Managing Change using Appreciative Inquiry

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Managing Change using Appreciative Inquiry

• Lynda Clark
• Box Hill Centre Manager
• Royal District Nursing Service
• December 2004

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Session Outcomes

• Explain the Action Research cycle
• Identify approaches within Action Research
• Describe Appreciative Inquiry as an approach
• Apply Appreciative Inquiry to your own
  situation
• Enjoy Appreciative Inquiry as an inspired
  change management approach

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The Action Research Cycle

• Action research
• pursuing action and research, a cyclic
  process, alternating action with critical
  reflection (and is) also qualitative and
  participative (Dick, 1997)
• Collaborative problem-solving relationship
  between researcher and client which aims at both
  solving a problem and generating new knowledge
  (Coghlan and Brannick (2001, p.3)

 
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Data generation

• Engagement with others
• Active involvement in the day-to-day
  organisational processes relating to the action
  research project
• Both formal and informal observations
• Journaling

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Approaches within Action Research

• Co-operative inquiry
• Collaborative approach
• Participatory action research
• Action inquiry

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Appreciative Inquiry

• Focuses on the best of what is
• To realise the ideal of what might be
• With the consent of what should be
• For the reality of what can be
• (Cooperrider and Srivastva, 1987)

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Appreciative Inquiry Model

• Traditional Old Process
• Define the problem
• Fix whats broken
• Focus on decay
• What problems are you having?

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

(Hammond, 1998)
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Assumptions of Appreciative Inquiry

• In every society, organisation or group something
  works
• What we focus on becomes our reality
• Reality is created in the moment and there are
  multiple realities
• The act of asking questions of an organisation or
  group influences the group in some way

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Assumptions of Appreciative Inquiry (2)

• People have more confidence and comfort to
  journey to the future (the unknown) when they
  carry forward parts of the past (the known)
• If we carry parts of the past forward, they
  should be what is best about the past
• It is important to value differences
• The language we use creates our reality

(Hammond, 1998)
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Appreciative Inquiry The 4-D Cycle
Discovery What gives life? (The best of what
is) Appreciating
Destiny How to empower, learn, and
adjust/improvise? Sustaining
Dream What might be? (What is the world calling
for? Envisioning
Affirmative Topic Choice
Design What should be-the ideal? Co-constructing
Cooperrider, Whitney Stavros,2003
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Discovery

• What interests or excites you about being here?
• What results are you hoping for?
• Tell me about a time when you thought --- was at
  its best.
• Tell the story of what was going on, who was
  involved, and what happened
• What did you do? What did you value most about
  your involvement in that story?
• What do you value most about the contribution of
  others in that story?

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Discovery ? Dream

• Facilitates dialogue among participants
• Sharing of positive stories
• Creates energy and enthusiasm
• Brings out the positive core of the organisation
• Begin to see common themes

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Dream ? Design

• Underpinned by palliative care philosophy
• Solid foundations
• Communication
• Shared goals
• Seamless service
• Responsive
• Appropriate levels of funding
• Develop relationships with client and family
• Multi-disciplinary team
• (RDNS/EPC Action Research project 2004)

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Design Phase

• Create the social-technical architecture
• Craft provocative proposition(s)
• Dream becomes a reality

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Good provocative proposition

• Bridge the best of what is and what might be
• Challenge the status quo
• It should be desirable
• State it in the affirmative and bold terms
• Fit within the architecture
• Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
• Participative process
• Balance the management of continuity, novelty and
  transition

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Design element 1

• Theme Partnership
• RDNS/EPC partnership is based on solid
  foundations of shared goals, underpinned by the
  palliative care philosophy of care and
  appropriate levels of funding, to provide a
  responsive, seamless service enabling therapeutic
  relationships with client and family within a
  multidisciplinary team.
• (RDNS/EPC Action Research project 2004)

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Destiny what will be?

• Allow yourself to dream and you will discover
  that destiny is
• yours to design
• (Dr J. Stavros)

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Action plan what next?

• What can we do - together?
• What will we do to contribute?
• How will we do it to provide optimal client
  care outcomes?

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Good luck

• Have a go using appreciative inquiry

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References

• Action Research
• Coghlan, D. and Brannick, T. (2001), Doing action
  research in your own organisation, Sage
  Publications Ltd., London.
• Dick, B. 1997, What is action research?
  Occasional pieces in action research methodology,
  2. Available online at http//www.scu.edu.au/scho
  ols/ar/arm/op002.html
• Appreciative Inquiry
• Cooperrider D, Whitney D Stavros J 2003,
  Appreciative Inquiry the first in a series of AI
  workbooks for leaders of change, Lakeshore
  Communications Inc., Bedford Heights, OH.
• Cooperrider, D. and Srivastva, S. 1987,
  Appreciative inquiry in organisational life,
  Research in Organisational Change and
  Development, Vol. 1., 1987, pp 129-169
• Hammond, S. and Hall, J. (1998), What is
  appreciative inquiry? In S. Hammond C. Royal
  (eds.), Lessons from the Field Applying
  Appreciative Inquiry, Thin Book Publishing Co.,
  Plano, TX. www.thinbook.com