Problem Solving and Strength Seeking – The Art of Appreciative Inquiry

Ask any consultant about how he (or she) approaches a typical engagement, and most probably the answer will be somewhere down these lines: “we understand the current situation, the future position, what the gaps are and then create plans to bridge that”. At the heart of this process is “problem” identification and solving. There is no “problem” with that, as we instinctively seek to identify what is “wrong” with the situation and engage in rectifying that.
However, by using negative words and descriptions (‘the problem’), we can often over-emphasize the negative aspects of the situation and depress the enthusiasm of those involved. Instead, why not look at what is working, and take that forwards? It is a more positive approach.

That is a school of thought that I recently came to learn about through a good old friend of mine (Hania Qubain), who was kind enough to direct me to “Appreciative Inquiry” (AI).

Wikipedia explains Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as ” a process for engaging people across the system in renewal, change and focused performance. The basic idea is to build organizations around what works, rather than trying to fix what doesn't. A proven benefit of the approach is its reliance on the acknowledgement of contribution at the individual level, which leads to trust and organizational alignment. Since the method creates meaning by drawing from stories of concrete successes and lends itself to cross-industrial social activities, it is enjoyable and natural to many managers, who are thought to be naturally social people focused on the bottom line.”

AI manifests some key assumptions to start with:

1. In every society, organisation, group or individual, something works


2. What we focus on becomes our reality


3. Reality is created every moment. Every society, organisation, group and individual has their own realities


4. The act of asking questions of an organisation, or group influences the group in some way


5. People have more confidence to journey to the future (the unknown) when they carry forward parts of the past (the known)


6. If we carry forward parts of the past, they should be what are best about the past


7. It is important to value differences


8. Te language we use creates our reality.
   

Appreciative Inquiry utilizes a 4-stage process focusing on:

• DISCOVER: The identification of organizational processes that work well.


• DREAM: The envisioning of processes that would work well in the future.


• DESIGN: Planning and prioritizing processes that would work well.


• DESTINY (or DELIVER): The implementation (execution) of the proposed design.

I immediately felt how well AI meshes with a lot of my personal thinking that I actually decided to attempt to use it at a current case in hand, where we were asked to envision a new future for a 30-year old organization. The proposed approach captured the attention of the leadership team and clearly showed a positive change in mood, just by introducing the concept. Of course, a lot of work has to be done to carry that approach in reality. The good thing is that there are so many practitioners of AI that openly share their experiences.

We are still at the beginning of the process, so there is a lot to learn and practice. I hope for this to be a success for that organization and share the experience with the rest.

I conclude with a famous quote of Albert Einstein provoking the “genius in the question” who said ““What would the universe look like if I were riding on the end of a light beam at the speed of light?”. An attendee enlightened me that he said that when he was 16 years old!