Appreciative Inquiry In Coaching And Counselling

Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciative inquiry is a coaching approach for change management that emphasis on what is functioning well, analyzing why it is functioning well and then accomplishing more of it to develop towards that path. The process of appreciative inquiry requires a specific method of asking guided questions to accomplish objective i. e. alignment of thoughts, emotions and activities. It’s ‘Trial and Correction’ rather than ‘Trial and Error’.

Appreciative inquiry consists of four stages:

1. Discovery
2. Dreaming
3. Design
4. Destiny.

Discovery questions facilitate analysis of why a specific procedure works well. Dreaming questions facilitate brainstorming approaches to apply it somewhere else and discover ideal situations. Design questions facilitate making of an action plan. Destiny questions facilitate formation of criteria for success and way to decide whether or not the action plan was effective.

Principles of Appreciative Inquiry

1. The Positive principle: Focusing on the positive core is energizing, engaging and creates upward spirals.
2. The Simultaneity principle: It suggests that change begins the moment we ask a question. Therefore, questions are a powerful tool to tell where we end up.
3. The Poetic principle: It suggests that organizations are like poetry. We can interpret it the way we want. It focuses on becoming mindful of what adds richness to life.
4. The Constructionist principle: Positive conversations lead to positive energy and emotions. Stories are created about what happens and that becomes reality.
5. The Anticipatory principle: The mental pictures that are created in the mind about future influence what actually happens.

Discovery Phase

Post the agreement between client and Coach on what to learn (Choice of Topic) and how to learn (Choice of Method), this step helps client discover specific instances of their desired objectives. Appreciative Inquiry emphasizes that in each individual’s life, there are things that always work, Even though they may be latent (Hidden) and needs to be discovered/unearthed.

There is an Appreciative Inquiry Protocol that helps facilitate the discovery process. It’s particularly handy when clients think that things are not moving forward and they feel low. It includes

Eliciting Best Experiences: This entails asking clients in detail about a time or instance where they felt most alive or engaged, eliciting details of what made the experience so exciting, who were the people that were party to that experience.

Core values that drive the individual: This involves asking the person about the things he/she values most deeply (about himself/herself, about relationships- working and personal)Generative Conditions: Involves asking key factors in person’s experience, key components/ingredients that enables the person to be at his/her best.

Top Wishes: Elicit responses on dream for the future. If top three wishes were to be granted, what would they be?

The more direct and personal these experience the better the impact on motivation to change. It’s important that we don’t discovery in haste in order to get to goal setting

Dreaming Phase

Companies encourage employees to collectively dream about a good world and great company. It is considered to be practical as it is derived out of organization’s history and also considered to be generative as it looks to explore true potential of the company.

Employees also evaluate their highest aspirations against their achievements in all fields like work, life, etc. They take care of their ambitions, beyond what one could have thought of. Also, positive potential of employees awakens, which increase motivation among employees. Employees find it very different as it is a platform when one can think of living up to their dreams.

Steps involved in this stage are as follows:

1. Facilitating stakeholders to share their with the entire group stories as discovered in the previous phase.
2. Dream dialogue encourages sharing of stories with questions about wishes, hopes and dreams.
3. In this phase, participants should start to see a common theme.
4. Should not become a problem solving phase, instead become a phase of multiple discoveries as it does not support for positioning any idea as the only perfect one.
5. Accomplish the above steps in order to move forward for creation of a better organization with energy, synchronization and excitement among one and all.

Some of the outputs of this stage are

• Challenges status quo of an organization.
• The organization starts to get innovative thoughts.
• Employees demonstrate positive potential.
• Employees become more committed towards their responsibilities and purpose is developed among all.

Design Phase

This phase aims at answering “How can it be?” and involve the processes of brainstorming, discussions, aligning and choosing.

Design Phase Bridge the gap between discovery and the dreaming phase and involve crafting the organization’s social architecture followed by defining the basic infrastructure as per stakeholders Steps involved in this stage are as follows:• In-depth dialogues on the best structure and processes that will support the new system• Provocative proposition/ Possibility propositions: clear and compelling picture of organization’s strategies, processes, systems, decisions and collaborations when the positive core is fully effective• This redirects daily actions, create future possibilities and shared vision• Which manifest the habits, systems, processes, roles, relationships, finances, structures to achieve the goals of dream stage.

Some of the outputs of this stage are

• Commitments: actions to take in response to the requests of others.
• Offers: actions that client volunteer to take.
• Requests: actions to seek from others in order to successfully implement the design.

Destiny Phase

In the initial 4D model, this phase was called as Delivery but Cooperrider felt that it represented images of traditional change management implementation. Therefore, it got changed to Destiny.

The Destiny phase of the 4D model of Appreciative Inquiry envisages experimenting, learning and integrating for innovation. It increases the energy and self-efficacy of the person being probed and guides him in realizing his destiny. The client learns to innovate continuously and achieve higher levels of performance and life satisfaction. Individuals learn to grow into their best selves as they realize their destiny after discovering, dreaming and designing. At this stage, people commit to the aspirations they want to achieve through open space planning and commitment sessions. Hence, they realize their future as well.

It allows the best that could happen to emerge flexibly, cooperating with others and using the resources available. The potential for innovation is high because it combines the surprises and new ideas that may come up along the process.