THE ART OF CRAFTING A POSITIVE INQUIRY:
Jim Francek
for The League of Women Voters
September 9, 2012
OBJECTIVES OF WEBINAR
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To introduce a model for positive change
To engage & expand the participants’ understanding of the
current context in which LWV is operating,
To clarify the intention of this effort and it’s potential impact
on the LWV
To introduce the principles of positive psychology as
delineated by Appreciative Inquiry,
To facilitate a virtual dialogue that:
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applies these principles to their work &
assists them in creating positive questions & conversations.
ON REFLECTION
“We now live in an age of what Microsoft researcher, Linda Stone,
calls continuous partial attention. I love that phrase. It means
that while you are answering your e-mail and talking to your kid,
your cell phone rings and you have a conversation. You are now
involved in a continuous flow of interactions in which you can only
partially concentrate on each.”
“If being fulfilled is about committing yourself to someone else, or
some experience, that requires a level of sustained attention,”
said Ms. Stone. “And that is what we are losing the skills for,
because we are constantly scanning the world for opportunities
and we are constantly in fear of missing something better. That
has become incredibly spiritually depleting.”
MODEL FOR CHANGE
CONTEXT
EMERGING
FUTURE
What makes up the CONTEXT of the League today?
© AMCi, Capital Consultants LLC, & TAVA Full Circle, LLC All rights reserved
MODEL FOR CHANGE
CONTEXT
EMERGING
FUTURE
RESOURCES
© AMCi, Capital Consultants LLC, & TAVA Full Circle, LLC All rights reserved
EMERGING LWV STORY
Big challenges facing our democracy
 Voters crave authentic solutions
 League is needed now more than ever
 League can have a huge impact on elections
2012 and beyond!
 Appreciative Inquiry technique can and is
making a difference.

EMERGING LWV STORY
More reflective of our communities (younger,
more diverse, etc)
 More visible, more vibrant and welcoming,
 More deeply connected with their communities
 Increasing in members and volunteers
 More leaders and more sharing of the work in
teams
 Flexible activities for people to engage in as
their volunteer life permits

MODEL FOR CHANGE
CONTEXT
EMERGING
FUTURE
RESOURCES
© AMCi, Capital Consultants LLC, & TAVA Full Circle, LLC All rights reserved
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
In reviewing over 30 years of psychological
research, found there were 45,000 studies on
depression and only 300 studies on joy
M. Seligman, President APA
University of Pennsylvania
The real voyage of discovery consists
not in seeking new landscapes,
but in having new eyes.
Marcel Proust
ASSUMPTIONS BEHIND COACHING
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Please respond to poll questions…
Change begins
the moment we ask a question!
TO BE EFFECTIVE
The art of being an effective coach
is to engage others
with the right positive questions
at the right time !
14
AP-PRE’CI-ATE (VERB)
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To value…
 To recognize the best in people or the world
around us;
 To affirm past and present strengths, successes,
and potentials;
 To perceive those things that give life (health,
vitality, excellence) to living systems
To increase in value, e.g. the economy has
appreciated in value
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IN-QUIRE’ (KWIR) (VERB)
To explore and discover
 To ask questions
 To be open to seeing new potentials and
possibilities
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Synonyms: discover, search, study
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Language shapes our reality!
We know things through
language and conversations!
We live in the world our
stories create!
THE CONSTRUCTIONIST PRINCIPLE
CONSTRUCTIONIST PRINCIPLE:
Words create
the framework
for our lives!
THE ART OF ASKING QUESTIONS!
DEFICIT APPROACH
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What’s the biggest problem
here?
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What do you have to do to
correct what’s not working?
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Why do you miss the mark so
often?
Why are these recurring
problems?
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THE ART OF ASKING QUESTIONS!
DEFICIT APPROACH
AFFIRMATIVE APPROACH
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What’s the biggest problem
here?
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What do you have to do to
correct what’s not working?
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Why do you miss the mark so
often?
Why are these recurring
problems?
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What possibilities exist that
we have not thought about
yet?
What’s the smallest change
that could make the biggest
impact?
What solutions would have
us all win?
What makes our questions
inspiring, energizing, and
mobilizing?
SIMULTANEITY PRINCIPLE:
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Inquiry and change
are simultaneous!
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Asking questions
influences change!
SIMULTANEITY PRINCIPLE
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Questions direct our
attention… which directs
our experience!
What are the morale
issues within the
League?
or
What excites you about
your work in the
League?
POETIC PRINCIPLE
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Every moment is full of an
infinite array of
possibilities!
What we choose to notice
becomes our experience!
ANTICIPATORY PRINCIPLE:
If you want to build a ship
don’t drum up the people
to gather wood, divide the
work and give orders…
Instead teach them to
yearn for the vast and
endless sea!
Expect to be inspired!
POSITIVE PRINCIPLE:
“When we seek to bring out the best in others,
we somehow bring out the best in ourselves”
William Arthur Ward
POSITIVE IMAGE
POSITIVE ACTION
•
Powerful Placebo
•
Pygmalion
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Positive Affect
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“Inner Dialogue”
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Affirmative Organizing
High
AI Theory
Extension of
Relatedness
Elevate & Extend
Broaden & Build
Positive Actions
Activate Energy:
Positive Emotions
Positive Fusion:
Broaden & Build
Strengths
Elevate &
Extend
Inquiry
Initiating
Inquiry into
The Appreciable World
Advancing
A Theory of Affirmative Organizing
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Organizations are made and imagined
No iron laws
Metaphor: heliotropic hypothesis
Healthy organizations = 2:1
positively imbalanced “inner dialogue”
Educative effect of positive imagery
Positive image (discourse) as an obstacle
Organizations do not need to be fixed
Leadership = affirmation
EXPERIENCE APPLYING POSITIVE INQUIRY
TO COACHING WITHIN THE LEAGUE
WHAT MAKES UP A PERSON’S POSITIVE CORE ?