Corporate E-Learning

Appreciative inquiry focuses on finding the best in people and how they use it to function in their work and everyday life. Through appreciative inquiry, an employer uses the art of asking questions and opinions to strengthen the system as a whole, creating a more positive environment and heightening employee potential. This approach is designed to focus less on negativity and criticism, and utilize personal design and encourage discovery.

Before someone can begin to utilize appreciative inquiry, they must first know what it is and what it means. There are many techniques and practices that can be used with appreciative inquiry that anyone can use in their lives. Learning about appreciative inquiry not only benefits the employee, but the entire company. It helps address ways to encourage positive ways of thinking instead of using negativity or even criticism.

One of the simplest ways to relieve stress and feel better about ourselves is to change the way we think about things in our lives. Having a positive attitude allows a person to change their own lives because it shows that they have an understanding of their surroundings and feel confident enough to use them to their advantage. But if we hide behind negative thoughts and allow our environment to make us sad or depressed, we may never have the drive to reach for our goals and ambitions.

Appreciative inquiry opens whole new doors for us and opens our eyes to a new way of thinking. With positive thoughts and attitudes, we can discover new ways of reaching our goals. We can be free to dream new ambitions and set ourselves up for success. After a plan is made, we can design how to reach that goal and deliver the end result to us. Yes, we can accomplish all of this if we just believe that we have the skills and confidence to do it.

The Four I Model is very similar to the Four D Model previously discussed; however, while the Four D Model focuses on the individual employee as well as a small group of employees, the Four I Model is designed to think one step above that. This model focuses on taking changes and plans designed by employees and implement them to other levels of the company, such as upper management and stakeholders.

Many people associate interviews with fear and anxiety and will immediately break into a sweat when they are called into one. But the Appreciative Inquiry interview style helps to do away with those stereotypes. This type of interview style focuses on positive questions, enjoyable stories, and discovering how the potential employee can make an impact on the company, without using scare tactics or fear.

Anticipatory reality is helpful in appreciative inquiry because it makes us focus on the future and what we want. One of the first steps of anticipatory reality is creating an image of the future and determining what can help you get there. We can change things, add new themes, and make goals – we are constantly fashioning our anticipatory reality.

Imagery can be seen in a variety of ways. It helps us to create a full picture of an idea or situation based on details and facts that we’re presented with. Positive imagery is a key tool in helping us to remain positive and have an upbeat look on any problem. The key is to find what imagery works for you and using it to help you accomplish your goals and ambitions.

Influencing other people can have a ripple effect – it can start small but then the efforts begin to grow and grow. Of course we want to influence other people in a positive manner, not a negative one. Through Appreciative Inquiry, we can influence others by not only being positive ourselves, but helping other people make changes in their lives and be a more positive person too.

Managing a group of people can be a difficult task by itself, much less trying to coach them in the right direction. Sometimes our good intentions can come across as critical, negative, or just plain mean. But when we use Appreciative Inquiry along with other coaching or management strategies, we can help our employees find a solution to their problems while also making them more positive and confident in themselves.

If we want others around us to be positive and confident, then we have to create it within ourselves first. This can mean first focusing on yourself and your positive core and then creating a positive core among your employees. Building a strong core in yourself ensures that you can have the confidence you need to complete any job. Having a strong, positive core among employees ensures that coworkers can work together and still maintain their own confidence. A strong core can stick together despite rough problems that may arise.

Although this workshop is coming to a close, we hope that your journey to understanding appreciative inquiry is just beginning. Please take a moment to review and update your action plan. This will be a key tool to guide your progress in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. We wish you the best of luck on the rest of your travels!