Appreciative Enquiry – AI – is an exciting alternative approach to organizational change developed by two American organization behavior professors, David L. Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva.In the usual change management model, management thinking is generally based around looking for and fixing problems.  In AI, the focus is identifying what works well in the organization, understanding what is behind that, and doing more of it. The purpose of this is to allow this positive energy to spread throughout the organization or team or unit. AI creates an environment where more and more focus is applied to finding the previously unknown and unrecognized areas of good practice, and enabling the rest of the organization in a similar way…

It is important to understand that this is not just a change in words or using nicer-sounding vocabulary. It is about a change of mindset.

A principle premise of AI is that people’s energies are directed by their assumptions. If you discuss problems in meetings, then that’s where all the energies go. Conversely, if the context of discussion is thinking about how to make things better and successful, then attitudes and actions get framed in a more positive way.

AI is based on some primary assumptions.

1. In every society, collective or organization, there is something that works
2. What we focus on, that is likely to become our reality
3. The language we use creates our reality
4. The act of asking questions of a group influences the group in the same way
5. People have more confidence and comfort to journey to the future (the unknown) when they carry forward parts of the past (the known)
6. If we carry parts of the past forward, they should be what are best about the past
7. It is important to value differences

The way AI differs from conventional change management is that the dialog and research is conducted by the participants themselves; the discoveries that emerge are therefore their own.

AI “4-D” Cycle

A typical AI intervention called the 4-D cycle consists of breaking a team up into pairs to interview each other with a list of questions. Each person’s response is added to produce a summary of positive contributions, stories and observations that lend strength to the organization. From this summary, the participants then choose the priority areas for wider implementation. The 4 components of the cycle are:

Discovery: The discovery through interview/enquiry process to look for what is working well, on strength areas, on pockets of excellence

Dream: Envisioning boldly and ambitiously what may be possible, to describe desired scenarios

Design: You start to turn the above dream into reality. The group(s) agree on what should be the principles and priorities

Destiny: You take action; you do; you monitor. AI is an ongoing process to continue to discover new positives

Some typical application areas for AI type interventions are:

Communications environment
Cultural change
Teamwork
Process improvement etc

For more information, go to the Case Western Reserve University site at

http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu