Innovations

The Glass is More than Half Full
The Positive Message of Appreciative Inquiry

by Anita Bingaman

Several months ago Tammy Yanez and I attended a UW Worklife presentation called Appreciative Inquiry: Discovering the Best of What Is. We both found it interesting and shared our impressions in a Payroll staff meeting. The positive response to this initial presentation inspired Tammy and me, with help from FM’s Appreciative Inquiry expert Sadiq Lew, to develop a more detailed look at the process.

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a process to discover the “best that is.” It is a social process that invites people in an organization to engage in a dialogue –to talk about and uncover what is working well. AI requires looking at things from another point of view. It means being open, non-judgmental, and not inserting one’s self into conversations while listening to others.

AI starts with what we think about. Are too many of our thoughts about what isn’t working or how bad things are, instead of how well things are going? We seem to be more aware of when things do not work right than when things work well. For a quick exercise make a list of five things that work really well in your own work process or tasks that you do well during the day.

AI changes what questions are asked and the kind of attention that is paid to the answers. An example is when a coworker comes back from vacation. Instead of asking, “How was your vacation” and then two minutes into the conversation telling about our own last vacation, try asking, “What was the favorite part of your vacation?” Or, “What was the most exciting part of your vacation?” Then really listen to the answer, conveying the feeling that you are interested in learning about that person’s experience. This sets an atmosphere of discovery, where you are not only learning about the other person, but you are helping them discover things about themselves. You have also made the speaker feel like a special person.

This process can have other applications. As an example AI can be used when talking to a customer. Think about listening to the customer and asking questions to fully understand what kind of help is needed. Don’t make judgments; use investigative skills, and focus on the customer.

This process also applies to team building. It can help us learn more about the other person and build a better working relationship.

One example of the process given in the presentation was about two bowling teams who viewed video tapes of their first game. Each team was asked to analyze the tapes and look for ways to improve their scores. One team asked what was wrong with how they bowled and the other team asked what they did right. The teams then bowled a second game. Both teams improved their scores, but the team that asked what they did right got higher scores. This does not mean that we ignore what isn’t working, but it is another more positive way of making improvements.

The Payroll group brainstormed what was going well in Payroll. One example was Payroll’s ability to pay people on time. The question was then asked “What made this happen?” The group decided that teamwork, understanding of a common goal, clear communication of priorities and dedicated people contributed to Payroll’s success in this area. It’s a matter of perspective: FM is very good at examining processes and developing improvements. AI provides another, more positive viewing lens for better communications, and even more effective process improvements.