TFME 2013 Organizational Professionalism Conference

1. Mining for Gold
John F. Christensen, Ph.D.
Pilgrims’ Partner Foundation
www.pilgrimspartner.org

2. No problem can
be solved from
the same level of
consciousness
that created it.

3. Mining for Gold
 Helps us access resources already present
 Focuses attention on what is already
working
 Allows us to bring forward into the future
the best of the past
 Generates solutions that build on previous
success

4. Judging by what I have learned about men and
women, I am convinced that far more idealistic
aspiration exists than is ever evident. Just as the
rivers we see are much less numerous than the
underground streams, so the idealism that is
visible is minor compared to what men and
women carry in their hearts, unreleased or
scarcely released.
Albert Schweitzer

5. Traditional OD Process
 Define the problem
 Fix what’s broken
 Focus on decay
What problems are you having?

6. Appreciative Inquiry
 Search for solutions that already exist
 Amplify what is working
 Focus on life giving forces
What is working well around here?

7. Never doubt that a small group of
thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that
ever has.
Margaret Mead

8. Assumptions behind AI
 In every organization or group, something is
working.
 Looking for what works well and doing
more of it is more motivating & effective
than looking for what does not work.
 What we focus on becomes our reality &
absorbs our energy.
 The act of asking questions of a group
influences or changes the group.

9. Assumptions behind AI
 Systems move toward what they ask
questions about & have as object of focus.
 The language we use to describe reality
helps to create that reality.
 People have more confidence & comfort to
journey to the future when they carry
forward parts of the past.
 If we carry parts of the past forward, they
should be what is best about the past.

10. Applications of Appreciative
Inquiry
 Optimize personal well-being
 Enhance team performance
 Staff development
 Board development
 Organizational well-being
 Maximizing capacity of volunteers

11. Further references
 www.appreciative-inquiry.org
 Cooperrider DL, Srivastva S. Appreciative
inquiry in organizational life. In Woodman &
Pasmore (Eds.) Research in Organizational
Change & Development, Vol I, JAI Press
(www.appreciative-inquiry.org/AI-Life)
 Cooperrider DL. Resources for getting
appreciative inquiry started: an example OD
proposal. OD Practitioner 1996;28:23.

12. Small Group Exercise in
Appreciative Inquiry
 Individual reflection: Identify time when
you were part of a team (as leader or
member) that was high functioning and
when team members were thriving.
 Small group discussion: Each narrates
story and group asks questions: What
were resources in you, team members, or
leader that allowed high function to occur?
 Someone record key resources.

13. Small Group Exercise in
Appreciative Inquiry
 Identify common elements in key resources.
 Large group debrief of this exercise.