As the leaves change and the winds of November grow chillier, we are reminded that Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  It is a good thing to take time to give thanks for the leaders, people, events and good graces in our lives.

Leaders and organizations would do well to keep this in mind when beginning a planning process or dealing with change and transition.  It’s important for leaders to express thanks for the good people and experiences alive in the organizations they care about.  One specific way to do this is through an approach called Appreciative Inquiry.

This approach was pioneered by David Cooperrider and his colleagues at Case Western Reserve University in the early 1980s.  It invites leaders as well as planning consultants to appreciate what is working well, what is already bringing life to an organization.  It contrasts with more traditional approaches to planning processes that usually begin with a focus on the problems or struggles within an organization.

Appreciative Inquiry involves four steps of group reflection:

Discover – appreciate what is

Dream – imagine what might be

Design – determine what should be

Deliver – create what will be

In her book, Appreciative Inquiry in the Catholic Church, Susan Star Paddock illustrates the differences between traditional approaches to planning and change processes and Appreciative Inquiry:

Through using Appreciative Inquiry, leaders help to generate new energy, enthusiasm and passion.  They build on what’s working while exploring ways of creating new possibilities that have the capacity to bring more new life to organizations and the people who work in them.

In this season of Thanksgiving, we are grateful to all of our clients and e-letter readers for bringing new life to those of us who call The Reid Group home.

John Reid
The Reid Group