Hi Esther, I wish, when you pulled the quote from my e-mail, that you would have quoted the whole sentence. The way that you pulled it, it sounds like I am saying to others not to use Appreciative Inquiry within an OST meeting. My true quote began with "I" do not use Appreciative Inquiry within an OST meeting in my own effort not to do anything to close the space for divergent opinions. I was at an Appreciative Inquiry workshop yesterday regarding the book Power of Appreciative Inquiry and we had a great discussion about when it was good to use it, and when not.
Blessings to you and to all with whom you make Genuine Contact, Birgitt Birgitt Williams of Dalar International Consultancy www.dalarinternational.com We provide inspirational and practical “how to” guidance for leaders who want to achieve healthy and balanced organizations to produce exciting, tangible results for the organization and for its people. View the calendar for upcoming training in the Organizational Health and Balance series of workshops featuring the Genuine ContactÔ program at http://www.openspacetechnology.com/training.html We invite you to join the Genuine Contact list serve at http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/genuinecontact Contact information for Dalar International Consultancy: Po Box 19373, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA 27619 Raleigh, North Carolina USA Phone: 919-522-7750 Fax: 919-870-6599 Founders of the Wellness Revolution for Organizations Founders of the International Alliance for Mentoring Creators of the Organizational Health and Balance series of workshops featuring the Genuine ContactÔ program -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu]On Behalf Of Esther . Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2003 3:52 PM To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Subject: Re: creating space to hear dissenting opinions In a message dated 10/25/2003 11:34:52 AM Eastern Daylight Time, birg...@mindspring.com writes: also stay away from using any Appreciative Inquiry type guidance or questions in the opening, in the morning or evening news, and in the closing. Appreciative Inquiry, which I admire, has its place, but use of it within an OST meeting closes the space for the diversity and dissenting opinions and perspectives. Birgitt: For a flexible person such as yourself, this sounds a bit dogmatic. I would like to say that in my opinion, sometimes appreciative approaches get misunderstood as not allowing criticism or dissent. This is not exactly true although in the hands of an inexperienced person it can be true. One of the most important questions in an appreciative protocol is "what are your wishes for xxxx as you/they go forward in the future?" and is intended to guide people to pose their critical comments in a positive frame, not to cut off dissent. However, I would also admit that it is sometimes misunderstood and that the appreciative questions (like, "what do you most appreciate about xxx") often seem to inexperienced participants to overwhelm the critical ones. I like to invite appreciative as well as challenging topics or questions and invite people to remember or to keep in mind that both add to our understanding and to the richness of our discussions/decision-making. I also keep in mind for myself as a facilitator that the challenging or dissenting voices are important sources of information and sometimes are evidence of important issues that the group may have avoided or are avoiding and that the "elephant in the room" may in fact be showing up in that guise or in the guise of sarcasm or humour. And I like to invite the participants to be aware of this too. Just some thoughts... Regards Esther Esther Ewing The Change Alliance - Assisting Individuals and Organizations to Build Capability www.ChangeAlliance.com 330 East 38th St, Suite 53K New York, NY 10016-9804 212-661-6024 Authorized Distributor, Panoramic Feedback www.panoramicfeedback.com * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu, Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.529 / Virus Database: 324 - Release Date: 10/16/2003 * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu, Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
