How can an experience as worse as the Covid-19 pandemic be worthy of being appreciated? The pandemic afflicted and killed millions, rendered us captive in our homes for safety, changed the way we live, and disrupted economies and countries. It took modern science months to understand it (slower than the time it takes for the virus to mutate). In what way can these continuing health, education and economic crises be perceived as something we can cherish now and in the future? How should we make the most of this unprecedented human experience?
To those who will choose to see through the positive, generative and constructive lens, appreciation is possible—not as a “sweet lemonading” use of defense mechanism called rationalization but as a genuine worldview that recognizes the best in everything around us. Appreciative inquiry may lend to us its theoretical assertion so we can move forward faster and farther and change positively through this experience.
Appreciative Inquiry in a nutshell
Traditional organizational development looks for problems to fix and prescribes solutions around it. The old journey was through and around cycles of exhausting process of eliminating what is “wrong-here” and fixing what is broken. Then came a new paradigm that proposes to look for something different—the positive “what-works-here.” And this was called Appreciative Inquiry (AI).
AI as a strength-based organizational development approach may give lessons to persons, families and companies in navigating productively through the pandemic. David Cooperrider, the originator of the AI, proposes the identification of and focus on the positive core strengths to design and redesign the human system to achieve a more effective and sustainable future through deeper and more meaningful change.
To appreciate is to recognize the best in people, or the world around us. Human systems grow in the direction of their persistent inquiries. What we focus on becomes our reality. Should we focus on and sow our desperation and limitation, such become the reality we harvest. The language we use creates our reality. AI proposes a careful use of language as building blocks of social reality. So we better choose our language before they become our reality.
AI is a way of being and seeing. It is both a worldview and a process of facilitating positive change. Its assumption is that there is something that works right—things that give it life when it is vital, effective and successful. It is a radical shift from trying to fix what does not work to the discovery of the process around what works. Assumption of AI is that there is something that works. And for us to have survived for months through this pandemic, there must be something that works.
AI is affirming the past and the present strengths, successes and potentials. It engages positive conversations to perceive those that give life, referred to as “life giving force.” It draws from the positive psychology and storytelling to create an alignment of strengths that render weaknesses irrelevant, hence, empowering individuals to enact desired change. The weakness indeed can be paralyzing influence to our retreat and surrender.
In the middle of this pandemic experience, the “life-giving force” remains available to make us rise up from our bed each morning and fight through the emerging mastery of fear. There are things that “work here” in the middle of the restrictions, limitations and disruptions. There were past victories and successes that unfold our potentials to succeed amid adversities. The core strengths remain and which power must have been amplified by the adversities.
The AI presents the four D frameworks, namely: discover, dream, design and destiny.
Discovering best of what is
Choosing the positive is the focus of inquiry in AI. This is the question that identifies stories and factors that give life. It leads to the grounded exploration and appreciation of the “best of what is.”
In this pandemic experience there are stories that give life. If people are grounded on these stories, they become rooted on the positive. We need to explore the peak experience, which is the time in which we felt most alive, engaged and energized. It grounds us on what we value most as it uncovers what we aspire to thrive and prosper in the future?
The importance of discovery is that it reminds us of what success looked and felt like by activating our vivid memories of experiencing it. Discovery also reminds us that they are powerful—they are capable of experiencing success.
It will help us if we appreciate the past victories and the current resources that can propel us forward.
Dreaming what might be
Dreaming is envisioning and articulating “what might be” and “what could be” using the images of a preferred future. It builds around the best to unleash possibilities.
Amid the pandemic, dreaming and visioning may encourage us to be both bold and realistic by stretching our imaginations. It engages the enlisting of creative faculties towards the projected futures by building on known strengths and by imagining the consequences of extraordinary efforts.
The benefit of visioning is that it allows us to create a vivid picture of a desirable future. Amid the pandemic, we are still capable of dreaming and envisioning the future ideal state. Indeed, if we do not know where we are going, we will never get there.
Designing what should be
Designing identifies the goals and the next steps. This is a provocative stage when creativity, innovation and improvisation of ways to create the future determines “what should be.”
Designing is the bridge between the current (known) state and the future (imagined, desired) state over time. The point here is to connect “what is” with “what might be” through the concept of creative architecture—those things present within the person’s influence that are necessary for implementing its desired future state.
Designing enables us to explore the passion within and the resources around towards the achievement of that future that is as exciting as the current moments. This is an intentional pursuit of what one is passionate about using what is available within reach.
Creating the destiny of what will be
AI translates the intent to action through implementation so that destiny is in our hands in creating “what will be.” This encourages us to build upon the work they have accomplished in the earlier phases of our AI journey as well as celebrate the victories at hand. It brings forward what is learned and gained already, as well as tools that facilitate achievements.
It brings forward the anticipatory celebration as well as high degree of awareness and recognition for achievements that could sustain the excitement for sustained action. It is realistic at recognizing the constraints and enablers, as well as resources that includes time.
Recognizing that we are indeed the master of our fate and the captain of our soul is an energizing reminder that there is a great future that lies ahead through our choices and action.
Time indeed is the wisest counsellor of all. Our footprints through the past determine what we are capable of having, being and becoming today in a continuum towards the future and beyond.
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