wide variety of governmental and non-profit organizations including: The City of Cleveland, the US Navy, the City of Tampa, the United Nations and more! Why? It does a good job of bringing a wide and diverse group of stakeholders together to coalesce around an exciting vision and common goal. It creates opportunities for new connections and elevates task forces prepared and excited to deliver on a goal.
Adopting an appreciative approach has a host of implications for improving your health and wellbeing. Its no surprise that the case that launched Appreciative Inquiry’s success was pivotal work with The Cleveland Clinic. An appreciative approach to wellbeing has had success in building resilience, in overcoming depression and anxiety, in aging and end of life care experiences, in addressing trauma, and in alleviating physician burnout.
As an academic and advisor to companies on Conscious Capitalism, I have experienced the huge impact that AI can have on companies and all their stakeholders: discovering a sense of shared purpose, aligning their interests together, discovering exciting new ways of creating value so that all can not only win, but win more, and creating cultures suffused by caring and passion.
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?
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