TAFE NSW International Centre for VET Teaching and Learning

1. ICVET TAFE NSW International Centrefor VETTeaching and Learning Appreciative Inquiry: a way of creating new possibilities togetherTAFE NSW – Sydney Institute30 November2007Sydney Maret Staron Ph 02 9244 5111  Fax 02 9244 5925  Email icvet@tafensw.edu.au Level 4, 1 Oxford Street, DARLINGHURST NSW 2010

2. Strong synergies between key focus areas Sustainability – The overriding principle • Common elements across all areas: • Capability development • Strength based approaches • Professional judgement • Culture change Workplace learning – the context Life based learning – a contemporary model that supports RPL – the ‘hidden’ capability Partnerships – the relationship Innovation – the cutting edge

3. Strategies such as World Café(Whole Systems) Open Space Technology(Harrison Owen) Appreciative Inquiry(David Cooperrider) Strategic Conversations(2nd Road) Are each different – having their own unique methodologies However, they do have certain things in common, eg Strength based in nature (keep an eye out for deficit based language) Participants may identify themes, issues, opportunities and take responsibility for action Conversations are a key element Conversations as catalysts for change

4. Other more traditional approaches may not be strength based, but can be realigned: • Communities of Practice • Action learning • Mentoring • Strategic questioning, etc

5. Celebrating what’s right with people and building on that The positive aspects of human experience – what makes us thrive? Enabling individuals and organisations to be the best they can be Positive psychology Authentic happiness Signature strengths Six universal virtues Martin Seligman Acknowledgement to Marie Jasinski for this slide

6. APPRECIATE Recognising the best in people and the world around us Affirming past and present strengths,successes, and potentials To perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, and excellence) to living systems. INQUIRY The act of exploration and discovery. To ask questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities. Appreciative Inquiry is about David Cooperrider Acknowledgement to Marie Jasinski for this slide

7. Choices in how we approach change and inquiry Do we look for: Conflict Breakdown Division Do we look for: Transformational cooperation Inventive partnerships Inquire into more stress We create more stress Inquire into more joy We create more joy Adapted from OvationNet – David Cooperrider

8. Appreciative Inquiry - simply put… If we continue to search for problems, we will continue to find problems If we look for what is best and learn from it, we can magnify and multiply our successes Acknowledgement to Marie Jasinski for this slide

9. AI is a 4-D Cycle Discovery “What gives life to an organisation?” The best of what is Appreciating Dream “What might be?” Envisioning Results/Impact Destiny “How to empower, learn and improvise?” Sustaining Design “What should be – the ideal? Co-constructing

10. Heliotropic Effect Energising & orienting human behaviour toward achieving success Acknowledgement to Marie Jasinski for this slide

11. AI recognises the power of • Images • determine behaviour of any organisation (Kenneth Boulding) • Imagination is more important than knowledge(Albert Einstein) • Human conversations • Human connectivity What image do you hold of yourself - or of your organisation – and do you act accordingly? Adapted from OvationNet – David Cooperrider

12. As we cultivate more positive emotions in our lives, there are increases in our capacities As we touch the strengths of positive emotions, those strengths reverse or eliminate past negative patterns Upward spirals of change and resiliency are created when positive emotions are tapped Findings from positive emotion studies Adapted from OvationNet – David Cooperrider

13. Constructionist Principle Human Knowledge and Organizational Destiny are Interwoven The way we know the world determines where we end up We are embedded in our organizational lives Our analysis of organizations is filtered by the way we know the world Principle of Simultaneity Inquiry and change are NOT separate moments Inquiry IS intervention Our questions set the stage for what we find The five principles of AI Change Inquiry Adapted from OvationNet – David Cooperrider

14. 3. Open Book “Poetic” Principle The five principles of AI (cont’d) Organisations as machines to fix OR Organisations as books to be interpreted Hugovk http://flickr.com/photos/hugovk/238504436/ Daemonlip http://flickr.com/photos/daemonlip/581836060/ Adapted from OvationNet – David Cooperrider Acknowledgement to Marie Jasinski for this slide

15. 4. Anticipatory Principle We create our organisations based on our anticipations of the future. The image of the future guides the current behaviour in any system. We all know the power of a positive image. 5. Positive principle The more positive the question, the longer, more powerful and energised the change process. Building and sustaining momentum for change requires large amounts of positive affect: hope, excitement, camaraderie, caring, joy of creating something meaningful together. The five principles of AI (cont’d) 183503927_71e58adba7_m.jpg Adapted from OvationNet – David Cooperrider

16. Appreciate: the best of what exists, values and hopes for the future Apply: knowledge of what works, what is possible Provoke: imaginations re new ways of organising, creative improvements, ideas and proposals Collaborate: collective capacity building, shared expertise , resources and participative decision making In summary – the principles

17. The act of exploration and discovery To ask questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities Linking our inquiry to the change we want

18. AI is a 4-D Cycle Appreciative question Interviews data collected and analysed Themes identified AI summit Based on themes Further questions are posed to guide the dream, design and destiny phase Phases of Appreciative Inquiry adapted from The Power of Appreciative Inquiry (Whitney and Trosten-Bloom, 2003) (reproduced from the Life Based Learning Research Report page 66) Acknowledgement to Marie Jasinski for this slide

19. 6 – 8 people or 500 people? Working with change – what scale is most effective? Adapted from OvationNet – David Cooperrider

20. The most significant aspect – choosing a topic • Topic selection • AI begins with development of a topic that will guide our inquiry and help us connect to the positive core • Since systems grow in the direction of our inquiries, topics become the seeds of the change we want to see happen • A topic can be transformational • Up to 3 topics are usually chosen to address one issue Adapted from OvationNet – David Cooperrider

21. Low morale ormagnify and learn from moments of highest engagement and enthusiasm High turnover of staff or magnetic work environments Impediments to culture change ordynamic business horizon Customer complaints orrevolutionary customer response Slow collaborative processes or lightening fast consensus What would you rather inquire into? Adapted from OvationNet – David Cooperrider

22. Exercise • In pairs • Select an issue of importance to you or your organisation • Identify an affirmative topic that you would like to inquire into

23. Appreciative interviews – the heart of the matter • Use a lead-in to the interview questions – sets the scene • Hundreds can be involved in (one hour) interviews: • The data must be analysed, themes drawn and shared across the organisation • The data informs the dream, design and destiny phases across the whole organisation – where new questions are being asked • To engage people’s visions, design and commitment so that new actions and possibilities occur • Face to face is most effective for change • The questions are the catalyst for change

24. Process: Pick a partner A interviews B for 45 minutes. Not a conversation, an interview Interviewer: Probe. Identify key themes. Take notes. Capture the positive core. Quotes. Interviewee: Share your experience, expertise, ideas Record as requested on sheet Appreciative question excercise

25. Together: Share your data Identify: Key themes Note: A theme is a unifying or dominant idea or an element common to most It is not a summary of the conversation Analyse, synthesise, record

26. Further information Appreciative Inquiry Handbook – David. L.Cooperrider, Diana .L. Whitney, Jacqueline .M. Stavros Appreciative InquirySummit – James .D. Ludeman, Diana .L. Whitney, Bernard .J. Mohr, Thomas .J. Griffin The Encyclopaedia of Positive Questions – Dianne .J. Whitney, David .L. Copperrider, Brian .S. Kaplin, Amanda Trosten-Bloom ICVET article on Appreciative Inquiry: seeing our organisations as living systems – Maret Staron – www.icvet.edu.au May-June eZine Appreciative Inquiry Commons website http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/