1. Appreciative Inquiry
an introduction
G. Viswanath
Founder- Director
Organisations & Alternatives Consulting Pvt Ltd.
www.oacindia.com

2. Today
 Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry
 The appreciative interview – experience
 Genesis of AI – where did it start ?
 4-D or 5-D model ?
 The 5 Principles
 Relevance of AI to Coaching
 The Positive Psychology arena and Strengths
 “Appreciative question”

3. Appreciative interview
 Spend 40 minutes with your partner –
interviewing and being interviewed for 20
minutes each
 Stay in your role as the interviewer – do not
make it into a conversation. Your turn will come.
 Keep encouraging your interviewee to talk ( “Tell
me more”, “Share a story..” )
 Focus on the ‘best’, ‘greatest’, ‘peak’ experiences

4. Appreciative interview
 Would you like being interviewed again?
 How would you describe your being
interviewed – what were the emotions
that were triggered?
 What do you feel towards your
interviewer?
 How do you see your interviewee now?

5. AI - Genesis
 David Cooperrider, Case Western
 Suresh Shrivstava, David’s mentor
 Ronald Fry
 Jane Watkins
 ( many others )

6. 4-D or 5-D model ?
 DEFINE
 DISCOVERY
 DREAM
 DESIGN
 DELIVER / DESTINY

7. “DISCOVERY” phase
“We create the
organisational
worlds we live in”

8. “DISCOVERY” phase
 2 primary tasks
 Gather information, and
 Pull out themes ( ‘life giving forces’ ) from the
interviews, compile the wish data
 “ When was the organisation most alive and
functioning at its best?”
 “History as a positive possibility”
 Paired interviews and/or AI Summits

9. “DREAM” phase
“A vivid imagination
compels the whole
body to obey it”
…….Aristotle

10. “DREAM” phase
 Heliotropic principle
 Possibilities of the future – moving from
history to the future
 Organisation’s greatest potential is what
system moves towards
 Current image holds both ‘strengths’ and
‘lmitations’

11. “DREAM” phase
 “What is the world calling our organisation
to be?”
 What are the most enlivening and exciting
possibilities for our organisation?
 What is the positive core that is
supporting our organisation?

12. “DREAM” phase
2 stages :
 Right brained activity : skits, graphics
 Left brained activity : translate images to
a statement : a “Provocative Proposition”

13. “Provocative Proposition”
Or, “Possibility statement”
 Bridges “what is” to “what might be”
 Stretches status quo
 Challenges common assumptions/routines
 Enables Organisation to move towards the
highest and most imaginative visions

14. “GREAT Provocative Propositions”
 Are Desired
 Are written in the present tense
 Are grounded in our collective history
 Are “Provocative”
 Are stated in affirmative terms

15. “DESIGN” phase
 Socio-technical architecture
People rarely dream of :
– Greater hierarchy, controls, inequalities,
degradation, irresponsibility
Dreams are quite the OPPOSITE
 Dealing with ‘tough issues’ is critical here:
– Power, Money, Distribution of Resources

16. “DESIGN” phase
 “Are you willing to open up everything?”
Questions:
 @ Team :” What are the actions and
commitments we want to implement to make
our dreams come alive?”
 @ Orgn :” If our organisation’s policies, systems
were to fulfill our dreams, then what would they
be like?”

17. “DESTINY” phase
2-fold focus:
 Innovate / Align – Dream
 Build AI learning competencies in the
system

18. “DESTINY” phase
Sustain momentum by:
 Building an ‘appreciative eye’ into the
organisation’s systems, processes and
procedures
 E.g. from Evaluation to Valuation

19. “DESTINY” phase
NOT the typical Action Planning process
 Impossible to predict what members will take
on, take off, revise, change
 Multiple interventions to be expected
 AVOID traditional methods
 Let the ‘UNIQUE’ness emerge
 Momentum depends on ‘letting go’ of the old
order (Monitoring, Delivery etc., etc)

20. “DESTINY” phase
Organisation change is going
to be like a ‘MOVEMENT’
than like some neatly
packaged or engineered
product !!

21. PRINCIPLES
 Social Construction
 Poetic
 Simultaneity
 Anticipatory
 Positive

22. Relevance of AI for Coaching
 Facilitative process
 Client leads the process
 Encourages ‘story telling’ – not problem-
analysis based (unlike Counselling )
 Helps individuals recognise/acknowledge
their Strengths
 “What is the tiniest action that you can
take towards your goals?”

23. Thank You!
For further conversations, happy
to connect at:
gvish@oacindia.com