[Ailist] Suggestions Please Second Draft

[Hank Kearns]

Thanks for all of your suggestions. Mark, I hope you do not mind if I  
used many of your words in the letter. If you do, I’ll be glad to  
change it.

Here is the letter.

Second Draft

Judy,

It is the end of your presidency. You are sitting in the conference  
room as we are debriefing what took place during the February  
Conference. You have passed the gavel to Jen, who is now the  
president. You are overwhelmed with warm, positive thoughts and  
emotions. Your time as president was one of the greatest joys of your  
life. In your mind’s eye looking into the future what situations,  
relationships, conditions, attitudes and behaviors of you and the  
board has given you this wonderful experience?

How to you get to that wonderful ending? It’s all about the  
relationships. I like your emphasis on relationships at our last  
meeting. We create our own reality by our words and our  
relationships, and when you are working with a non-profit, not paying  
organization, what else is there? :)

As a new president you probably have several ideas about change. We  
have heard that word quite a bit recently, (yes, I’m voting for  
Abama)  but it is crucial if we are to advance. I’m sure other  
presidents have tried some type of approach to encourage change. I  
would like to suggest looking at a model for change called  
Appreciative Inquiry, for two reasons: 1) you already use many of the  
concepts intuitively, 2) it works and it’s rewarding while doing it.

  If nothing else, if you and other people on the board just look at  
the concept, I think you will find it interesting to read about,  
because although it is contrary to most models of change, I think you  
will find it exciting.

Appreciative Inquiry is grounded in the theory of social  
constructionism, which believes that groups or relationships make  
their own reality and meaning through their dialogue and their  
images, and this reality dictates the future of the organization.

There is a lot to learn about AI. Perhaps you have learned about the  
concept in graduate school, if so please forgive the repetition, but  
let me briefly explain AI.

The typical model used to initiate change in groups or organizations  
is the problem solving method. It works something like this, find the  
problem, analyze, dissect it, put it in small pieces and fix it. That  
model works great if you are working with linear objects, like  
bridges or something tangible, but it does not work well with groups  
for a number of reasons. AI has a novel approach to change.  AI  
guides the group to discover their joys and strengths, their positive  
core, and to use those positive enriching qualities to build a future  
that the entire organization envisions together.  AI starts with the  
basic assumption that no matter how dysfunctional a group or  
organization is, there is something that is working and perhaps  
working well. AI looks for the parts that are working and what the  
group wants more of. This approach is the first cycle of AI and it is  
called the Discovery Cycle.  In this cycle, AI uses questions to find  
those positive core qualities of the organization, and the dominant  
conversations drawn out by the questions leads to discovery, dreams  
of the future, and turning those dreams into action.

When I read about AI and how it works in groups, I’m excited and  
interested. I’m also learning that the same approach can be used by  
individuals. On the personal level AI begins with the same approach.  
As a group member you observe and identify the positive strengths of  
the group members, and when ever possible you appreciate or affirm  
those strengths in a genuine and sincere manner. The expression of  
appreciation cannot be fake or used as a “technique.” AI is based on  
the truth as we know it. For example: “Judy you are vibrant, positive  
person. Your leadership skills and instincts will make you an  
effective president of our association.”   You and I do this  
instinctively. It is comforting to know that what we have done over  
the years out of instinct is supported research and other “smart”  
people. Hopefully as a group, the Executive Board will become  
accustomed to seeing the good in each other and cultivating it.

There are consultants in New Jersey that use AI. If you are  
interested, I’m sure we could find one that would let us perhaps sit  
in on groups that they are working with to see if we want to use the  
concept. No matter what we do, things will change on the board, so  
why not take an active approach to guide that change?

If you would like to do more reading, here is a good site to visit.  
<http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/>

Please let me know if you are interested or not.

The best,

Hank Kearns


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The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to  
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