APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY IN COACHING

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Image Source: Chris Collison

“We need to discover the root causes of success rather than the root causes of failure”. This was said by David Cooperrider, the lifegiver to the concept of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) in the 1980s. AI is an approach that inspires change in organizations or employees through the discovery and enhancement of their strengths rather than being a negative nancy and trying to fix their faults. AI can be applied to many aspects such as organizational development, coaching, training needs assessment, positive psychology, fitness and so on. This philosophy compels one to stop ruminating over their failures and weaknesses and divert the focus onto understanding one’s potential and discover possibilities of growth. So how can we practice appreciative inquiry in our personal or organizational interventions? The principles of AI say:







Let’s say you decide to be mindful today and pay attention to what adds value or beauty to your life and fills you with hope to move forward. Once you identify this, you will be better able to cultivate a picture of what you want to look forward to, what your future must look like. With this vision, you inquire to yourself - how can I get there? You would also interact with others to generate truths about the world that will help you reach your goal. Once you understand these systems, you will be filled with the required energy and emotions to propel yourself in the direction of growth. Finally, you will engage in positive actions that will most likely lead to positive outcomes!

AI in Coaching


Image Source: Blessing White

●        The focus in on generating a conversation with the client that highlights the positive core of the client. These are the things that give energy, meaning and fulfillment to the client’s life.
●        It is not problem focused in the sense that it does not aim at finding and fixing a problem. It is exploratory and the aim is to enable the client to develop deeper self awareness and self determination.
●        Along with a focus on what is best and what is right as of now, AI can help formulate and articulate visions for the future. These visions will reflect what the client wants exactly and how they can use their strengths to achieve this goal.
●        The role of a coach practicing AI is to maintain positivity, help the client in re-framing reality, guide insight, and help the client bring out their biggest strengths.
●        AI is highly successful when analytical activities are mixed with creative freedom. When the client is encouraged to adopt any medium that they feel will help in articulating their vision better, the more enthusiastic and engaged they will will be which in turn can help in achieving outcomes.
●        AI can be beneficial in coaching especially when clients are unsure about the themes they want to focus on. By making the coaching process positive and creating opportunities for positive interaction with the client, positive momentum can be engendered.
●        AI can be used to create positive frames through which the client is able to explore themselves in a way that maximizes performance and outcomes. For e.g. asking the client to identify the best experience in the period between the previous session to the present session.
●        AI can be used to re-frame negative experiences or deficits in such a way that some value or learning can be derived from it.

Thus, AI is an approach that encourages transformation in the client and helps them lead this change by harnessing the positives they hold within themselves.



                                                                                                                                                             Afeef Ahmed
                                                                                                                             thoughts@kaleidoscope.org.in

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