Book Review: The Power of Appreciative Inquiry
Book Reviews January 5th, 2010Author: Diana Whitney and Amanda Trosten-Bloom
As I’ve learned about leadership and personal development, I’ve learned how much these areas are really just all about change. Changing yourself first and then looking to inspire and provoke change in others as well. Recently, I’ve discovered, written about and become deeply involved with another such change. A process called Appreciative Inquiry that is all about instilling organizational and community change. I wrote a couple articles about Appreciative Inquiry when I first started learning about it and so if you haven’t read those, definitely jump back and take a look at those to understand a bit more about what appreciative inquiry is. This book covers it as well, but the review I’ve written skips over much of that introductory material and gets to some of what I found to be more impactful once the basics were already understood.
Appreciative Inquiry – Introduction
Appreciative Inquiry – Tools and Methods
What this book has to offer is an in depth description of appreciative inquiry and the main steps typically needed in planning or hosting any kind of an appreciative inquiry. There is so much content in this book I’m going to outline a few specific areas that I feel really bring out the value of appreciative inquiry.
Fully Affirmative
Focus on drawing out the best instead of problems
Best example of this in the book is an example from British Petroleum’s ProCare (a US auto repair business) that was conducting customer satisfaction surveys. There was a downward trend occurring as soon as they company began the surveys. They were using the 5% of dissatisfied customers from the satisfaction surveys in an attempt to fox those areas and address any problem areas in focus groups assigned for improving the surveys. It seemed impossible to improve when the discussions and messages were about unwanted cases of customer feedback (or the problems in customer satisfaction). An appreciative inquiry team of consultants was brought in to help assess this. Despite much skepticism, they setup the same focus groups to look at 100% satisfied customer surveys only and the results were stunningly different. The customer satisfaction ratings reversed immediately and started an upward trend. This affirmative stance of appreciative inquiry created the environment needed to restore high levels of customer satisfaction and was only possible by exploring the best of customer satisfaction and to continue to focus on what was working. This is the whole premise of appreciative inquiry.
Inquiry Based
Unconditionally positive questions are crafted as part fo the process to ensure that the nature of the questions brings a shift towards the hopeful and positive elements in any response. Inquiry is a carefully selected word in this process as it implies there is a search and willingness to discover and learn. Inquiry questions do not lead to a anything in particular, they are about sharing experiences and thoughts or opinions on a topic. They have an openness that shows a genuine interest in the response which deeply engages people.
Improvisational
The third main trait of an appreciativeinquiry is that it is improvisational. It is loosely structured and has guiding principles only to devleop and get results from any appreciative process. It is itself guided by questions and so those involved must respond and tailor their interactions and systems specific to that inquiry. This makes every appreciative inquiry unique and it is that which keeps growing the appreciative inquiry knowledge based with new tools and techniques learn that bring out the vital elements of people and organizations.
Principles of AI
Another element that was new to me in this book was the outline of the 8 principles of appreciative inquiry. These principles have been derived from the original creators of appreciative inquiry and by the evolution from experiences in conducting inquiries with large scale organization and community change efforts. Without describing each in detail, which the book does well, here are the 8 principles:
- The Constructionist Principle – Words Create Worlds
- The Simultaneity Principle – Inquiry Creates Change
- The Poetic Principle – We Can Choose What We study
- The Anticipatory Principle – Image Inspires Action
- The Positive Principle – Positive Questions Lead to Positive Change
- The Wholeness Principle – Wholeness Brings Out The Best
- The Enactment Principle – Acting ‘As If’ Is Self-Fulfilling
- The Free Choice Principle – Free Choice Liberates Power
The authors cover some history of Appreciative Inquiry, its creators and origins. They also explore much about how it has been applied since its inception. There are large sections with great detail about the 4 main stages of appreciative inquiry:
- Discovery: Appreciative interviews and more
- Dream: Visions and voices of the future
- Design: Giving form to values and ideals
- Destiny: Inspired action and improvisation
Why Appreciative Inquiry Works?
The final chapter is called, “Why Appreciative Inquiry Works?”. I loved this chapter as it not only summarizes appreciative inquiry with evidence and continued stories of application, but it also helps solidify the new beliefs around the thinking, words and actions required and what makes it so special and powerful as a process and engaging tool. For some, it enables personal and collective power, others it enhances self esteem and self-expression. It makes a lasting change and can permanently affect a person. The book then covers that there are 6 freedoms that appreciative inquiry enables and how the process liberates power in those freedoms:
- The freedom to be known in relationships
- The freedom to be heard
- The freedom dream in community
- The freedom to choose to contribute
- The freedom to act with support
- The freedom to be positive
Concluding Thoughts
In conclusion, its hard to express how useful appreciative inquiry can be and what an impact it makes in an organization or community. I’ve had the wonderful experience of seeing it first hand however in my own work and am honored to be our company’s appreciative inquiry champion steering our process and engaging the whole company with the various stages, tools and interactions.
Its been a great experience so far, has no end in sight, and definitely already shifting our organization towards what is called, “life centered organization”. I’m excited to continue to learn more about appreciative inquiry and to see how else I can apply it in my life and other communities I’m involved in. I encourage you to learn about appreciative inquiry as well and bring it into your organization or community. I’m positive that you be happy that you did!
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January 5th, 2010 at 11:23 PM
I’d never heard much less studied Appreciation Inquiry. Thanks to your recent posts about it, though, I’ve researched it some. I am fascinated by the eight principles you listed. It looks like a very promises rabbit hole to follow. Thank you for introducing me to it.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
January 6th, 2010 at 12:12 AM
Appreciate Inquiry is a new phrase to me, but the principles are timeless and really worth embracing and incorporating. At the risk of sounding cliche’d I’d like to say – Nice post, Thanks!
January 6th, 2010 at 12:16 AM
Thanks, and yes I agree with both of you. I had the same feelings when I first learned about it and even though its a very “young system or process” it is incredibly powerful at bring out the best in communities and I am really looking forward to making the most of it in my work. Its a joy to be leading it and I’m hopeful to become certified as a facilitator as well so I can bring it out into other communities and groups that I am involved in.
I also find the more I research about it, the more and more excited I get about it.
January 6th, 2010 at 1:01 AM
Becoming a certified facilitator is definitely something I think that I would like to explore as well. Exciting stuff indeed!
January 6th, 2010 at 3:26 AM
I love you Diana Whitney for Mike..:)
January 7th, 2010 at 12:07 AM
Hi Mike,
Thank you for sharing the “Appreciative Inquiry” process.
I definitely see the positive and productive impact it has for an individual and a group dynamic.
The words that really resonates and stands out for me are:
Creating, Freedom and Change.
Each of these words (among others) give us a sense of fluidity and flexibility toward manifesting what you want.
January 7th, 2010 at 7:55 AM
Absolutely right Vincent. Words create worlds as is always stated in AI and those 3 worlds are a great selection to refer to for that. Thanks for the comment!
January 11th, 2010 at 10:35 AM
Hi Mike.
Those 8 principles sure are cool. I like the concepts of many of them. The one that says “Words Create Worlds” sends a nice message about how powerful words can be. From words, we can see things that were not there before, all started by the words someone said. We have to recognize their potency.
Also, on the one about how “Acting ‘As If’ Is Self-Fulfilling”, I have seen that to be the case many times. When I acted as though I was person X or businessman Y, I got results like person X or businessman Y would get. It is worth doing for anything or anyone we want to emulate.
That survey point at the beginning is one to take notice of. Focusing on the 5% with problems can lead to forgetting that 95% are supporters. It is a waste to lose 20% of those 95% when trying to satisfy those 5%. We have to be cognizant of the good, because when the good is not noticed, we have become spoiled, and problems occur.
Thanks to you, I feel like I got a good summary of key points from the book, as usual~
January 11th, 2010 at 12:39 PM
Great book review and very interesting comments! I have definitely benefited from having a inquisitive mind all throughout my childhood up until this very day. Sometimes it can be disadvantageous, especially if you get lost in the world of ideas, but often things work out for the best, and you are smarter and more happy because of it. The truth shall set you free.
January 11th, 2010 at 1:26 PM
Thanks Armen, you’ve highlighted and picked up some key points for sure. And as usual, the same brief outline and summary is all that exists in my article as well so its definitely worth reading more on if the subject interests you. It’s been a great new addition to my toolset and I know it will only continue to grow and be applied in many areas of my life.
January 11th, 2010 at 1:28 PM
Thanks Steven, you are right there are always disadvantages to things as well. When it comes to inquisitive minds though, I think it is safe to say that there are few enough people who really live by inquiry that it is outbalanced by the so many people who are purely “getting by” with what they know and never exploring or inquiring about new things. I’ll keep my curiosity any day and accept the circumstances though thanks.
February 1st, 2010 at 7:41 AM
Awesome post. For me, this is the most important sentence: The Positive Principle – Positive Questions Lead to Positive Change
April 9th, 2013 at 9:54 PM
I have been reading out a few of your stories and it’s clever stuff. I will definitely bookmark your blog.