Assessment and Appreciative Inquiry

Assessment and Appreciative Inquiry

Yesterday (Sunday) afternoon, I attended the third in a series of workshops at my church aimed at addressing long-standing conflicts and confronting organizational change. These workshops have been facilitated by two professional consultants; and, up until yesterday, had focused almost exclusively on the “problems” of conflict and change in my church. Yesterday, however, the facilitators adopted a different approach. They drew a picture of a church building on a large poster board at the front of the room, and then asked us to identify our aspirational vision of, and goals for, the church by calling out one- or two-word phrases, which they wrote on the church that they had drawn. Phrases such as “engaged” and “family” and “meaning” soon populated the poster board. At the end of the exercise, the church sketch was overflowing with positive phrases. All of us had found this process to be exhilarating, especially when juxtaposed against the “problem-oriented” sessions that had preceded it. The consultants never told us that they and we were engaging in Appreciative Inquiry, although clearly that is what it was.
Have you had a similar experience, whether or not it was designated as Appreciative Inquiry? If so, describe the experience. In your opinion, was the AI session successful; and why or why not? If you have not had a similar experience, describe a “problem-oriented” session you have experienced, and if and how it could have benefited from the AI approach.