Appreciative LeadershipDiana Whitney

Chesapeake Bay ODN Conference 2010

“Leading Transformation in Complex Times”

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An Invitation toA Positive Revolution

Appreciative Inquiry

Strengths Movemen

t

Positive Psycholog

y

Positive Organizational Scholarship

Asset Based Development

Positive Deviancy

Solution Based Therapy

Creation Spirituality

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Five Strategies of Appreciative Leadership

The Wisdom of INQUIRY

The Genius of INCLUSION The Art of ILLUMINATION

The Courage of INSPIRATION The Path of INTEGRITY

Appreciative Leadership

Whitney, Trosten-Bloom, Rader

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1. The Wisdom of InquiryAsking Positively Powerful Questions

Appreciative Leadership

Whitney, Trosten-Bloom, Rader

“Tell me about the river that connects you.”

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The Case of BP PROCARESurvey Results showed 79% Customer

Satisfaction

Desired to improveConducted Focus Groups

Dissatisfied CustomersAsked: What are we doing wrong?

Shared the information widelyThe bottom drops out...

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The Appreciative Alternative A Root Cause of Success Analysis

Study of Outstanding Customer Satisfaction

Interviews with All CustomersWhat attracted you to us initially?Your best experience with us? What made it satisfying?

Generative Benchmarking8 months - 95% Fully Satisfied What did they learn?

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What is Appreciative Inquiry?

The study of what gives life to human systems – people, teams,

organizations, processes – when they are at our best.

Appreciation = valuing, prizing, affirming, honoring, recognizing the best of people and situations.

Inquiry = exploration, discovery, asking, being open to seeing new potential and possibilities.

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Appreciative InquiryAn Alternative to Problem Solving

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Slow: Puts attention on yesterday’s causes

Produces “vocabularies of human deficit”

Downward spirals of energy and morale >

fatigue

Weakened teamwork & relationships

Unintended ConsequencesDeficit Approaches to Change

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Inquiry is the Intervention

The questions we ask are fateful.

They determine what we find.

They create the world as we know it.

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What We Study MattersIt sets the agenda for dialogue, learning and change.

Stress at Work

Joyful Productivity

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Put your values in your questions.

Appreciative Leadership Practice

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Social Construction TheoryMeaning is made in relationship.

Conversation, language, words and stories are our vehicles – for making meaning and creating realities.

Human organizing is conversational.“Organization culture is the story we tell ourselves

about ourselves and then we forget it’s just a story.”We are constantly analyzing, interpreting, making

sense and creating realities together.

To change organizations is to change the conversation – who talks to whom about what.

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2.The Genius of InclusionEngaging With People to Co-Create the Future

All the people who’s future it is need to be in the conversation about the future.

People commit to what they help create.

Appreciative Leadership

Whitney, Trosten-Bloom, Rader

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Inquiry Among Improbable Pairs.

Appreciative Leadership Practice

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3. The Art of IlluminationBringing Out the Best of People and Situations

Appreciative Leadership

Whitney, Trosten-Bloom, Rader

Peter Drucker

The task of leadership is to create an alignment of strengths – for a purpose or toward a goal – in such a way that weaknesses become irrelevant.

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Strengths

“Near perfect performance in an

activity.”

Feel easy.Increase excellence,

success, productivity.Provide a sense of joy,

flow, energy, and fulfillment. 

Now, Discover Your Strengths

Buckingham and Clifton

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Excellent Performers

Are rarely well-rounded.

They capitalize on their strengths.

They minimize their weaknesses.

Each person’s greatest room for growth is in his or her areas of greatest strengths.

Now, Discover Your Strengths

Buckingham and Clifton

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Be a Strengths Spotter.

Appreciative Leadership Practice

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Strengths Spotting Inquiry

1. Tell me about a recent success, something you’ve done in the past few weeks or months that gave you great satisfaction and pride.

1. What did you do?

2. What else did you do?

3. What gave you the idea to do this?

4. Who else was involved and how did you relate to them?

5. Tell me more about what you did to make this a success.

2. Based upon your success story, I sense that some of your strengths are…

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Strengths Spotting – Try it Now

1. Select a partner – someone new.

2. Ask your partner to tell you a success story.

3. Listen to discover your partner’s strengths.

4. Reflect the strengths back to your partner

Reverse Roles

Total Time 8 minutes – 4 minutes each

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4. The Courage of Inspiration

Awakening the Creative Spirit

All change requires large amounts of positive emotions, energy, enthusiasm.

Hope – belief in the best in the midst of the worst.

Appreciative Leadership

Whitney, Trosten-Bloom, Rader

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The Birth of Positive Psychology

Prof. Martin Seligman, President, APA, 1996 Author: Learned Optimism; Authentic Happiness

30 years of psychology research 45,000 studies on depression, illness300 studies on joy, hope, happiness

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Research on Positive Emotions

Prof. Barbara Fredrickson, UNC Author: Positivity Broaden and Build Theory

Positive Emotions:

1. Broaden Attention and Thinking2. Undo Lingering Negative Emotional Arousal3. Build Resilient Coping…Like Immune System

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Positive Emotions & Performance

Joy………...play, imagination, experimentation innovation

Interest…..involvement, investigate, explore new knowledge

Optimism...opportunity, confidence, persevere achievement

Contentment…savor, integrate complex ideas deeper insight

Love…………….…………………connect, relate cooperation

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“Positivity Ratio” and Performance

People flourish in the presence of positive emotions and communication.

The Healthy Range is 4+ : 1- ------------- 11+ : 1-

Marcial Losada, Chile

Successful Teams 5+:1-

John Gottman, UC Berkley

Long Term Successful Marriages 5+:1-

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Practice a 5+/1- Positivity Ratio.

Appreciative Leadership Practice

Appreciative Leadership

The relational capacity to mobilize creative potential and turn it into positive power—to set in motion positive ripples of confidence, energy, enthusiasm, and performance—to make a positive difference in the world.

Appreciative Leadership

Whitney, Trosten-Bloom, Rader

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5. The Path of IntegrityMaking Choices for the Good of the Whole

Starts with You – Your Own Wholeness

Appreciative Leadership

Whitney, Trosten-Bloom, Rader

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To Thy Own Strengths Be True.

Appreciative Leadership Practice

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A Tale of Two Wolves

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Practices for Feeding The Positiveand Leading Transformation in Complex Times

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1. Focus on Root Causes of Success. Let Weaknesses be Irrelevant.

2. Ask Appreciative Questions.

3. Practice a 5/1 “Positivity Ratio.”

4. Be a “Strengths Spotter.”

5. Take Care of Yourself. So You Can Take Care of Others.

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For More Information

Available July, 2010

The Power of Appreciative Inquiry

Whitney & Trosten-Bloom

Diana Whitneydiana@positivechange.org

Corporation for Positive Changewww.positivechange.org