Appreciative Inquiry Model

Principles of Appreciative Inquiry

For the first 15 or so years after the publication of his seminal 1987 paper on appreciative inquiry, Cooperrider resisted calls to write a book on how to do it. Instead, he wanted people to focus on the principles of the model and encouraged widespread innovation in methods. As a result, many ways of doing AI have proliferated, and it is inaccurate to say there is any one way to do it. The initial set of principles for AI was that the inquiry should begin with appreciation, should be collaborative, should be provocative, and should be applicable. Later, Cooperrider and Diana Whitney published a set of five principles that are widely cited and applied.

• 1.
  The constructionist principle proposes that what we believe to be true determines what we do, and thought and action emerge out of [Page 42]relationships. Through the language and discourse of day to day interactions, people co-construct the organizations they inhabit. The purpose of inquiry is to stimulate new ideas, stories, and images that generate new possibilities for action.
• 2.
  The principle of simultaneity proposes that as we inquire into human systems, we change them, and the seeds of change, the things people think and talk about, what they discover and learn, are implicit in the very first questions asked. Questions are never neutral, they are fateful, and social systems move in the direction of the questions they most persistently and passionately discuss.
• 3.
  The poetic principle proposes that organizational life is expressed in the stories people tell each other every day, and the story of the organization is constantly being coauthored. The words and topics chosen for inquiry have an impact far beyond just the words themselves. They invoke sentiments, understandings, and worlds of meaning. In all phases of the inquiry, effort is put into using words that point to, enliven, and inspire the best in people.
• 4.
  The anticipatory principle posits that what we do today is guided by our image of the future. Human systems are forever projecting ahead of themselves a horizon of expectation that brings the future powerfully into the present as a mobilizing agent. Appreciative inquiry uses artful creation of positive imagery on a collective basis to refashion anticipatory reality.
• 5.
  The positive principle proposes that momentum and sustainable change require positive affect and social bonding. Sentiments like hope, excitement, inspiration, camaraderie, and joy increase creativity, openness to new ideas and people, and cognitive flexibility. They also promote the strong connections and relationships between people, particularly between groups in conflict, required for collective inquiry and change.

The Appreciative Inquiry Method

In the late 1990s, the “4D” model emerged and has become strongly associated with AI. This model identifies four phases in AI that occur after the “affirmative topic” is chosen. The affirmative topic is the focus of the inquiry (e.g., increased customer satisfaction, improved health and safety, more effective operations) but phrased in lively, inspiring language (e.g., inspiring fanatically loyal customers).

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