{"id":6632,"date":"2014-02-04T10:23:32","date_gmt":"2014-02-04T10:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/?p=6632"},"modified":"2015-02-15T06:47:14","modified_gmt":"2015-02-15T06:47:14","slug":"change-your-frame-of-reference-with-the-appreciative-inquiry-5d-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/2014\/02\/change-your-frame-of-reference-with-the-appreciative-inquiry-5d-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Change your frame of reference with the Appreciative Inquiry 5D process"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"change<\/p>\n

There are in general two perspectives to most things in life. Take, for instance, writing a blog post about the Appreciative Inquiry change process. One way to write the post is to talk about how traditional approaches to change start with a problem. The blog post could launch into how a typical problem-solution model frames organisations, situations, and people as being broken and in need of fixing. The post then goes on to articulate how Appreciative Inquiry is better by focusing energy on “what could be” rather than on “what isn’t”.<\/p>\n

I have started that post about a dozen times. In the post, I reinforce what I have said previously<\/a>\u00a0about psychological motivations that underpin Appreciative Inquiry’s eight principles. I share my experience using Appreciative Inquiry techniques in facilitation to help teams overcome issues and define and achieve their goals. I create a compelling argument to solve the problem of a broken change process.<\/p>\n

Except I am having difficulty finishing that blog post, as I keep tripping over irony. \u00a0The irony with such a post is that I am framing the approach as a problem. Even knowing what I know about the benefits of Appreciative Inquiry starting with the best that is, I am still inclined to frame the case for Appreciative Inquiry using the magnitude of the negative situation to justify the positive direction.<\/p>\n

So I started to consider the second way to write the blog post. In this alternative way, I make the case for everything that we do well in our change processes; what inspires us personally and in our teams. I then talk about everything we hope for in a change process, what makes us feel most rewarded and alive. I go on to share different elements that make a change process reflect that perfect future vision, Finally, I propose some ways in which those elements could become a reality. Following this format, I am applying the Appreciative Inquiry five-step process to itself.<\/p>\n

These two perspectives are often framed using a metaphor of a burning platform and a burning ambition. Peter Fuda speaks about these two perspectives in his clever video below:<\/p>\n