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This edition of Keeping Up With… was written by Pamela Espinosa de los Monteros, Greg Rentsch, and Amanda Comstock.

Pamela Espinosa de los Monteros is Associate Professor and the Latin American, Iberian, and Latino/a Studies Librarian at The Ohio State University, email: espinosadelosmonteros.1@osu.edu.

Greg Rentsch is Vice President of Operations and General Manager at RR Donnelley, email: gregrentsch@gmail.com.

Amanda Comstock is an Organizational Consultant with Empowered Learning and Design, email: empoweredlearningbydesign@gmail.com.

The Other AI: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Support Positive Organizational Leadership and Change

What is Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciative Inquiry is a “positive strengths-based approach to leadership development and organizational change.”[1] Its life-centric orientation provocatively shifts from a conventional top-down, diagnostic, and deficit-based approach to change, towards one that builds on strengths, potential, and innovation to achieve collective action towards a shared future. Through a dialogic, inquiry-led, relational, inclusive, and emergent process, Appreciative Inquiry helps organizations engage across their organization to co-discover strengths, explore shared meaning, build capacity for cooperative action, and collectively design for transformative change.[2]

Appreciative Inquiry was co-created by Dr. David Cooperrider and Dr. Suresh Srivastva at Case Western Reserve University. It has been further shaped by Dr. Ron Fry (Case Western Reserve University), Dr. Lindsey Godwin (Champlain College), Dr. Diana Whitney (Corporation for Positive Change), Dr. Jacqueline Stavros (Lawrence Technology University), and others. In practice for over thirty years, today Appreciative Inquiry has been used by the United Nations, Johnson and Johnson, the City of Cleveland, the U.S Navy, Apple, and Walmart as well as thousands of practitioners around the globe in business, education, libraries and other nonprofit organizations.[3]

While often utilized for large group and system-wide organizational change, Appreciative Inquiry can also be effectively applied to support team leadership, facilitate one-on-one coaching,[4] as well as advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.[5]

The Process

Appreciative Inquiry invites leaders and organizations to leverage evidence-based practices from change management and positive psychology. Its methods radically shift away from focusing on system dysfunction or weaknesses and instead centers on understanding “what gives life” to organizations, teams, and individuals when they are at their best, including the discovery of common values, existing strengths and shared aspirations. Drawing on these insights, organizations co-create a shared vision for the future by developing compelling images that capture and convey the best of what is and what can be. This approach helps to reveal new possibilities that motivate and drive collective action toward realizing the envisioned future.[6] The methodology builds on positive psychology’s exploration of human flourishing by examining the root causes of success through human achievement, peak experiences, and best practices and using these insights to support learning and strength-based change.

It is important to note that Appreciative Inquiry does not ignore or minimize challenges, nor is it solely focused on positivity.[7] Instead, it approaches learning, design, and change within human systems by asking generative questions that reveal what is giving life to a group or organization—essentially, what there is to appreciate. It then leverages these findings, along with information about opportunities, gaps, and aspirations, to develop a collective strategy for change.[8] Integral to this process is the research of positive psychologists like Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, which reveals that experiencing positive emotions enhances individuals’ creativity, resilience, broadens their sense of self, and openness to new ideas, information, and ways of being- elements that are crucial for supporting change.[9]

Appreciative Inquiry builds upon this foundation by fostering a climate where participants can constructively interact to generate new ideas, explore new ways of thinking through a collaborative, inclusive, creative, and emergent process.[10] The positive principles of Appreciative Inquiry “creates a language and climate that embraces differences, accepts polarities, and helps create new cultures where diverse values are heard and honored.”[11] This approach and environment makes it possible and safe to speak the truth, connect and build relationships across the organization, and view the system as a whole, in order to “discern meaningful aspects of what is needed to change.”[12]

Appreciative Inquiry involves the transformative power and art of asking positive questions designed to explore and guide organizations toward the direction where they want to grow and be.[13] These questions are designed to facilitate generative interactions throughout the system, build relationships, and bring out the best in people. By facilitating these critical conversations, they enable individuals to bring their best selves, insights about the appreciative topic, and strengthen relationships into the design and implementation of change.[14]

Appreciative Inquiry traditionally uses the 4-D Cycle—Discovery, Dream, Design, and Destiny—to structure conversations and data gathering, which informs the emergent organizational development change process in inclusive and co-created ways.[15] The process adapts Kurt Lewin’s action research model through an appreciative lens and fosters dialogue across the entire system. Its whole-system process invites stakeholders from across, within, and outside the system to participate in a cooperative and co-evolutionary search for what “enlivens” an organization through a process that fosters imagination and innovation.[16] This exploration involves uncovering strengths and aspirations that align with individuals' shared values and vision for the future. It also includes co-learning from past experiences to help the people and stakeholders within the organization articulate the best possible future for the system.[17,18]

You can learn more about the original 4D Inquiry Model through the facilitated by Dr. Lindsey Godwin.

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The Appreciative Mindset

Appreciative Inquiry offers value beyond being a change model; it serves as a mindset. Appreciative Inquiry cultivates a way of seeing and approaching the world by inviting practitioners to “appreciate (to value, affirm past and present strengths, successes, and potentials) and engage in inquiry (to ask questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities)”[19] in order to lead themselves, other people, groups, and organizations towards “full-spectrum flourishing” (a future where organizations prosper, people thrive, and nature flourishes).[20] This mindset affirms each person’s agency and potential to support elevating and magnifying human strengths. By seeing the world through an appreciative eye, individuals can find “the true and the good, the better, and the possible” in every person, interaction, and situation."[21]

To cultivate an appreciative mindset invites practitioners to suspend judgment and instead lean into curiosity. Traditional organizational change models can often focus on identifying and fixing problems, which can inadvertently reinforce negativity and limitations. In contrast, Appreciative Inquiry encourages asking appreciative questions that help organizations co-discover, recognize and build on their strengths, as well as share opportunities and innovative approaches towards their shared aspirations. Appreciative Inquiry practitioner David Bright notes that “inquiry is the mechanism through which people both appreciate the strengths, values, and possibilities of their organization and simultaneously increase in their capacity to act collectively to bring those possibilities into reality.”[22]

Practicing Appreciative Inquiry involves learning the art of writing appreciative questions. Below is an example focused on "Infectious Gratitude":

• Framing: Practicing gratitude can transform organizations by enhancing culture, outcomes, and collaboration among individuals and users.
• Question 1: Share a time when someone's gratitude had a significant impact on you. How did your relationship with that person change, and how did it inspire you to show gratitude to others?
• Question 2: Looking ahead, how can infectious gratitude change how we collaborate with teammates, partners, and users?
  

This method not only identifies and improves positive practices but also integrates gratitude into the system instead of asking, "Do you feel valued?" It provides deeper insights into fostering a culture of recognition.

Appreciative Inquiry and Libraries

Libraries operate in complex environments, often within large organizational systems that serve diverse populations and involve various levels of expertise, skills, and roles for employees or volunteers. The Appreciative Inquiry process is designed to bring whole-system engagement into the change process. This inclusive approach offers a perspective of which Cooperrider mentions is neither top-down nor bottom-up but rather “whole,” allowing the change process to tap into the talents and capacities across, within, or even outside the organization.[23] Libraries would benefit from exploring a more inclusive, collaborative, and engaging change model that not only reinforces existing strengths but also highlights and elevates our highest potential.

Conclusion

Appreciative Inquiry combines inquiry, storytelling, and whole-system participation to support transformative change and build community. It fosters generative conversations by helping libraries recognize and appreciate their strengths and achievements, while addressing challenges creatively. Next time you seek change, consider Appreciative Inquiry.

Starting Resources

There are numerous resources available on Appreciative Inquiry, including foundation texts, guides, workshops, certification, and graduate programs. Below are some starting places to find more information:

: Includes links to seminal text and a resource repository.

by David Cooperrider, Diana Whitney and Jaqueline M. Stravos: Offers a comprehensive guide to implementing Appreciative Inquiry.

by Diana Kaplin Whitney.

by Frank J. Barrett and Ronald E. Fry: Provides a concise introduction and overview of appreciative inquiry, its principles, and how to apply them.

at the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit at Case Western Reserve: Includes access to highlighted resources including a coursera course.

: Includes training videos.

: Features articles on AI methodology and practices.

: Applications of Appreciative Inquiry, including case studies, summit examples, and other resources, can be found in the AI Commons, operated jointly by both Case Western Reserve University and Champlain College, where Appreciative Inquiry is taught.

Notes

[1] David Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry. “About Appreciative Inquiry,” Champlain College. accessed May 09, 2024, .

[2] Cooperrider, David L., Diana Kaplin Whitney, and Jacqueline M. Stavros. Appreciative Inquiry Handbook: For Leaders of Change. Second edition. Brunswick, OH, San Francisco, CA: Crown Custom Pub.; BK, Berrett-Koehler, 2008.

[3] Godwin, Lindsey N. “Appreciative Inquiry: Three Decades of Generative Impact.” AI Practitioner 18, no. 1 (2016): 24–29. .

[4] Newhard, Michele L. “Applying Appreciative Inquiry as a Framework for Coaching. In Building an Organizational Coaching Culture: Creating Effective Environments for Growth and Success In Organizations edited Behnam Bakhshandeh and William J. Rothwell, Routledge, 2023.

[5] Teller, Tanya Cruz. “Inspiring Inclusion with the Appreciative Leadership Lotus Model.” In Inclusive Leadership: Transforming diverse lives, workplaces, and societies edited by Bernardo M. Ferdman, Jeanine Prime, and Ronald E. Riggo, 398-406, Routledge, 2021.

[6] Cooperrider, Whitney, and Stavros, 3-5.

[7] Bushe, Gervase. “Appreciative Inquiry Is Not (Just) About the Positive.” OD Practitioner 39, no. 4 (2007): 33–38.

[8] Whitney, Diana and Trosten-Bloom, Amanda. “Transforming Possibilities through Appreciative Leadership." In Transforming Leaders: New Approaches to Leadership for the Twenty-First Century, edited by Carol S. Pearson, 53-63. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2012.

[9] Fredrickson, Barbara. Positivity. 1st pbk. ed. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2009.

[10] Oxendine, Symphony D., Kerry K. Robinson, and Michele A. Parker. “Transforming Departmental Culture: Empowering a Department through Appreciative Inquiry.” To Improve the Academy 41, no. 2 (2022): 161–85.

[11] Srivastva, S., Fry, R. E., and Cooperrider, D. L. "The Call for Executive Appreciation." In Appreciative Management and Leadership: The Power of Positive Thought and Action in Organization, edited by S. Srivastva and D. L. Cooperrider, 1–34. Williams, 1999.

[12] McQuaid, Michelle, and David L. Cooperrider. Your Change Blueprint: How to Design & Deliver an AI Summit. Albert Park, Australia: Michelle McQuaid, 2018.

[13] Mohr, Bernard J., and Jane Magruder Watkins. The Essentials of Appreciative Inquiry: A Roadmap for Creating Positive Futures. Innovations in Management Series. Waltham, Mass.: Pegasus Communications, 2002.

[14] Fry, Ron. “Forward”. In Appreciative Inquiry Handbook : For Leaders of Change. Cooperrider, David L., Diana Kaplin Whitney, and Jacqueline M. Stavros, VI-IX. Second edition. Brunswick, OH, San Francisco, CA: Crown Custom Pub.; BK, Berrett-Koehler, 2008.

[15] Kadi-Hanifi, Karima, Ozlem Dagman, John Peters, Ellen Snell, Caroline Tutton, and Trevor Wright. “Engaging Students and Staff with Educational Development through Appreciative Inquiry.” Innovations in Education and Teaching International 51, no. 6 (November 2, 2014): 584–94. .

[16] Stavros, Jacqueline M., Lindsey N. Godwin, and David L. Cooperrider. “Appreciative Inquiry: Organization Development and the Strengths Revolution.” In Practicing Organization Development, edited by William J. Rothwell, Jackie Stavros, and Roland L. Sullivan, 1st ed., 96–116. Wiley, 2015. .

[17] Grieten, Styn, Frank Lambrechts, René Bouwen, Jolien Huybrechts, Ronald Fry, and David Cooperrider. “Inquiring into Appreciative Inquiry: A Conversation with David Cooperrider and Ronald Fry.” Journal of Management Inquiry 27, no. 1 (2018): 101–14. .

[18] Stavros, Godwin, Cooperrider, 98.

[19] Cooperrider, Whitney, and Stavros, 1-3.

[20] Laszlo, Chris, David Cooperrider, and Ron Fry. “Global Challenges as Opportunity to Transform Business for Good.” Sustainability 12, no. 19 (January 2020): 8053. .

[21] Grieten et. al, 104.

[22] Bright, D. S. “Appreciative Inquiry and Positive Organizational Scholarship. A Philosophy of Practice for Turbulent Times.” OD Practitioner 41, no. 3 (2009): 2–7.

[23] Cooperrider, David L., and Michelle McQuaid. “The Positive Arc of Systemic Strengths: How Appreciative Inquiry and Sustainable Designing Can Bring out the Best in Human Systems.” Journal of Corporate Citizenship 2012, no. 46 (2012): 71–102.