MJO-20sept02
Habitat for Humanity International
DRAFT
APPRECIATIVE PLANNING & ACTION
for Organization & Affiliate Development
& Participatory Planning, Monitoring &
Evaluation
TRAINER'S MANUAL
VOLUME ONE
Compiled & Edited by
Malcolm J. Odell, Jr. Ph.D.
Kathmandu, Nepal
September 2002
<macodell@wlink.com.np>
Habitat for Humanity International
Asia Pacific Area Office
Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Ocean Tower 1, floor 22
170/68, Soi Sukumvit 16 (Soi Sammit)
Ratchadapikek Rd, Klongtoey
Appreciative Planning and Action Training Manual
Acknowledgments
This training manual draws on and is adapted from the basic design developed for Appreciative Inquiry
developed by David Cooperrider and colleagues at the Weathershead School of Management, Case Western
Reserve University. Particular appreciation is owed to David Cooperrider and Diana Whitney, The Taos
Institute, Taos, New Mexico, for sharing their workshop and manual, "Appreciative Inquiry, A Constructive
Approach to Organization Change: A Workshop for Consultants and Leaders of Change." A similar debt of
gratitude goes to Ada Jo Mann and Claudia Leibler for the excellent manual and materials from their Global
Excellence in Management (GEM) Initiative training programs.
Further thanks is due to Tricia Lustig and Anne Radford, UK, to Buddhi Tamang of Kathmandu, to Meg
Klinghorn of Catholic Relief Services, and to XXXXXXXX of Myrada, India, for sharing their own AI
training manuals. Material from all these manuals has extremely helpful for the creation of this manual, for
which the editor is extremely grateful.
The basic process outlined here draws heavily on three articles by the author, "Appreciative Planning and
Action: Experience from the Field,"1 "Issues in Participatory Development: From Participatory Rural
Appraisal to Appreciative Planning and Action, A Personal Journey of Discovery,"2 and “Beyond the Box:
An Innovative Habitat for Humanity Paradigm for Participatory Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation,” 3for
which thanks are due to the publishers for permitting reproduction of portions of those documents.
A great measure of personal acknowledgment is due to my colleagues in Habitat for Humanity in the Asia
Pacific area, including in particular, colleagues in Nepal Habitat for Humanity, Habitat for Humanity Sri
Lanka, HFHI Regional Office in New Delhi, and the Asia Pacific Area Office in Bangkok, who have
contributed greatly to this manual. Special thanks are due to Naresh and Nalini Karmalker, Todd Garth,
Tony Senirawatne, Posta Silva, Shirantha Perera, Mahendra Bhattarai, Narayan Bhatta, Mabel Kuizon, Andy
and Sharon Fitton, Judy Blanchette, and Area Vice President Steven Weir, who have both helped and
encouraged me in the development of this manual and the courses behind it that now have become part and
parcel of the core programs of National and Affiliate programs across the Asian region.
I also own sincere thanks to my friends who I worked with in The Mountain Institute between 1994 and
1997 where the basic process presented here was first developed. Special thanks go to Dr. Jane Pratt, Dr.
Gabriel Campbell, Bob Davis,Brian Peniston, Lamu Sherpa, Chandi Chapagain, Khagendra Sangam, and
Prakash Neupane, several of whom trekked hundreds of kilometers with me from village to village
developing and testing the APA process and sharing it the magic that emerged.
Another special round of applause goes to Pact/Nepal and Education Curriculum and Training Associates of
Kathmandu, and to Pact/Washington, DC, for their active cooperation, collaboration, and support in an
earlier edition of this manual. From the Pact Women’s Empowerment team I owe thanks to Bhaktaraj
Ranjit who, with Pact and ECTA colleagues, insisted on taking us out to a village just off the road to Tibet
to test and demonstrate the techniques included here which set in motion the adoption of an appreciative
approach to the delivery of the Women's Empowerment Project (WEP) that eventually reached over 100,000
women. From that one-day village pilot and a subsequent weekend exercise now captured in a short video,
1
Lessons from the Field: Applying Appreciative Inquiry, Sue Annis Hammond and Cathy Royal, Plano, TX:
Practical Press, 1998
2
Kathmandu, Nepal: Pact/Nepal, February 1999
3
Bangkok, Thailand: Habitat for Humanity International, January 2002
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“APA in Action,” organized by Tricia Lustig, came a process of enthusiastic inquiry, testing, and pilot
workshops based on this approach by a courageous group of innovators led by Keshab Thapaliya and Marcia
Odell and including, during the initial trial period, Durgha Shah, Govinda Joshi, Sabena Panth, Ranju
Shrestha, Raju Sharma. The ideas and methods developed in that award-winning program then went full
circle to became the backbone of an innovative participatory and appreciative approach to planning,
monitoring and evaluation within Habitat for Humanity that is showing how the introduction of an AI/APA
approach can actually yield geometric increases in productivity and impact, a phenomenon first observed
through WEP MIS data.
These creative and innovative partners in the Habitat for Humanity, Mountain Institute, and Pact programs
are the real pioneers, architects, and visionaries whose untiring field work and commitment underlies
everything in these pages.
Malcolm J. Odell, Jr.
Kathmandu, Nepal
September 2002
Malcolm Odell
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Appreciative Planning and Action Training Manual
Contents
Page
Volume 1
Section One: Appreciative Planning and Action: Theory and Practice
• The Image
Surkhet Habitat House #1
The Cracked Pot
• Appreciative Inquiry and Appreciative Planning and Action
A Brief Introduction
• Appreciative Planning & Action/APA: Mission Statement
• Appreciative Planning & Action: The 1, 2, 3 APA Approach
• From Appreciative Inquiry to Empowerment Mobilization
The "4-Ds" Grow to "7-Ds"
• Elaborating the "4-D" Process
"Do it Now"
Dialogue and Discussion Reflection
“Dance & Drum” – Celebrating Success
• The 4-D Process and Standard Project Planning Cycles
Beyond Problem-Solving to Appreciative Planning & Action
Section Two
Applying Appreciative Planning and Action
• The Seven Steps for Mobilization and Empowerment
• Discovery
• Dream
• Design
• Delivery
• "Do it Now!"
• Dialogue & Discussion
• Dance and Drum
Section Three
Theoretical Foundations of Appreciative Inquiry
 Positive Image, Positive Action Relationship
 Tracking Internal Positive and Negative Dialogue
 Social Constructionism
 Five Principles of Appreciative Inquiry
 Managing Continuity, Novelty, and Transition
 Topic Choice-A Fateful Act
 DISCOVERY: What Gives Life to the Organization?
Preparing for the interviews
Interview questions
Tips for conducting interviews
Identifying themes
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

DREAM & DESIGN: Envisioning the Ideal Organization
Constructing Provocative Propositions
Criteria For Good Propositions
My Provocative Proposition
DELIVERY/DESTINY: Empowering and Sustaining Change
Whether AI will work in an organization
Valuation & Learning
The Power of Appreciation
Section Four
Recommended Readings in Appreciative Inquiry
Section Five
Applying Appreciative Planning and Action: Selected Examples & Case Studies
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Appreciative Planning and Action Training Manual
Section One
Appreciative Planning and Action
Theory and Practice
THE IMAGE
“A vivid imagination compels the whole body to obey it.”
Aristotle
We need one of our best stories here.. from APA workshops…
Ideas?
Here’s one:
Surkhet Affiliate’s House #1
It’s a hot afternoon in April in Surkhet village in Nepal’s western
hills where I’m helping build a Habitat home with a Global Village
Team from Japan, US, and Canada. I am given a surprise invitation by
a local NGO, Social Awareness Centre (SAC) to visit one of their
women’s savings groups, one that included Surkhet Habitat’s house
No. 1, owned by Satar and Sarajan Khan. They come from an
extremely poor Muslim family who have no land. Sarajan is the
family’s prime bread winner, since her husband is reported to be
rather lazy and prone to drinking and gambling. Yet, we hear during
our visit to her village yesterday that Sarajan is quite a good
businesswoman who sells simple jewelry and cosmetics door-to-door in outlying parts of town and neighboring
villages. With a small Rs. 600 ($8) loan from her group, “Muslim Mahila Bajat Samuha” (Muslim Women’s Savings
Group) she has started this small business to help pay her Habitat monthly payments.
I accept the invitation not just to see how she is doing, but also since the Women’s Empowerment Program behind
this group may be a useful model for HFH as it looks at savings programs as a means of reaching the poorest of the
poor. The women of this group provide an interesting microcosm of one Habitat community. All are extremely poor
and have no land for farming and are dependent on selling their labor. Yet they now all have small business, are
serious about saving, and many, like Sarajan, are now actually earning more than their husbands. Said one of
Sarajan’s friends:
“We want to build a strong Village Bank together. From our Village Bank we will have savings,
then loans, then businesses that will then give us good incomes.”
During my 2-hour visit with the women I learn that the group has about Rs. 7,000 in total savings plus Rs. 250
which they collected at this meeting; of the total, Rs. 2,100 is out on loan to members, Rs. 2,300 is in a Nepal Bank Ltd.
Account, and Rs. 3,000 is on deposit with Coop bank. Of the three loans out to member one is for Rs. 500 for a small
shop, Rs. 600 for Sarajan’s door-to-door sales business, and Rs. 1,000 to a third woman for purchasing a goat for
fattening. Sarajan’s loan is somewhat in arrears, due to her HFH mortgage commitments and her lackadaisical
husband, but she was said to be responsible, a good businesswoman and the group is confidant that she will fully
repay her loan, even if her husband doesn’t help out.
When the Nepal Habitat PME Team visits Surkhet a year later to help conduct the comprehensive 7-Step
appreciative and participatory Affiliate evaluation that takes place every 3 years, they bring back surprising news.
Not only is Sarajan’s loan repayment fully up to date, and her business going well, but her husband has reformed his
ways and is now a fully contributing member of the family. Inspired by his wife’s initiative and the blessing of their
charming little Habitat house, he’s gained a new measure of self-respect. In the eyes of their fellow villagers, the Khan
family is no longer poor.
Malcolm Odell
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The Cracked Pot
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the
pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long
walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's
house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor
cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been
made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am
ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you." "Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have been able,
for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to
your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the
pot said. The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's
house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took
notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the
trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer
said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's
because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and
every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful
flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his
house."
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We are all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, God uses our flaws to grace His
world. In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste.
Courtesy: John Gerhart, American University of Cairo, Egypt
APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY and APPRECIATIVE PLANNING AND ACTION: A
BRIEF INTRODUCTION
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is an approach for discovering, understanding, and fostering
innovations. Appreciative Planning and Action (APA) is an adaptation of Appreciative
Inquiry, first developed and in Nepal and later adapted and tested in Sri Lanka and India,
which simplifies and abbreviates the AI process, adds the use of pictures and an empowering
action step, and makes the process available for rural communities, directly addressing the
lives of illiterate and poor rural people.
The art of appreciation is the art of discovering and valuing those factors that give life to
an organization or group, of finding the best and what we want more of. The process
involves interviewing, storytelling, and drawing pictures and maps representing the best of
the past and visualizing what might be.
Appreciative Inquiry works from a set of assumptions. These are:
1. In every society, every organization or group, something works
2. What we focus on becomes our reality
3. Reality is created in the moment, and there are multiple realities, we define our own truth
4. The act of asking questions of an organization, or group influences the group in some
way.
5. People have more confidence to journey into 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 the best parts of the past.
7. It is important to value differences.
8. The language we use creates our reality.
From The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry by Sue Annis Hammond.
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What is Appreciative Inquiry?
Habitat Appreciative Planning and Action sees this
Glass at least half full.
Appreciative Inquiry has us looking for what
works and finding ways to do more of that.
In every Habitat program something works.
We need to seek what the root cause of that
success is so we can build on it.
As a method of organizational analysis, Appreciative Inquiry differs from conventional
problem-solving. The basic assumption of problem-solving seems to be that organizing is “a
problem to be solved." The task of improvement involves removing deficits. This process
usually involves identifying the key problems or deficiencies, analyzing the causes, analyzing
solutions, and developing an action plan. This has been the basic approach that we have
taken to our work and our lives for generations. Our schools and universities value and teach
“critical thinking” and even those who review books and films are honored as ‘critics.’
In contrast, the underlying assumption of Appreciative Inquiry is not that organizing is a
"problem to be solved" but rather that it is a "solution to be embraced,” a “mystery or
opportunity to be explored." The steps are: discovery and valuing, envisioning, dialogue;
and working together to construct the future.
Habitat for Humanity
Appreciative Planning & Action
Mission Statement
•
•
To empower Habitat organizations, groups, partners and individuals to:
-- take pride in what and who they are and what they have achieved
-- dream of what might be
-- plan for what can be; and
-- feel the energy that comes from making commitments and taking the first step
To be simple enough that anyone can do it; profound enough to change people’s lives
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Appreciative Planning and Action
The Appreciative Planning and Action approach, as developed and used in South Asia with Habitat for
Humanity and other partner organizations, is built on four basic elements, including a simple 7-step planning
and action cycle that parallels classic planning models. The basic approach is built upon a 4-part model
which summarizes the underlying philosophy, principles, and procedures. These include:
• One goal: • Seeking the root cause of success
(not the root cause of failure)
• Two laws: l What you seek is what you find
(The questions you ask determine the answers you get)
2 Where you believe you are going is where you will bend up
• Three Principles:
l
2
3
If you look for problems, you find – and create -- more problems
If you look for successes, you find – and create -- more successes
If you have faith in your dreams you will achieve miracles
• Four 'Ds'
l
Discovery -- Asking positive questions, seeking what works, what empowers, what gives life to
our community or group, when have we felt particularly excited, energized,
empowered?
2 Dream
-- Visioning of what could be, where we want to go, what do we want for our
children and grandchildren?
3 Design
-- Making an action plan based on what we can do for ourselves
4
Delivery -- Make personal commitments -- Start taking action, now!
INSERT PARAGRAPH ON THE RATIONALE FOR ADDING THE 3 EXTRA ‘Ds’
From Appreciative Inquiry to Appreciative Planning and Action
The '4-Ds' Grow to '7-Ds'
l
Discovery
-- Asking positive questions, seeking what works, what empowers, what gives life to
our community or group, when have we, as women, felt particularly excited,
energized, empowered?
2 Dream
-- Visioning of what could be, where we want to go, what do we want for our
daughters?
3 Design
-- Making an action plan based on what we can do for ourselves
4
Delivery
-- Making personal commitments
These '4-Ds' of APA have evolved during the transition to 'Empowerment Mobilization' to '7-Ds,' reflecting
WEP's commitments to action, reflection, and celebration for enhancing the empowerment of rural women.
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5
6
7
'Do it Now!'-- Start taking action, now! Take small symbolic steps together, right now
Discourse -- Reflection. Learn from the process; discussion, dialogue on 'the best' and 'even
better' for replication and sustainability
Dance & Drum! Celebrate, enjoy, sing, dance, share stories and humor; seek 'joy in work.'
The Principles of
“Appreciative Planning and Action”
What you seek is what you find
The questions you ask determine the answers you get.
Negative questions generate negative responses
Positive questions generate positive answers
Positive answers generate
positive actions
What we focus on becomes our reality
Positive images
create positive actions.
Powerful positive visions lead to powerful positive action
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Elaborating the "4 D" Process
Supplemental Steps for Ongoing Learning and Celebration
With APA, the 4-D process is generally supplemented by a rapid-feedback participatory monitoring and
evaluation (PM&E) step to help trainers with the process of continually evaluating and improving the APA
approach and its specific application at any given time. Provision is also made for song, dance, and general
merriment throughout APA workshops, usually culminating in a final ‘celebration of success.’
Dialogue & Discussion: The Reflection Step
A Simplified Yet Powerful Approach to Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (PME)
The 4-D process leads directly back to the Discovery step through reviewing with participants what has
worked best, what was learned, how this affects our dream, and what new actions we can take to move
forward and follow-up on what we have started. Like any sound grass-roots or organizational development
process, APA initiatives require ongoing and regular follow-up: approximately monthly for first 6 mos.,
than every 6 mos. thereafter until communities and/or organizations are functioning on a sustainable basis
which can normally be expected in about 2 years.
Typically, participants form a circle, near or around their mini action project and are encouraged, one by
one, to share a thought or two on the process, what was learned, what was the best, what might have been
even better? This should be informal, light, and fun--well sprinkled with laughter. Using a ‘2 D’ or ‘3 D’
two or three simple questions are generally asked which, taking only a few minutes through brainstorming
from the floor, capture what participants liked best about the workshop and how it might be even better in
the future.
In the case of workshops of more than one day participants are encouraged to volunteer to
take on relevant tasks to make the next day ‘even better,’ thus emphasizing the action-orientation of APA
and building ownership among participants in the process itself. For example, if participants want more
sharing of success stories, ‘Energizers,’ entertainment breaks, or to have lunch served earlier, they are then
asked who would like to volunteer to help make that happen. This reflection process with participants leads
back to the Discovery step, thus closing the appreciative planning and action circle.
Celebration:
"The well-equipped APA team always has a drum and flute"
On completion of "Do it Now!" and 'Reflection' steps, the APA team or facilitator should not rush off,
but join in for a short celebration... and, if possible, for an evening of informal relaxation and discussion. In
such informal sessions often important and unexpected insights, plans, or information can be shared and
potential problems turned into opportunities for more success. APA should contribute to 'joy in work.'
Enjoy!
The 4-D Process and Standard Project Planning Cycles
The 4-D process is fully compatible with most standard project cycles which are based on a parallel 4step process of problem identification and analysis, choice of alternatives, development of plan,
implementation of plan (followed by a return to the first step as part of a monitoring/evaluation process).
This new generation PRA approach thus can be introduced harmoniously into existing systems, giving new
meaning and power to those systems rather than undermining or invalidating them. The fundamental
difference, however, between APA and conventional planning models is its focus on building from success
to success:
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INSERT ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE TWO CYCLES… NORMAL AND APA…
BEYOND PROBLEM SOLVING TO APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY
PROBLEM SOLVING
APPRECIATIVE
INQUIRY
“Felt Need”
“Valuing the Best of What is”
Identification of Problem
Appreciating
Analysis of Causes
Envisioning
“What Might Be”
Analysis of Possible
Solutions
Dialoguing
“What Should Be”
Action Planning
(Treatment)
Innovating
“What Will Be”
Basic Assumption:
Organization is a
Problem
to be Solved.
Basic Assumption:
Organization is a solution—
An Opportunity to be
Embraced.
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Building Success and Increasing Impacts through Appreciative
Planning & Action:
Look at What’s Working and Do More of that
By focusing on success, Habitat can create more and more
success.
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Section Two:
Applying Appreciative Planning and Action
Seven Steps of Empowerment Mobilization
Implementing Empowerment Mobilization Process
The "7-Ds"
A Training Framework for Habitat for Humanity
A practical procedure that forms the backbone of the HFH planning and field implementation process--to
be conducted with trainers, National Program Board and staff, Affiliate Board and staff, and Habitat
partners
 Discovery
(Success Map)
"When have
we felt very ?
happy,
empowered?"
"What are our
successes?"
"What's
the best..."
Sharing success
Dream 
(Future Map)
Vision of futureLooking ahead
10 yrs; 20 yrs."
"What do we
want for our
children, our
grandchildren?"
Vision for
"even better.."
Design 
(Strategy)
"Constructing
the future"
Developing a
long-range
general plan:
"What, where,
when, who,
how"
1-5 year
general plan
Delivery 
"Do it Now!"
(Commitment) (Action now)
Short term
"Actions we
action plan.
can take now"
Each one takes Real or symbola small piece
ic task we can
of the plan and do in 10-15 min.
makes a personal immediately,
commitment:
to get started..
"I will do it!"
Action plan & Action to take
promises
right now
Dialogue
(Monitoring)
"What was
the best?"
"How could
we do it even
better?"
"What I'll do
to help..."
"Dance & Drum->
Enjoy!
Everything we
do should
contribute to
joy in work,
joy in life.
What did we
learn?
Bring your drum,
flute, and dance!
The ‘First D’ before the ‘4Ds’ – Topic Choice: A Fateful Act
Before starting in on the basic ‘4Ds’ of AI, comes, what some call the ‘first D’ of all:
Defining the topic for the Appreciative Inquiry. Topic selection is really the first step in the
AI process. Imaginative, careful, thoughtful and informed choice of a topic or topics is
important because it defines the scope of the inquiry and provides the framework for each of
the basic ‘4D’ questions, for appreciative interviews, and data collection.
Appreciative Inquiry is based on the logic that organizations move in the direction of what
they study, in the direction of the questions they ask. For example, when Affiliates or
National Programs study problems and conflicts, they often find that both the number and
severity and complexity of problems tend to grow. Similarly, when they study Affiliate or
program successes, innovations, and achievements, such as teamwork, broad positive
impacts, or peak experiences, these, too, tend to increase.
In one unusual and perplexing case, an extremely productive and dynamic Affiliate in Asia,
encouraged by a series of APA workshops, created a five year vision for building over a
thousand houses, equivilant to what the entire national program had achieved since it was
founded. Within one year the Affiliate had virtually achieved this 5 year dream. Meanwhile
accounting and fiscal management irregularities emerged which triggered conflict between
the Affiliate and National Office, resulting in a series of management and financial audits.
Thus, while housebuilding proceeded at a rapid rate, consistent with their positive future
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visions, so too did the intensity of conflict between Board and National Office.
Simultaneously each area of inquiry and attention grew on both positive and negative front.
In another fascinating case, a large scale women’s empowerment program conducted surveys
every 6 months on each of the five project interventions: literacy, savings, credit, village
banking, and micro enterprise. Since these interventions were introduced sequentially over a
two year period, the questions about micro enterprise (ME) preceded the actual introduction
of ME books, materials, and training. Yet in the first 18 months the number of women with
small businesses quadrupled while their earnings went up eight-fold – prior to the ME
intervention! Apparently the appreciative inquiry framework with which the program was
conducted, combined with the repeated questions about micro enterprises combined to
produce an impact on their own that exceeded all expectations. Asking the right questions
encouraged the sharing of success stories among women which had as or greater impact than
could be expected by the direct intervention of materials and training that came later.
Organizations, indeed, grow in the direction of the questions they ask.
The implication of this for strategic learning and planning is that participants must be
selective about defining their topics and questions for inquiry. They can choose, for example,
to study an entire range of issues, from their weaknesses, breakdowns and environmental
threats, as is the common practice of problem solving, or to focus instead on the common
values, successes, empowering moments in their histories, and shared dreams and aspirations
for the future.
Appreciative Inquiry begins and ends with valuing that which gives life and energy to
organizations. During preparation, we must generate positive, affirmative topics - or bold
hunches about what gives life to our organizations - that represent what we want to discover
or learn more about and that stimulate conversations of our desired future - what we most
want to see grow and flourish in our institutions. The seeds of change are implicit in these
very first questions that we ask.4
The bottom line then is to select topics that are positive affirmations of the strengths of the
organization or group concerned and provide a powerful means to discover, to learn about
and to become. From these affirmative topics we can then derive the core questions for each
of the subsequent ‘4Ds.’ The following table give a few examples of how these questions
can be derived from the basic topic of choice.
Examples of Topic Choice and Empowering Questions
4
Courtesy of Lustig and Radford. For more, see Wilmot, Tim, “Appreciative Inquiry and Organizational
Capacity Building”, Global Social Innovations. Vol. 1, summer 1996.
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Topic
Discover
Empowering
Leadership
Share your personal
moments, experiences of
empowering leadership
Dream
What are your visions of
empowering leadership
at all levels in the
organization?
Design
Draft a strategy and
general working plan for
achieving empowering
leadership
Deliver
Develop an action plan
and personal
commitments to start
developing empowering
leadership at all levels
Extraordinary Teamwork
High Repayment Rates
Tell a story about an
experience of extraordinarily
successful teamwork,
cooperation, or collaboration
Tell us your dreams for
extraordinary teamwork,
cooperation, and collaborative
relationships thoughout our
organization
Develop a basic strategy and
long-range plan for creating an
organization of extraordinary
teamwork, cooperation, and
collaboration
Prepare a short-term action
plan for starting the process of
developing extraordinary
teamwork throughout our
organization and your personal
commitments to get started
Share examples of families
and/or Affiliates with high
repayment rates
Share your dreams for
extraordinarily high
repayment rates across all
Affiliates
Design an approach and
operational plan for
achieving the highest
possible repayment rates for
all Affiliates
Create an action plan with
your personal commitments
for starting the process of
substantially increasing
repayment rates among
Affiliates
1. Discovery
•
Asking empowering, positive questions about the best, about what gives life to what we do, when
we have felt happiest, most empowered; what have been our greatest successes as
individuals or in our groups? Seeking and understanding successes, analyzing them for what
they teach us --"The answers we get depend on the questions we ask." The key to an
empowering workshop is empowering 'discovery'... the key to good 'discovery' is good
questions.
• Sharing our "Empowerment Pictures" and our "Success Maps" among the group
Discovery is tailored to the group and/or situation. It replaces the familiar "Problem Identification"
step in the normal planning process. Discovery often starts with asking participants to draw a picture of
a moment of great happiness, personal success, joy, and then to share that picture and story by way of a
personal introduction; usually going around the circle of participants. Pairwise interviews can also be
used where appropriate.
This first, introductory step is frequently followed by a brief discussion about the root causes of
empowerment and success. "What does empowerment mean to you? What words summarize the
important meaning behind your picture?" Words are listed and discussed by the group.
Stimulating, leading questions seeking successes and feelings of empowerment are used to help one
or more small groups get down on the ground or floor to create their own "Success Map" or symbolic
diagram of their Affiliate, village, or organization as it is now, highlighting their achievements, those
things they have done together of which they are particularly proud.
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When asking questions, don't rush or push for answers; wait 30 seconds before rephrasing a
question; then if no response, ask a new question. Move on, don't belabor a question that doesn't
generate a good response. If group does not respond, the problem is the question, not the group!
Very important for all empowerment mobilization efforts, Discovery typically reveals that the
favorite, most empowering moments or projects have been those the people or their groups have done on
their own -- self-help projects, as opposed to those donated or supported by outsiders. Facilitators must
take the time necessary for this Discovery to become evident to the group because subsequent planning
for self-help initiatives is greatly enhanced when groups understand the power they derive from things
they have done on their own compared to those provided from outside. The "Empowerment Pictures"
and "Success Maps" usually make this possible; different colors can be used to represent "self-help"
projects vs. those with help from elsewhere.
A note on timing: Discovery can start informally as people begin to gather, then be summarized,
preferably by a local early-comer, when the meeting begins. Don't punish those who come early or on
time by waiting until the late-comers arrive. In rural areas, early morning or evening meetings seem to
work particularly well, particularly for women, whose work-day is typically from dawn to dark. Where
women’s participation is particularly important, workshops should be kept very short, typically no more
than 2-3 hours, or else women just won’t have the time to join in.
2. Dream
Creating a positive vision of what might be, what we would like to achieve
• Close our eyes, for one minute; imagine what we would like to find here in 10 or 20 years or so....
think of what is needed to help make our dream come true....for our children, our
grandchildren....
• In our group prepare a "Future Map" or diagram that illustrates our dream of the future
• Share our "Future Maps" among the entire group (if subdivided)
The Dream step replaces the usual "Problem Analysis" and/or "seeking alternatives" steps in the
normal planning process. Dreams may need clarification with a story or example. It often works to
suggest that "these are dreams we see in the daytime that we can believe in achieving, not the dreams
we see at night which vanish with the dawn."
Dreams are shared briefly in the full group and then discussed in small groups to achieve a
reasonable consensus on an exciting yet achievable vision for the future that can be illustrated by the
group in map or diagram form. Use symbols not words, especially if there are illiterate participants in
the group.
While the use of pictures was first introduced to enable the full participation of illiterate participants,
it has subsequently been found to be a liberating, energizing exercise for even the most highly educated
participants. As one seasoned APA facilitator observed:
“We learn words and how to read mainly through reading other people’s ideas, while art comes
from the soul; it taps and provides expression to our inner feelings and perceptions, thus through
‘empowerment art’ we actually can come closer to the truth and meaning than through written words.”
Sabina Panth, Nepal 1999
Some groups do not relate well to "closing our eyes" so this is optional; some may discuss vigorously
in the large group while others may require a small group. Some may respond well to examples from
facilitators to catch the idea, while others may jump right into this with enthusiasm. If people seem
reluctant to share their dreams , get them down to drawing their "Future Map" right away. Enthusiastic
participation usually comes with the drawing exercise. Be creative and flexible.
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3. Design
•
•
Turning our picture of the future into an action plan to realize it
Prepare medium and short term (5 year, 1 year, ) action plan for what we will do ourselves to start
implementing the dream--to turn wishes into action steps, requests, promises; plans can be
made starting with tasks to be done now and working toward tasks to be done over 1 year,
then 5 years... or they can start with the longer-term and work toward what is to be done
now. Be flexible!
Develop a program to start implementing that plan this month or this season, including "who,
what, when, where, why, how" as appropriate to time and complexity of tasks
• Share our Action Plans among the entire group (if subdivided)
• Share our "Success Maps" among the entire group (if subdivided)
This Design step can be done verbally and/or symbolically on the Future Map,
MORE ON DESIGN STEP
4. Delivery
Delivery consists of a short-term action plan for the next week or month, depending on the context of the
overall Design, above. Delivery is also accompanied by each group member making a personal, public
commitment of one action step s/he is going to make and by when (be sure to clap vigorously as each
person states his/her commitment.)
Facilitators can make their own commitments, and, where appropriate, commitments for their organization
as "topping up" for local action; but the focus should first be on what local people are ready
and willing to do for themselves.
Finding a piece of the plan that each of us can take on personally--starting now on the path to achieve our
vision
• What are we going to do to start this process? Near term actions we can undertake ourselves;
promises we can fulfill during the coming week or month.
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•
Make personal commitments on tasks from these plans that each one of us is to take as part of
implementation of the action plan
This is the classic implementation phase of the standard project planning cycle except that with APA
one or more simple, symbolic, practical steps are selected by the group for immediate action, as part of
the meeting process.
MORE ON DELIVERY…
5. "Do it Now"
Seeking one small piece of the puzzle that we can do right now, "before the tea arrives;" something
simple that symbolizes our commitments, and which we can all take part in.... immediately.
Action generates energy; provides a real sense of achievement, is fun, and crystallizes the meaning
and lessons of the entire APA process.
"Do it Now!" should be a task(s) that can be done immediately, the same day, same place, and within
10-30 minutes. These have ranged from cleaning up the area around the meeting place to starting an
HIV/AIDS initiative in the college where the workshop is being held. Participants in villages have gone
to help build a Habitat house, repaired a few meters of trail, drained a mud hole around a water tap, built
a simple pit latrine, planted a few trees, dug up a site for a school garden, micro-nursery, or flower bed,
stacked firewood, ground corn, or carried rocks to the site of their newly planned school... anything that
can be done together, in just a few minutes, and which symbolizes our commitments. Consistent with
the Chinese proverb, “The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step,” this action step catalyzes
energy and enables participants to feel genuinely that they have gone beyond planning to take that first,
most difficult step.
In follow-up ‘mini-‘A’ Valuations, done after all workshops, participants almost universally
applauded the ‘Do it now!’ step as the most popular and important step in the APA process. As one
participant said,
“Look at what we all did in such a short time! Imagine what we could do in a whole day together!”
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6. Dialogue & Discussion
“Short, Sweet Mini-“A” Valuation:
An appreciative "2D"or “3D” Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation of what we have just
done together, to share our impressions, learnings. This is an informal yet powerful
“A”Valuation, accompanied by some speeches by participants where they share the meaning
of the meeting with each other and what the next steps are that they plan to take on our own
Participants form a circle, near or around their mini-project where appropriate, and are encouraged,
one by one, to share a thought or two on the process, what was learned, what was the best, what might
have been even better? This should be informal, light, and fun--well sprinkled with laughter, and
concluded with some relaxing enjoyment--such as dancing, singing, tea, snacks, local brew, story-telling,
jokes, and/or a good meal. (See next step, “Dance and Drum.”) Here’s the typical flip chart we use for
jotting down participants’ impressions and suggestions. This may be the ‘shortest, sweetest’ evaluation
tool ever and we think it is remarkably powerful. By getting the good news out first, it helps energize
participants with recollections of the best parts of the workshop, reminds us what to do more of next
time, and, by the parts of the program omitted, suggests where we need improvement without directly
asking for that. It responds to the best in people, gives them a chance to share positive feelings, and go
away from the workshop on a positive note. The “Even Better” part takes care of the negatives, from a
positive, future-oriented perspective: It simply asks, How could we do this even better next time? How
could we do this even better ourselves? Thus it really is a design step for the future, without the negative
baggage that criticism can open up. We have found, almost universally, that we get more useful data for
evaluating and improving our workshops through this simple “A” valuation, than with the most
sophisticated quantitative or qualitative tools available. (We still use these from time to time to validate
and quantify responses, but rarely get better, more useful input for improvement than from this short,
sweet approach.) With the optional third column, ‘Volunteers?’ it give participants a chance to take
ownership of these ‘even better’ ideas by putting them into practice during the next session or next
workshop, thus introducing an empowering action step.
The Best of today’s
workshop
 5 yr. dream
 Sandwiches with tea
 Singing
 Appreciating each
other’s values
 Positive thinking,
values
 Planning
 Stories
 New personal ideas
 Finished early
 Practical work outside
 Enjoyed
 Views outside
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Even Better – for tomorrow







Start on time: 8:30
am
Finish early: 4:30?
Friday:
Start 8 am
Finish 2 pm
Late lunch at 2 pm
More of those fun
activities, energizers
Action/By whom







All: Gather at 8:30
am
All: Come back on
time after breaks
All: Short Breaks
Paul: Devotion
Posta & Rohit:
Morning News
Rajive & Ajit:
Energizers
Quintas:
Entertainment
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7. Dance and Drum!
•
Enjoy! Finish up with a light touch, relaxing and fun activity, song, dance, swapping tales and
jokes, and/or sharing of food, snacks.
The Empowerment Mobilization APA should be concluded with some relaxing enjoyment--such as
dancing, singing, tea, snacks, local brew, story-telling, jokes, and/or a good meal. The well-equipped
APA team always brings a drum and flutes.
The WEP/APA team should not rush off, but join in, if possible for an evening of informal relaxation
and discussion. In such informal sessions often important and unexpected insights, plans, or information
can be shared and potential problems turned into opportunities for more success. Enjoy!
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Section Three:
Theoretical and Research Foundations of Appreciative Inquiry
With special thanks to Tricia Lustig & Ann Radford
The Science behind AI
The Research Studies
•
•
•
•
•
•
Medical Research
Education Research
Sports Studies
Prayer Studies
Positive Deviance
Development Research
Placebo studies
Pygmalian studies
Bowling teams
Healing rates
Nutrition studies
Women’s
Empowerment
Medical Research
Placebo Studies
• Healing occurs based on the belief that it
will occur
• 30-60% of subjects responded positively to
placebo; recent research suggests rates may
be even higher than this
• Effect is even stronger in ‘double blind’
experiments
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Medical Research
“Inner Dialogue”
• Unhealthy people have 1:1 ratio of
good: bad images
• Health people have 2:1 ration of
good: bad images
(Research on recovery from heart surgery)
Education Research
Pygmalian Studies
• When teachers are told that certain children (randomly
selected) are gifted, the children begin to show superior
performance
• Teacher’s and student’s behavior is influenced by
expectations
• Students perceived to be slow (randomly selected) begin to
show poor performance
• Images held by teacher are more powerful predictor of IQ
scores than home environment or past performance
• Impacts are so strong that they become nearly permanent
(such studies now outlawed)
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Sports Studies
Bowling Teams
• Videos taken of performance of two evenly
matched teams
• First team is shown clips of all successful,
exceptional plays and coached to do more of these
• Second team is shown clips of errors, mistakes
and coached not to repeat these
• First team significantly outperforms the second
team
Prayer Studies
and Healing
• Patients who pray and receive prayers from
others have faster healing rates than other
patients
• Healing rates are higher even if the patient
is not aware of the prayers of others
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“Positive Deviance” Research
Nutrition among poor children
Save the Children research on child malnutrition
(Jerry Sternin)
• Years of studying malnourished children from poor
families did not come up with effective strategies for poor
to provide good nutrition to their children
• “Positive Deviance” Studies, based on fact that “not all
poor families have malnourished children” discovered that
those families had workable strategies for providing good
nutrition
• These families taught other poor families these strategies
with good results
Development Research
Women’s Empowerment
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ap p reciative PME—p ositive qu estions, p ositive inqu iry
100,000 w om en; 6,500 grou ps, 240 N GOs
5 step p rocess, sequ ential, lead ing to higher incom es
o
LiteracySavingsCred itVillage BankingBu siness
o
39%90%; $1 m illion savings, $2 m illion in loans,
o
N o. of w om en in bu siness w ent from 20,000 to over 80,000
o
Earnings w ent from $1 m illion to $8 m illion in 18 mos.
BUT this w as BEFORE m icro enterp rise m aterials, trainin g
had been p rovid ed
H ow d id this hap p en?? Im pact w ithou t intervention?
The “3 S’s”
Sharing Success Stories
Ap p reciative Inqu iry w as the intervention
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THE FIVE PRINCIPLES OF APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY
WORK THESE INTO FOLLOWING SECTIONS…
Constructionist Principle
The Language Principle—Our words create our reality
 “Words create Worlds”
 “Sticks and stones” analogy—words matter, words make all the difference
 Language forms, creates our reality; words create reality, language as
creative act
 Language is fateful—creates the future
 What we seek is what we find
“Appreciative Tool Kit Exercise” The Indian Boy
o Principle of Simultaneity
Inquiry is impact principle--Change begins when you ask a question
 Traditional thinking conceives of planning as a long time process
 Appreciative Inquiry says change begins when you ask the question…
Are you hungry? When were you happiest?
 Inquiry is intervention—The Pact experience
 The questions we ask determine the answers we get, create the future we
want
o Poetic Principle
Life as poetry vs. life as machine
 Organizations are ‘open books’ that we are constantly creating, an
organization’s story is constantly being co-authored
 Our lens creates our reality… depends on how we view it..
 Organizations, like poems, are open to different interpretations
o Anticipatory Principle
Dream Principle—Placebo Principle
 My images of the future influence my behavior today
 To change behavior in the present, change the image of the future
 Kids can go to college, people can be self-sufficient
 Power of commercials on TV is in our power now
 The power of shared vision
o Positive Principle
The more positive the questions the more to positive and more permanent the change
 If we believe the ‘words create worlds’ then we have an obligation to ask
positive questions
 If we look for success we find, and create, more successes
 (If we look for problems we find, and create, more problems)
The Constructionist Principle: Simply stated—social knowledge and organizational
destiny are interwoven. To be effective as executives, leaders, or change agents, we must be
1.
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adept in the art of understanding, reading, and analyzing organizations as living, human
constructions.
Knowing (organizations) stands at the center of any and virtually every OD task. Thus,
the way we know is fateful.5
The Principle of Simultaneity: Here it is recognized that inquiry and change are not
truly separate moments, but are simultaneous. Inquiry is intervention.
2.
The seeds of change—that is, the things people think and talk about, the things people
discover and learn, and the things that inform dialogue and inspire images of the future—are
implicit in the very first questions we ask. One of the most crucial things a change agent or
OD practitioner does is to articulate questions.
The questions we ask set the stage for what we “find”. What we “discover” (the data)
becomes the stories out of which the future is conceived, talked about, and constructed.
The Poetic Principle: A metaphor here is that organizations are an open book. An
organization’s story is constantly being co-authored. Moreover, pasts, presents, or futures are
endless sources of learning, inspiration, or interpretation (like, for example, the endless
interpretive possibilities in a good piece of poetry or a biblical text).
3.
The important implication is that we can study virtually any topic related to human
experience in any human system or organization. We can inquire into the nature of alienation
or joy, in any human organization or community. We can study moments of creativity and
innovation, or moments of debilitating bureaucratic stress.
The Anticipatory Principle: The most important resource we have for generating
constructive organizational change or improvement is our collective imagination and
discourse about the future.
4.
One of the basic theorems of the anticipatory view of organizational life is that it is the
image of the future which guides what might be called the current behavior of any organism
or organization. Much like a film projector on a screen, human systems project ahead of
themselves and it is this image that continues to keep them moving forward.
Organizations exist, in the final analysis, because people who govern and maintain them
share some sort of shared discourse or projection about what the organization is, how it will
function, and what it is likely to become.
The Positive Principle: This last principle is not so abstract. It grows out of years of
experience with Appreciative Inquiry. Put most simply, it has been our experience that
momentum for change requires large amounts of positive affect and social bonding—things
like hope, inspiration, and sheer joy in creating with one another—and that the more positive
5.
5
Gergen, Kenneth. Realities and Relationships. Harvard University Press, 1995.
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the questions used to guide a group building or OD initiative the more long lasting and
effective the change effort.6
In important respects, human beings and organizations move in the direction of what they
inquire about. Thousands of interviews into “empowerment” or “being the easiest business in
the industry to work with”, will have a different long term impact in terms of sustaining
positive action than a study into “low morale” or “process breakdowns”.
6
Bushe, G. and Coetzer, G. “Appreciative Inquiry As a Team-Development Intervention: A Controlled
Experiment., Vol. 31, Journal Of Applied Behavioral Science, March, 1995, pp. 13.
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Supplemental Materials
(Courtesy of Lustig and Radford)
TRACKING THE POSITIVE INTERNAL DIALOGUE
1. Positive Valuing: Any mention of positive values, past or present.
2. Hope Towards Future: Any mention of hope, optimism, positive anticipation towards
future.
3. Skill or Competency: Any mention of skill, competency, action, positive quality about
self or others.
4. Openness, Receptivity, Learning: Any mention of receptivity in self or others
accompanied by a positive outcome; also any noticing of self or other’s learning or interests.
5. Active Connection, Effort to Include, Co-operation or Combine: Any noticing of efforts
to include, co-operation, connect, and relate that may be accompanied by at least inferred
positive outcome.
6. Mention of Surprise, Curiosity or Excitement: Any mention of curiosity, surprise,
openness to fresh insights, excitement in self or others.
7. Notice of Facilitating Action or Movement Towards a Positive Outcome: Any mention
of a facilitating action or movement towards a real or imagined positive outcome, or any
mention of a facilitating object or circumstance. Also noticing of any event that enhances
another event, effective state or a person; noticing facilitating or positive cause and effect.
8. Effort to Reframe in Positive Terms: Any mention of a negative emotion or action
accompanied by the possibility of a positive desired outcome; also any mention of a change
in mood from negative to positive which includes any mention of an obstacle that is
temporary or getting over a negative static state or reframing of a negative situation in more
positive terms.
9. Envisioned Ideal: Any mention of a vision/value end state articulation of a positive
outcome envisioned for future which is utopian or pragmatic.
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TRACKING THE NEGATIVE INTERNAL DIALOGUE
1. Negative Valuing: Any mention of negative valuing, e.g. fatalism, apathy, dislike. Any
mention or identification of person, groups, circumstance or events as a problem or obstacle.
2. Concern, Worry, Pre-Occupation, Doubt: Any mention of concern, worry, preoccupation without mentioning the possibility of a facilitating model to alleviate concern or
to enhance understanding; any mention of doubt, suspicion, lack of confidence in future
outcomes.
3. Unfulfilled Expectation: Any mention of any event, action, state or person that does not
match intention, wish, desire, or goal or other unfulfilled expectation.
4. Lack of Receptivity, Absence of Connection: Any mention of a lack of receptivity in self
or others, including a lack of collaboration, lack of understanding, failure to listen or failure
to agree, noticing of inequality or otherwise any explicit mention of an absence of
connection, interest or collaboration.
5. Deficiency in Self or Others: Any mention of a sense that something is missing, for
example a deficiency in self or others, lack of motivation, appropriate effort, skill,
competence, absence of resources such as time and money.
6. Negative Affect: Any mention of feelings of dissatisfaction, selfishness, sadness,
defensiveness, irritation, anger without mentioning a possible antidote or relief or effort to
understand.
7. Withdrawal or Suppression: Any mention of avoiding, ignoring, withdrawal of energy or
surrender, suppressing self or others.
8. Control or Domination: Any notice of effort or action to disrupt, dominate, wield control,
halt a mood or action in self or other.
9. Wasted Effort: Any mention of excessive investment of time, resources, or energy
without mention of reward or positive outcome.
10. Prediction, Image of a Negative Future: Any mention prediction, vision, image or
expectation of a negative future.
11. Attribution of Control by Other in Combination with Self-Depreciation: Any notice of
effort or action in others to disrupt, dominate, or wield control in combination with
attribution of helplessness to self, self-pity or self depreciation.
12. Negative Cause and Effect Relation: Any explicit notice of cause and effect relationship
leading to a negative outcome.
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13. Reframing a Situation in Negative Terms: Any mention of a positive emotion
accompanied by the possibility of a negative outcome; any mention of a change in mood from
positive to negative, or getting into a negative state, focusing on possible obstacles, or
reframing a positive situation in more negative terms.
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SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM
This description is taken from Appreciative Inquiry: A Constructive Approach to
Organization Development and Change by David L. Cooperrider, Weatherhead School of
Management, Department of Organizational Behavior, Case Western Reserve University
1997
While the constructionist theory behind Appreciative Inquiry is beyond the scope of this brief
overview7, there are a number of crucial assertions that can usefully be summarized here
including:
1. Knowledge and organizational destiny are interwoven. To be effective -- as leaders,
managers, or as agents of change -- all of us must be adept in the art of understanding,
reading and analyzing organizations as living human constructions. Knowing (organizations)
stands at the center of any management task. Thus, the way we know is fateful.
2. The seeds of organizational change are implicit in the first questions we ask. The
questions we ask set the stage of what we find, and what we find (data) becomes the material
out of which the future is conceived and constructed.
3. The most important resource we have for generating constructive organizational change is
our co-operative imagination and mind (and our capacity to unleash the imagination and
mind of groups). Appreciative Inquiry is a way of reclaiming our imaginative competence.
4. Unfortunately, the conventional "habitus mentalis"-- habitual styles of thought,
preconscious background assumptions, root metaphors and rules of analysis by which we
come to define our organizations in a particular way-has constrained our managerial
imagination and mind.
5. Our styles of thinking rarely match the increasingly complex worlds in which we work;
therefore, we need to commit ourselves to the ongoing pursuit of multiple and more fruitful
ways of knowing.
6. And, finally, that organizations, as human constructions, are largely affirmative systems
and thus are responsive to positive thought and positive knowledge.8
7
For a more extensive presentation, see D.L. Cooperrider and S. Srivastva, "Appreciative Inquiry in Organizational
Life" in Woodman and Pasmore [eds.] Research on Organizational Change and Development, Vol. 1, JAI Press, 1987.
8See Cooperrider, D.L., "Positive Image, Positive Action: The Affirmative Basis of Organizing" in Srivastva and
Cooperrider and Associates, Appreciative Management and Leadership, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1990.
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DISCOVERY: WHAT GIVES LIFE TO THE ORGANIZATION?
PREPARING FOR INTERVIEWS
Take 15 minutes to note down some notes to yourself in response to the following questions.
Your partner will interview you and help you to explore these questions in depth.
1. What attracted you to this workshop and to Appreciative Inquiry? What is it about AI that
most excites or inspires you and brings out the best in you as a change practitioner?
2. Tell me a story about a time when you were at your best as a change practitioner, a time
when you felt most energized, creative and proud of yourself. What is it about this peak
experience that is so memorable? What were you doing? How were you feeling at the time?
What was significant about the relationship between yourself and your client? You and
yourself? Do you have any comments or insights about how you chose your approach and
way of working with yourself and your client?
3. What do you value most about yourself as a practitioner?
4. Imagine a miracle takes place overnight and when you wake up tomorrow
everything is in place for you to bring together the best in you and in your client. How would
you know? How would you be? What would you be doing? What would your client(s) be
doing?
5. What two or three things might you do in the next six weeks to be more of who you want
to be as a great practitioner?
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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Participant 1 will interview Participant 2 for 45 minutes. The interviewer’s role is to ask
questions, encourage the interviewee to expand his/her story, to be very descriptive and
concrete, and to take notes. After 45 minutes, Participant 2 conducts the same interview with
Participant 1.
1. What attracted you to this workshop and to Appreciative Inquiry? What is it about AI that
most excites or inspires you and brings out the best in you as a change practitioner?
2. Tell me a story about a time when you were at your best as a change practitioner, a time
when you felt most energized, creative and proud of yourself. What is it about this peak
experience that is so memorable? What were you doing? How were you feeling at the time?
What was significant about the relationship between yourself and your client? You and
yourself? Do you have any comments or insights about how you chose your approach and
way of working with yourself and your client?
3. What do you value most about yourself as a practitioner?
4. Imagine a miracle takes place overnight and when you wake up tomorrow
everything is in place for you to bring together the best in you and in your client. How would
you know? How would you be? What would you be doing? What would your client(s) be
doing?
5. What two or three things might you do in the next six weeks to be more of who you want
to be as a great practitioner?
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Tips for Conducting Interviews
∑ Use the interview form as your script.
∑ Please introduce the interview and ask the questions as they are written.
∑ Here are some possible questions to use to probe further:
Could you tell me more about that?
What made that situation really special so that it stands out from all others?
How did that feel?
What other senses does that evoke?
How did that affect you?
Has it changed you? If so, how?
∑ Let the interviewee tell his/her story, please don’t tell yours or give your opinion about
their experiences. Suspend your own assumptions or judgments about their experiences.
∑ Take good notes and listen for great quotes and stories.
∑ Be genuinely curious about their experiences, thoughts, and feelings. Go beyond the
superficial—be like a child with a sense of wonder.
∑ Some people will take longer to think about their answers -- allow for silence.
∑ If somebody doesn’t want to, or can’t answer any of the interview questions, go on to
another question.
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TIPS FOR CONDUCTING APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY INTERVIEWS*
1. EXPLAINING APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY: Like anything new, appreciative
interviewing may seem awkward at the beginning. It may be equally awkward for the person
you are interviewing. They, too, may be caught up in looking at the organization as a
problem-to-be-solved, and may not give instant understanding to this approach. Usually, I
say something like this:
*Before we start, I would like to explain a little bit about what we are going to do because it
may be a little different from what you are used to. This is going to be an “appreciative
interview.” I am going to ask you questions about times when you see things working at their
BEST where you work. Many times, we try to ask questions about things that aren’t working
well - the problems - so that we can fix them. In this case, we try to find out about the things
at their best - the successes - so that we can find out what works and find ways to infuse more
of it into the organization’s performances. It is also like what we do with children or athletes
when we affirm their smallest successes and triumphs so that they will hold a positive image
of themselves and then envision even greater possibility. The end result of the interview will
help me understand those “life-giving forces” which provide vitality and distinctive
competence to your organization. Do you have any questions?
2. WHAT TO DO WITH NEGATIVES: Sometimes, people work in places they don’t like.
With an explanation like the one above, you can generally get them to identify things at their
best. But people should not feel like they do not have permission to talk about things that
need fixing. Depending on my empathic understanding of where the interviewee is, I handle
this in several different ways - - or some combination.
∑ Postponing: I tell them that I would like to make a note of what they have said and come
back to it later. The question about what you would change if you could change anything
about the organization is a place to collect this “negative” data, and you can come back to
your note about what they started to say then. Be sure to come back to it though.
∑ Listening: If they have some real INTENSITY about what they want to say about
problems, let them say it. If it is that “up close and personal”, you are not going to get any
appreciative data until you get it out. This may mean muddling through quite a bit of
organizational “manure”, and the biggest threat is that you will take it in and lose your
capacity to be appreciative. You must be empathic, but remember that you cannot take on
that person’s pain -- you cannot be a healer if you take on the patient’s illness. Keep a caring,
and affirmative spirit.
∑ Redirecting: If it does not seem that serious, or if you have listened sufficiently to
understand the negative issues they are raising, and they are now just into the drama of it, find
a way to guide them back. “I think I understand a little bit about some of the problems you
see (paraphrase a few of the ones you’ve heard), but I would like to guide us back to looking
at what is happening when things are working at their best. Can you think of a time, even the
*
Source: Pamela Johnston
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smallest moment, when you saw innovation (for example) at its best?” If they say it never
happened where they work, find out if they have EVER had the experience in any
organization or work context ANYWHERE before giving up.
3. USING NEGATIVE DATA: All the stuff people find wrong with an organization
represents an absence of something that they hold in their minds as an IDEAL image. What
organizational processes, if present (rather than absent) might create the ideal organization
that the negatives imply. DATA is DATA - Use it. But use it AFFIRMATIVELY. In fact
one could argue that there is no such thing as negative data. Every utterance is conditioned
by affirmative images.
4. THE INTERVIEW RHYTHM - STARTING WITH SPECIFIC STORIES: There is a
rhythm to these kinds of interviews. When you start to address your topic, start with specifics
personally relevant to the person interviewed. Try to get them to tell a story about “A time
when you...” or “Tell me a story about a time when you...” or “Tell me a story about a time
when you experienced (the topic) at its best.” Probe deeply and intently, not like a dentist or
a piranha going after the bait, buy like an interested friend hanging on every detail. Try to
find out who did what WHEN ... and what were you thinking ... so THEN what did you do -like gossips over a backyard fence. What you are trying to do is get what they DID
(behavior) and what they THOUGHT or FELT (values) while they were doing it.
5. THE INTERVIEW RHYTHM -- GENERALIZING ABOUT LIFE-GIVING FORCES:
After you have heard their story, really probing it, go for the generalizations. “What is it
about this organization -- its structure, systems, processes, policies, staff, leaders, strategy -that creates conditions where cooperation (for example) can flourish?” If your topic (i.e.
cooperation) is a plant, what you are trying to do is find out about the kind of organizational
soil, water, and sunlight conditions that really nourish it. Sometimes people don’t know what
you mean by organizational conditions, factors, or forces. Give examples: “Are jobs
designed a certain way, for example, to foster cooperation? How does the culture or climate
of the organization foster cooperation?” And so on. Try your best to get them to think a bit
abstractly about what is present in the organization that really allowed them to have that peak
experience with your topic.
6. ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS: In order to get a sense of some of the organizational
factors you will be listening for, if not asking about, things like: What was the structure like?
Systems? Rewards? etc. You do NOT have to systematically ask about each of these -- the
stories may contain information about all of them. If not, you may want to gently probe a bit.
7. WATCH YOUR TIME: If the interview is generally planned to be an hour, you will need
to make sure that as you are probing with fascination what they are saying, that you are also
aware of the time. If you decide that you are learning so much that it is OK if you run over
an hour, check it out with the person also. Best bet is to pace your questions appropriately to
the time you have scheduled.
8. IT’S A CONVERSATION - BE YOURSELF AND HAVE FUN: If you approach the
interview like a piece of drudgery - You’d rather be anywhere than with this person - you’ve
lost before you’ve begun. You want to approach the interviewee as if they are a very special
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person, valuing the best of who they are. Be humble - as sophisticated as you are about the
world of management, for this hour the interviewee is your teacher. Be yourself - don’t try to
put on some expert role or act like you’ve got to get every word in the interview protocol
exactly right. Be a learner - realize that everyone likes to share their knowledge and wisdom
with people that genuinely want to learn. If you’ve got an affirmative spirit going in,
mistakes in wording will not stop you from getting great data. Finally, have a bit of fun. You
are getting to know someone new and you are hearing some fascinating and important stories.
9. A WORD ABOUT YOUR CONFIDENTIALITY: Tell the interviewees you will keep
the information they provide and the conversation confidential. You will use the data, but it
will be compiled into themes using data from this interview and others. No names will be
associated with the overall summary or report. Stories and quotes from interviews may be
used without a name associated with them.
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APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY: IDENTIFYING THEMES
1. Each participant reviews the information collected in the interviews and begins to identify
themes or characteristics that are present when participants are feeling particularly successful
and effective. Circle key words and concepts.
2. Working in small groups of 4 to 6, each participant will share the most significant stories
or examples they heard in the interviews. As people share these stories, the other participants
note the themes or ideas that are the same or different from the ones they noted in their paired
interviews. Discuss the similarities and differences in your group.
3. From the discussion, identify 4 or 5 themes that seem to be present when things are
working well (such as, a high level of trust, taking calculated risks, being innovative.) Put
these themes on flip chart paper. Also, on a separate flip chart, make a note of other themes
or ideas that were important for each individual in the group (such as, Lois creates best in a
team; Joe wants the big picture; Mary needs constructive feedback, Simon is a source of new
ideas, and so on.)
4. Each small group reports out their themes by sharing the list from their flip chart with the
whole group. A member of the small group presents the list and answers any clarifying
questions from the whole group.
When all the small groups have given their presentations, the whole group synthesizes the
lists and selects four or five topics for further inquiry.
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DREAM AND DESIGN: ENVISIONING THE IDEAL ORGANIZATION
The Dream Phase involves challenging the status quo by envisioning more valued and vital
futures. Especially important is the visioning of end results or “bottom line” contribution to
the world.
The Design Phase is the creation of the social and technical architecture of the organization,
so that everything about organizing reflects and is responsive to the corporate dream.
Both the Dream Phase and the Design Phase involve the collective construction of positive
images of the future. In practice the two often happen in conjunction with the other.
One aspect that differentiates Appreciative Inquiry from other visioning or planning
methodologies is that images of the future emerge out of grounded examples from its positive
past. They are compelling possibilities precisely because they are based on extraordinary
moments from an organization’s history.
Sometimes this “data” is complimented with benchmarking studies of other organizations. In
both cases, the good news stories are used just like an artist uses materials to create a portrait
of possibility. Without the material -- red colors, green, blue and yellow -- the painting
would be quite limited. So too are many re-engineering programs and planning procedures
that fail to take notice of organizational history.
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CONSTRUCTING PROVOCATIVE PROPOSITIONS
A provocative proposition is a statement that bridges the best of “what is” with your own
speculation or intuition of “what might be”.
It is provocative to the extent to which it stretches the realm of the status quo, challenges
common assumptions or routines, and helps suggest real possibilities that represent desired
possibilities for the organization and its people.
In many ways, constructing provocative propositions is like architecture. Your task is to
create a proposition about the ideal organization: what would your organization look like if it
were designed in every way, to maximize and preserve the topics we’ve chosen to study.
Organizational elements or factors you may wish to include:
Strategy
Style
Stakeholder Relations
Structures
Shared Values
Societal Purposes
Systems
Skills
Staff
CRITERIA FOR GOOD PROPOSITIONS:
fi Is it provocative ... does it stretch, challenge, or interrupt?
fi Is it grounded ... are there examples that illustrate the ideal as real possibility?
fi Is it desired ... if it could be fully implemented would the organization want it? Do you
want it as a preferred future?
fi Is it stated in affirmative and bold terms?
fi Does it follow an approach that is recognized in your organization such as in keeping
with the organizations’ Vision and Values statements, or policies on management
development?
fi Is there balance in terms of: Continuity, Novelty, Transition?
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APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY: BUILDING PROVOCATIVE PROPOSITIONS FOR YOUR
ORGANIZATION AND FOR YOUR OWN WORK
For your organization:
1. Locate peak examples of organizational effectiveness and success from the interviews:
the best of “what is” as described by the selected themes.
2. Analyze/interpret what kinds of people and circumstances are associated with
periods/examples of high performance and success.
3. Extrapolate from the best of “what is” to envision “what might be.” Challenge the status
quo by expanding the realm of the possible … allow yourself to go for utopia or the ideal.
4. Construct a proposition about what is possible for your organization. State the
proposition in affirmative language—as if the proposition was already true and happening
fully now.
For your own work:
Here, you will develop a proposition for your own work that draws on the best of who
you are and relates that to the provocative proposition for the organizational work. The
organizational and individual propositions will be complimentary and mutually reinforcing.
5. Locate peak examples of your own effectiveness and success from the interviews: the
best of “what is” as described by the selected themes.
6. Analyze/interpret what kinds of people and circumstances are associated with your
periods or examples of high performance and success. Bear in mind the provocative
proposition that you have developed for the organization.
7. Extrapolate from the best of “what is” to envision “what might be.” Challenge the status
quo by expanding the realm of the possible … allow yourself to go for utopia or the ideal.
8. Construct a proposition about what is possible for you and your work. State the
proposition in affirmative language—as if the proposition was already true and happening
fully now.
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PROVOCATIVE PROPOSITION
This is my Provocative Proposition for my work:
∑
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DELIVERY: EMPOWERING AND SUSTAINING CHANGE
Phase four involves delivery on the new images of the future and is sustained by nurturing a
collective sense of an imagined Destiny.
It is a time of continuous learning, adjustment and improvisation (like a jazz group); all in the
service of shared ideals. The momentum and potential for innovation is extremely high by
this stage of inquiry. Because of the shared positive image of the future, everyone is invited
to co-create the future.
Key to sustaining the momentum is to build an “appreciative eye” into all the organization’s
systems, procedures, and ways of working. For example, one organization transformed their
department of evaluation studies, to valuation studies (they dropped the “e”). Others have
transformed focus group methods, surveys, performance appraisal systems, merger
integration methods, leadership training programs, diversity initiatives, etc.
The important thing argues Frank Barrett in an article “Creating Appreciative Learning
Cultures” is to accelerate competency development in four areas:
1. Affirmative Competence
2. Expansive Competence
3 Generative Competence.
4. Collaborative Competence
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How do you know whether Appreciative Inquiry will work in your organization to help you to
build a Learning Organization?
We have used it in many organizations and in many countries. It has been used in the
corporate sector, the not-for-profit sector, with governments, in village development and has
even been used as a method to help un-stick organizations or groups that are stuck in cycles
of conflict.
You may find the following questions useful:
• Can I sell the idea of using Appreciative Inquiry as a method for organizational change to
the top decision-makers in your organization?
• Do you think this person (or persons) is comfortable with appreciative ideas and different
ways of looking at problem solving?
• How will the organization wear the 'positive approach'?
• Is the decision-maker a risk-taker?
• Are there others in the organization who would be willing to take risks?
• Are you willing to take a risk in suggesting it?
• Are there some creative people in the organization who can look outside the paradigm?
• Will the organization support change?
• Can the organization work with a participative planning process?
If the answers to these questions are 'Yes' then you stand an excellent chance of making
dramatic changes within the organization.
If not all are yes, the process itself can help to create a 'yes'. But, it is very important to
qualify your client, which means to ensure that you have a good enough understanding of
him/her or the team to be able to gain their support. Without support from the top (i.e. the
managers at least one level above you), life will be very much more difficult. Which is not to
say that it is impossible, just that you will need to consider very carefully whether or not you
should be championing the change.
There are many ways to build a Learning Organization and using Appreciative Inquiry is but
one of them. Gervase Bushe says, ".… I think consultants will find that systems full of
deeply held and unexpressed resentments will not tolerate an Appreciative Inquiry until there
has been some expression and forgiving of those resentments."
It is not a be-all and end-all. It is not a Holy Grail. It is not the one tool that solves all
problems. It is one of many useful tools and needs discerning use. Use it when it is the right
method and has the greatest chance of success.
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VALUATION & LEARNING
1. What most enlivened you about the Appreciative Inquiry Workshop?
2. What excites you most about using Appreciative Inquiry in your work?
3. What competencies have you discovered that you already have for working with
Appreciative Inquiry?
4. After taking part in the workshop, what will you continue to do in your work?
5. What will you do differently? How will you support yourself in doing those things
differently?
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Section Four:
Recommended Readings In Appreciative Inquiry
Cooperrider, David L. “The ‘Child’ As Agent of Inquiry Chairman’s address, March 1996
National Academy of Management
Cooperrider, David L. “Positive Image, Positive Action: The Affirmative Basis of
Organizing.
Barrett, Frank J. and Cooperrider, David L. “Generative Metaphor Intervention: A New
Approach for Working with Systems Divided by Conflict and Caught in Defensive
Perceptions”
Barrett, Frank J. “Creating Appreciative Learning Cultures”
Appreciative Inquiry Resource List
J. Gibbs, Tribes
Piotr Sztompka, The Sociology of Social Change, Blackwell
ISBN 0-631-18206
Introduction to Action Research, Social Research for Social Change, Davydd J., Greenwood
and Morten Levin
ISBN 0-7619-1676-8
Discovering Common Ground--overview, theory, Marvin R. Weisbord & 35 co-authors, BerrettKoehler, San Francisco, 1992
Future Search; An action guide to finding common ground in organizations and
communities--Cook Book/manual, Marvin R. Weisbord & Sandra Janoff
The Change Handbook, Peg Holman & Tom Devane, Berrett-Khoeler Publishers
ISBN 1-57675-058-2 CIP
Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
Appreciative Management and Leadership, Suresh Srivastva & David Cooperrider,
Executive Challenge, Suresh Srivastva & Ron Fry, San Francisco: Jossey Bass
Peace Corps Tales from Open Space, Peace Corps, Information Collection and Exchange,
Publication T0089, Washington, DC: Peace Corps Information Collection and
Exchange
Ken Gurgin: title...
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