let’s change the subject and change our organization: an appreciative inquiry approach to...

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Career DevelopmentInternational3/7 [1998] 314–319

© MCB University Press [ISSN 1362-0436]

Let’s change the subject and change ourorganization: an appreciative inquiry approach toorganization change

Diana WhitneyWhitney Consulting, Taos, New Mexico, USA

Takes a social constructionistview of organizational changefocusing on how to engagethe multitude of internal andexternal stakeholders. Arguesthat current models ofchange often leave peoplefeeling demoralized andpresents appreciative inquiry(AI) as an aproach to organi-zation development thatdeliberately focuses attentionon learning and dialogueabout what gives life to anorganization. Explains AIprinciples and the 4-D modelfor positive change. Providessome examples of this.

Organizational identities are embedded andemergent in conversation. Project planningdiscussions, strategic planning meetings,selection interviews, performance reviewsand staff meetings are all conversationsthrough which the identities of an organiza-tion, its products and services and its mem-bers are crafted. The efforts of change agentstoward development – personal and organiza-tional – can best be understood as interven-tions into the conversational processes andrelational realities of the organization.

The language of organization developmentin the 1990s is saturated with relationallyembedded words such as participation,involvement, empowerment, diversity andmembership. It is readily recognized by orga-nization development professionals that thegreater the involvement of people in theprocess, the greater their commitment tochange. That is, the more involvement peoplehave in crafting change – personal and orga-nizational – the more likely they are to carryit through to fruition.

From a social constructionist point of view,that posits knowledge, meaning and identityas socially generated, conscious involvementis an imperative. A constructionist viewholds involvement and participation asgivens. Organization stakeholders do partici-pate, they are involved. The nature and qual-ity of participation may not be as we wouldwant it. It may not provide the resultsdesired. It does, however, define the organiza-tion. To change an organization is to changethe nature and quality of participation andinteraction among the many organizationstakeholders. It is to change who talks towhom about what. When this occurs cus-tomers and vendors become a part of thewhole organization, rather than outsiders.Employees and managers have equality ofvoice, rather than hierarchically definedvoice. Stories of success in one part of theorganization are spread across the organiza-tion and become new standards of practice.Mutually valued processes, products, ser-vices and results emerge.

The question facing change agents, consul-tants, human resource practitioners andmanagers, is not whether to involve organiza-tion members and stakeholders in change but

rather how to engage the multitude of inter-nal and external stakeholders, all speakingdifferent languages, in large scale effortstoward organizational change.

Total quality efforts, employee involvementteams and participatory management prac-tices have been a step in the right direction.They have set the stage for an active, involvedworkforce. They have surfaced people’s desireto contribute. And they have shown their ownlimits. First, they are representative ratherthan fostering full voice and expressionamong all stakeholders. Founded on smallgroup theory that suggests the optimal sizegroup is five to seven people, current effortsto engage the workforce involve some of thepeople, some of the time. In order to success-fully reinvent an organization, all of the inter-ested parties must be involved throughout theprocess. As the newsletter of an internationalwindow fashions company declares, “Allvoices, all opinions, all ideas”.

Second, most of our current developmentmodels – personal and organizational – aredeficit based. They engage organization mem-bers in a study of what is unsuitable, notworking, not up to standard, and in need of a“fix”. Problem-solving approaches to changemanagement leave people feeling demoral-ized and hopeless about their future and thefuture of their organization. Successful devel-opment efforts depend on forms of involve-ment and participation that invite the best ofpeople and their ideas to surface and to be putinto practice. Successful change emergeswhen curiosity, creativity and inspiration arepresent.

Appreciative inquiry

Companies around the world are engaged inbold experiments with an innovative processof organization development called apprecia-tive inquiry (AI). Developed by Dr DavidCooperrider and colleagues at Case WesternReserve University and The Taos Institute, AIis based on the principle that organizationschange in the direction of what they study.Inquiry – whether it is an organization sur-vey, a question posed by a manager at thestart of a meeting, or the study used to

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Diana WhitneyLet’s change the subject andchange our organization: anappreciative inquiry approachto organization change


redesign a work process – is fateful. It plantsthe seeds of the future.

Consider, for example, two ways you as amanager might welcome new employees. Ifyou ask that they tell you of difficulties theyencounter as they get acquainted with theirnew colleagues and new job, you are, no matter how well intended, planting seeds ofdifficulties; and you will most certainly hearabout them. If on the other hand, you request that they seek to discover what con-tributes to their new work group’s high levelsof cooperation and success, you are plantingseeds of learning about cooperation and teamsuccess. On a daily basis the agenda for orga-nizational performance, learning and changeis established through inquiry and dialogue.

AI deliberately focuses the attention, dia-logue and learning of an organization’s mem-bers and stakeholders on what gives life to theorganization and its people when they are atits best. By assuming the best of people, orga-nizations and relationships, AI leaves deficit-oriented approaches behind and offers affir-mative processes for organization develop-ment.

Appreciative inquiry principles

AI, as an organization development interven-tion, reflects a set of principles drawn fromcurrent theory and research in the humanand social sciences (Srivastva and Cooper-rider, 1990). It recognizes the essential con-nectedness of all life and provides opportuni-ties for the creation of relationally generatedmeaning and organizational practice.

The constructionist principleOrganizations are invented, enacted andmaintained through processes of social inter-action, and as a result are changed in thesame manner. The constructionist principleplaces emphasis on language and relationalprocesses for establishing meaning, identityand order. In Realities and Relationships,Gergen describes the foundation for the con-structionist principle in AI,

For constructionists, descriptions andexplanations are neither driven by the worldas it is, nor are they the inexorableoutcomes of genetic or structural propensi-tites within the individual. Rather they arethe result of human coordination of action.Words take on their meaning only withinthe context of ongoing relationships.

Language and relationships are our primaryvehicles for constructing organizations, communities and our world. Language, com-munication and relationships are tools forcreating realities, meaning and social order.

Organizations are social constructions –repetitive patterns of communication andstory telling.

The poetic principleAs conversational realities, organizationsmove in the direction of what is studied andtalked about. Modern management and espe-cially total quality management has us study-ing problems and their multiple causes. Indoing so we give life to the repetitive cycle ofproblem solving and to deficit views of orga-nizational life. Problem solving, cynicism,and deficit thinking have become manage-ment habits. AI provides an alternative inthat it invites us to organize around whatgives hope and joy rather than what createsfear and control. Organizations are guided bysocially created and ever changing practices,not by unchangeable iron laws.

The dominant metaphor for organizationsin a constructionist sense is that they are likea good book, there to be read and reread,interpreted and reinterpreted. Just as a booktakes on its meaning in the act of reading, sodoes the organization take on its meaning inthe act of telling its stories. Organizationalstories are the habit patterns of the organiza-tion. They tell organization members whatthey must do and be in order to fit in and besuccessful in the organization. If we hearstories of distrust and turfism, then we willcertainly find and possibly create our owncases of distrust and turfism. If, on the otherhand, we hear stories about respect and col-laboration across functional lines of business,then we learn that respect and collaborationare the workplace norms. AI assumes that asan organization’s dominant stories changeand evolve, so does the organization.

The anticipatory principleImages held in stories, metaphors, picturesand artifacts guide organization action. Thestories told about an organization’s future arethe best determinants of its future. Images,whether explicitly described or implicitlycarried by organization stakeholders, com-mand great power over the future. Eisler inThe Chalice and the Blade, speaks about therole of imagery in making manifest the mate-rial world,

Although we don’t usually think of themthis way, most social realities – schools,hospitals, stock exchanges, political parties,churches – are actualizations of ideas thatonce existed only in the minds of a fewwomen and men. This is also true of theabolition of slavery, the replacement ofmonarchies with republics, and all the other progress we have made in the last fewhundred years. Even physical realities –tables, books, pots, airplanes, violins – are

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actualizations of human ideas. But for newideas to be translated into new realitiesrequires not only clarity of vision but alsothe opportunity to change old realities.

At any point in time the organization’s futurepotential can be known through the storiestold about it by stakeholders. In thriving orga-nizations the frequency of positive, hopefulstories is greater than the frequency of nega-tive, cynical stories. What we anticipate iswhat we enact and give life to as organizationreality. For example, when a dominant organi-zation story is one of poor management credi-bility it is very difficult for managers to enactcredibility. People will seek actions that sup-port the story of poor management credibility.The image of poor management credibilityguides organization behavior until a morepositive and compelling life force is invited tocome forth. In the same way, when a dominantorganization story is about extraordinarycustomer service, as it was in the early days ofFederal Express, customer service guidesinteractions throughout the organization aswell as with customers.

The simultaneity principleOrganization development has historicallybeen thought of as a long-term process involv-ing step by step diagnosis, feedback, actionplanning and implementation. AI assumes,invites and evokes the simultaneity of learn-ing and change. When organized aroundtopics of sincere interest and curiosity, AIevokes learning and change, through inter-views and dialogues, aimed at organizationaldiscovery, dream, design and destiny.

Modern management has given life to orga-nizations as structures and systems. Modernmanagement practices tend to be linear andsequential as in the plan-do-check-actsequence for quality improvement whichconceptualizes change as the result of a seriesof actions occurring over a long period oftime. In contrast, from a postmodern perspec-tive, change is an ever-present organizationreality. It does not need to be created, butmerely evoked and brought forth. Patterns ofthinking and repetitively enacted organiza-tion habits shift simultaneously when organi-zation stakeholders engage in AI.

Rather than being the cause of organizationchange, AI is the vehicle for change toemerge. As a high-involvement process, itleads simultaneously to the reconfigurationof organizational meaning and relationships.It shifts the network of who talks to whomabout what. The careful selection of topics forthe AI process alters the organization agendaand enables more positive patterns of think-ing and performance to emerge.

The positive principleOrganizations can grow, develop and evolveby focusing on what gives life. The positiveprinciple suggests that we can create success-ful and sustainable organizations by attend-ing to the affirmative, the positively com-pelling and that which stirs positive humansentiments. It directs us to focus on what wevalue and hope for, as well as what brings joyand wonder to organization life. Jung’s writ-ing suggests the possibility for growth stem-ming from a change of focus,

I have often seen individuals simply out-grow a problem which had destroyed others.This outgrowing was seen to consist in anew level of consciousness. Some higher orwider interest arose on the person’s horizon,and through this widening of his view theinsoluble problem lost its urgency. It was notsolved logically in its own terms, but fadedout when confronted with a new and.stronger life tendency.

Under all the skepticism, cynicism and pes-simism in today’s organizations are hopesand dreams of a better world. It is possibleand certainly more inspiring and enrichingto discuss and to organize for hopes anddreams than to discuss and organize to over-come problems. Positive possibilities compelaction freely given, while problems oftenrequire fear as a motivational force.

Change efforts afford the opportunity toevoke a wide range of human sentiments andactions. They open a window of time andspace that is generative of new possibilities.What gets invited through inquiry and dia-logue forms the basis of the new organiza-tion. Discussions of change as a flood of prob-lems to overcome will indeed flood an organi-zation with problems. Discussions of changeas an organizational act of creativity, inresponse to market and global demands, pro-vides a forum for creating a new organizationinterested and able to meet market and globaldemands.

The positive principle presents organiza-tion stakeholders with an ethical imperative– realizing that words create worlds – tochoose carefully what is studied anddiscussed in the process of constructing thenew organization.

The appreciative inquiry 4-D process

The 4-D model of AI is a process for positivechange. Based on the assumption the changeoccurs through thoughtful inquiry and dia-logue into affirmative life giving forces, thefour phases of the process are: discovery,dream, design and delivery.

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Discovery – appreciating what gives lifeThe discovery phase is a quest to identifypositive stories and spread them throughoutan organization. It brings into focus whatgives life and energy to people, their work andtheir organization. It is based on the assump-tion that life-giving forces are indeed presentin every situation, but our habits of organiz-ing and talking often overlook the positive infavor of analyzing obstacles, resistances anddeficits. The discovery phase shifts the bal-ance of organizational attention from what isnot working to what is working and what maypossibly work in the future.

An all-too-common myth is that we learnfrom our mistakes. Actually, all we can learnfrom mistakes is what not to do again. Posi-tive learning and innovation comes fromstudying, adapting and replicating whatworks. An ancient Taoist adage suggests, “ifyou respect and admire a quality in another,make it your own”. The discovery phase is aquest to fill the organization’s conversationswith talk of positive possibilities.

The starting point of any AI is the selectionof affirmative topics. As organizations movein the direction of what they study the choice of topics to study is significant andstrategic.

Topics are stated in the affirmative andmust be something the organization wants tolearn about and enhance in their way ofdoing business. For example, a recent clientraised concerns over turnover and wanted touse it as an inquiry topic. When I remindedthem that topic choice is like planting seedsand asked if they really wanted moreturnover, they quickly chose retention as oneof their affirmative topics.

At the heart of AI is the appreciative inter-view: generally done as a mutual interviewamong organization members, it may also beconducted as a focus group process. Affirma-tive topics are turned into interview ques-tions and an interview guide is created whichexplores a person’s beginnings with the orga-nization, what they most value about them-selves, their work and the organization, theirappreciative stories related to the topics andtheir hopes and dreams for the organization.Discovery involves the mass mobilization ofinterviews. Ideally, all members of an organi-zation will be interviewed.

Dream – envisioning what might beThe dream phase is a time for groups of peo-ple to engage in thinking big, thinking out ofthe box, and thinking out of the boundaries ofwhat has been in the past. It is a time forpeople to describe their wishes and dreamsfor their work, their working relationshipsand their organization.

The dream phase of the 4-D process encour-ages participants to consider what it is thattheir organization, whether a department,business unit or entire company, is beingcalled to do. This phase connects the work ofall the members of the organization to agreater purpose. The dream phase takes placein a large group meeting during which thedata and stories collected in the discoveryphase are shared. Wishes and dreams for thefuture of the organization are often acted outto further dramatize the positive possibilitiesenvisioned for the organization.

Design – determining what will beAI is a high-involvement process. The designphase provides an opportunity for large num-bers of employees and stakeholders to cometogether to co-create their organization.

While the discovery and dream phases maybe described as generating and expanding theorganization’s images of itself, the design anddelivery phases are about making choices forthe organization and its members. In thedesign phase, organization members andstakeholders including customers and ven-dors participate in crafting what are called“provocative propositions” or design state-ments.

Appreciative organization design isgrounded in the data and stories collectedduring the discovery process. While thedream process encourages possibility think-ing, the design process focuses on actionablepossibilities. Provocative propositions, how-ever, are intended to stretch the organizationas it moves to realize them.

Successful organizations navigate thewhite waters of change in ways that maintainthe positive image of the company in thestories of employees and stakeholders. Partic-ipation in the design process enables organi-zation members to reorient and realign them-selves quickly to the changing organizationand business environment.

Delivery – planning what will beChange occurs in all phases of the AI as itprovides an open forum for employees tocontribute and to step forward in the serviceof the organization. The delivery processspecifically focuses on action planning atboth the personal and organizational levels.During delivery sessions commitments aremade to ensure the realization of the provoca-tive propositions. Individuals commit toapplications and action plans, small groupswork on areas of collaborative effort andteams may be established for new initiatives.

Alignment on actions to be taken is high asa result of the extensive involvement of largenumbers of people in the discovery, dream

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and design processes. It is through the massmobilization of interviews and large groupmeetings that the “sense of the renewed orga-nization” emerges.

AI is a grounded process for organizationdevelopment and thus the 4-D model takes shape differently in different organiza-tions and contexts. The process may takeplace in one meeting, as was the case of aBrazilian food processing company thatclosed the plant for five days and invited 700employees, customers and vendors to partici-pate in redesigning the organization. Theprocess may also take place over months,with each step involving progressively morepeople until the entire organization isengaged.

Imagine an organization whose 850 employ-ees interview one another to discover stories of their company at its best and how they contribute to it. Imagine an organi-zation where 250 labor union leaders andmanagers meet to discover the possibilitiesfor partnership that will benefit the company,the unions and their respective members and stakeholders. Imagine an organizationthat brings hundreds of people together online to share positive life affirming stories,and then to discuss and create global policiesand practices. Imagine an organizationwhere 1,500 people are interviewed and 500come together to envision and design theircompany’s future. AI engages the whole orga-nization in discovering the best of what hasbeen and dreaming about the best of whatmight be.

Powerful applications of appreciative inquiry

The applications of AI are varied, rangingfrom global organizing, corporate culturechange, team building and leadership devel-opment to selection interviewing and perfor-mance management. While organizationsbenefit when using AI as a vehicle for organi-zation change, comments from participantsengaged in AI processes frequently commenton its tremendous personal application andbenefits.

Organization culture changeThe largest division of an international com-pany used AI to engage 850 employees andsome customers, vendors and communitymembers in their Focus 2,000 process fororganization culture change. Owing to thetremendous impact on both morale and com-pany finances, the 4-D process is now beingused for strategic planning on an annualbasis.

At GTE, AI has been used as the centralprocess for culture change, resulting in thereceipt of the American Society for Trainingand Development Annual Culture ChangeAward.

Community transformationA community development process calledImagine Chicago is using AI as their vehiclefor the transformation of the city of Chicago.They are conducting one million interviewswithin the city – one for every household.After two years, results are apparent in theeducational system, the relationships amongcity groups, government and business. Cur-rently AI is being designed into the educa-tional curriculum throughout the city. Simi-lar projects have occurred or are under wayin cities, states and countries around theworld, including Imagine South Carolina, andImagine Western Austraila.

Organizational renewalA major health care cooperative applied AI to engage 1,500 people – staff, nurses, doc-tors, administrators and patients – in thecreation of a renewal process. Interviewswere conducted among 1,500 people; and 500attended the Summit during which they envi-sioned, designed and committed to the orga-nization’s future. As a result, collaboration isat an all time high, there is a renewed sense ofhope among employees and a steadily improv-ing financial outlook for the organization.

Organization excellenceCorporations are using AI for enhancingorganizational excellence in business units,departments and work groups. Teamsselected from various business units choosetheir own topics, develop interview guidesand conduct interviews within their ownorganizations. They then attend an Apprecia-tive Learning Summit along with eight to tenother teams. During the summit teams sharelearnings with one another, and design andplan change within their own organization.The cross-functional learning is extraordi-nary.

Customer surveysCompanies are changing their survey strate-gies to include studies of their best customersand what satisfies them. As findings are col-lected and shared throughout the organiza-tion, significant increases in customer satis-faction and employee satisfaction occur.Employee morale increases as employeeshear stories of satisfied customers. Storiesfrom satisfied customers provide greatinsight into how to improve customer rela-tions company-wide.

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Mergers and acquisitionsA major accounting firm used AI to managesuccessfully the integration of several acqui-sitions over a short period of time. The newcompany was designed during an Apprecia-tive Summit based on interviews thoughoutthe merging business. At all levels of theorganization, managers and employees frommerging companies interviewed one anotherto discover the strengths of the partnership.Newly created business units and work teamsused AI to discover their own hopes andexpectations and to enhance relationshipswith customers and vendors. The affirmativeinvolvement of hundreds of peoplecontributed to the successful integration –both financially and culturally.

Employee relations and HR management Companies are using AI for performanceplanning and appraisal, 360º feedback, selec-tion interviewing and employee relations.When people are given opportunities to hearhow they are valued and contributing to theirwork group and the organization, they feelbetter about themselves, their work and as aresult want to do more. Mike Burns, vice-president, HR, Hunter Douglas Inc. offeredthe following thoughts on AI:

For years, I have used the analogy of the“cup being half full rather than half empty”when helping folks look at the positive side

of issues rather than the negative. Whenindividuals (or groups) see things from theperspective of the “best that has been” andthe “best of what is” and they frame theirfuture vision into the “best of what couldbe”, the transition is magical. The wholeperspective becomes positive, the energylevel increases and the cup goes from halfempty to half full. For example, in theemployment interview process (frequently astressful situation for an applicant), I havefound it helpful to ask about a peak profes-sional experience from their past. Thisprovides the applicant a chance to remem-ber a very positive situation and to tell meabout it. This gives me a great deal of insightinto the candidate and helps set a positivetone for the interview.

Organizations can no longer afford to operateas if the needs of the business and the needsof the people doing business are at odds. Theymust begin to operate with the realizationthat people – employees, customers, and ven-dors – are not only the greatest resource forcreating the organization’s future, but theyare the only resource. Human resource pro-fessionals, along with organizational leader-ship must look beyond the organizing princi-ples, processes and change managementpractices of yesterday. They must seek outinnovative processes that collectively andpositively involve people in the design of theirown future at work – AI.

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