[Ailist] Lean Problem Solving and Appreciative Inquiry

[Rob Voyle]

Hi Mary Jo

Clearly we are confronted with a myriad of problems that we need to resolve.  To 
avoid problems because we are doing/thinking appreciatively is in my humble 
opinion nonsensical. Avoidance is actually a form of negative focus, which keeps 
us trapped in that which we are endeavoring to avoid.  There are ways of 
resolving problems from an appreciative perspective. Think of the following steps 
being organic and iterative rather than just linear.

A problem is simply a situation which has insufficient resources associted to it, so 
we can approach the problem from a resource perspective rather than a blame 
perspective.

Step 1:  Acknowledge the problem exists without seeking blame or cause.
Step 2:  Determine what you want in place of the problem.  There are several 
questions that can be used to accomplish this step:
  If the problem didn't exist what would you be doing? or 
   What do you want in place of the problem?
Use these questions to create a goal 
Step 3:  Ask why that goal would be valuable
Step 4:  Determine how reaching the goal will help the organization manifest its 
purpose.  (That assumes the members have a clear idea of an agreed upon 
purpose.  This is where the classic 4D/5D AI approach is very helpful)
Step 5:  Determine what resources are needed to achieve the goal.  This is 
another place where doing classic AI interviews etc around the goal state may be 
helpful to access the resources.
Step 6:  Determine if there are any objections to the goal or the expenditure of 
the resources.  Discover what would satisfy the objections.  We want to satisfy 
the objections to ensure that the goal is sustainable.  If we simply overcome the 
objections we will end up doing violence to either our own internal being or to 
others in the organization which create resistance.  Add the satisfactions to the 
necessary resources.
Step 7: Create achievable steps and go do it, and celebrate successes.
Step 8:  If at first you don't succeed, stay resourceful.  Ask what else do we need 
to accomplish the goal rather than seek cause and blame for the failure.

For example perhaps the problem is that there is too much conflict.
The real problem though isn't the amount of conflict it is the lack of cooperation.
We can't reduce conflict, we can only increase cooperation so growing 
cooperation becomes the goal.  We can then use classic AI interview etc. to 
discover times when people were cooperating and what they achieved, and what 
it would be like if they cooperated more.
We also need to be sensitive to the objections to cooperating.  If one group is 
bullying the other it may not be safe to cooperate so we would want to 
appreciatively explore what people need in order to feel safe in order to 
cooperate. We would not want to force people to cooperate in ways that violates 
their inner integrity. Cooperation is only possible if we have a common purpose 
and shared values.

These are all core appreciative strategies that I develop in "Core Elements of the 
Appreciative Way:  An introduction to appreciative inquiry for work and daily 
living." which you can find at our website http://www.clergyleadership.com

Rob
 

 


> I have a college president who is wondering how appreciative
> inquiry
> can be used to support their focus on the Malcolm Baldridge Quality
> thrust
> for the college.   I am looking for examples of how AI can be used
> in
> a typical problem solving approach.

Robert J. Voyle, Psy.D.
Director, Clergy Leadership Institute
For Coaching and Training in Appreciative Inquiry
http://www.clergyleadership.com/
503-647-2378 or 503-647-2382