Appreciative Inquiry and Change Management

Appreciative Inquiry: an act of exploration and discovery. Appreciative Inquiry: an act of exploration and discovery. Appreciative Inquiry and Change Management are about the search for the best in people, their organizations, and the relevant business environment around them. In its broadest focus, it involves systematic discovery of what gives “life” to an organization’s eco-system when it is most alive, most effective, and most constructively capable in economic, business and strategic terms. It is also termed as the act of recognizing the best in people and processes within organizations; affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials; to perceive those things that strengthen existing processes and human capital.

AI involves the art and practice of asking questions that strengthen a system’s capacity to apprehend, anticipate, and heighten positive potential. It centrally involves the mobilization of inquiry through the crafting of the “unconditional positive question” often-involving hundreds or sometimes thousands of people.

In AI the task of intervention gives way to the speed of imagination and innovation; instead of negation, criticism, and spiraling diagnosis, there is discovery, dream, and design. AI seeks, fundamentally, to build a constructive union between a whole people and the massive entirety of what people talk about as past and present capacities: achievements, assets, unexplored potentials, innovations, strengths, elevated thoughts, opportunities, benchmarks, high point moments, strategic competencies, stories, insights into the deeper corporate entity — and visions of valued and possible futures.

change management model

Taking all of these together as a gestalt, AI seeks to work from accounts of this “positive change core”—and it assumes that every process and insight has many untapped and rich and inspiring accounts of the positive. Link the ideas of this core directly to any change agenda and changes never thought possible are suddenly and democratically mobilized.

AI has a proven record of success in a wide variety of strategic initiatives.


Insights: Managing Teams, Capacity and Workflow

Three lessons from successful CEOs to streamline work flow across departments. The concept of a core team that stays small until you really are forced to scale it up is the preferred approach of innovative companies to manage work flow. The core team concept allows for a more open style of management and culture. CEOs are intrigued by how effective this approach is in terms of helping everybody really live the business. The fundamental concept is to give people more context to their jobs which helps them better evaluate every decision they make. Read more.


Services

STRATEGIC PLANNING

  • Customer Service
  • Employee Retention
  • Corporate Sustainability
  • Marketing and Branding
  • Merges and Partnerships
  • Corporate Sustainability

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

  • Whole Systems Change
  • Culture Change
  • Change Leader/Development

ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AND HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT

  • Innovation and Creativity
  • Diversity and Gender Programs
  • Knowledge Management
  • Diversity and Gender Programs

TEAMING AND COLLABORATIVE SERVICES

  • Team Development
  • Collaborative Networks
  • Partnerships and Alliances

PHILANTHROPIC AND SOCIAL CHANGE

  • Social Action
  • Corporate Social Responsibility

LEADERSHIP SERVICES

  • Executive Coaching
  • Life/Career Coaching
  • Leadership Development

Related information:

  • Change Management Programs
  • Change Management Insights
  • Appreciative Inquiry
  • Arcus Change Managememt (ACM) Methodology

Contact us for best practices in change management
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Benchmarking performance

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