If there is one skill that has proven essential in recent months, it is the ability to adapt. More or less suddenly, companies have had to develop new ways of working, learning to evolve in an environment that is itself evolving. There is a method that makes it easier to adapt to change: appreciative inquiry. Julie Rommelaere, human resources consultant and global health coach, explains to us how it works.
Change, a timeless concept
Today more than ever, the world is testing our capacities for adaptation and resilience. The challenges are multiple, complex and extend well beyond our personal sphere. Environment, climate, health, sustainable economy, fair work, equality of gender and opportunity, technology and responsible consumption are all subjects that push us to review our way of thinking and action. How can we best navigate this context while preserving the balance essential to life?
Darwin said that “the species that survive are not the strongest, nor the most intelligent, but those that best adapt to change.” And since nothing is permanent, except change, we might as well give ourselves the means to face it with confidence.
Business reality and new paradigm
The company is a microcosm, a breeding ground for experimenting with change. But how do we move from the current state to the desired situation, to this new balance? And how can we manage this transition phase, naturally a source of resistance such as inertia, argumentation, revolt or sabotage?
As a component of organizations, change has been the subject of countless publications. We have the choice of methods, tools and processes. And yet, the subject remains hot. For what ? Perhaps quite simply because “knowing” is not yet “being able”…
AI addresses this dilemma. Make no mistake, this is not “appreciative inquiry”. We speak in French of approach, investigation or even appreciative exploration.
What if we learned not only from our mistakes, but above all from our successes? This is the opposite taken by the appreciative inquiry compared to the traditional method. Well-known company method of “problem solving”. Rather than focusing on failures by trying to find out what is not working, this method of change management is voluntarily based on the successes and achievements that make up our experiences. It is about applying methodically to rediscover the positive energies, resources and life forces that every organization has within it.
The appreciative inquiry: uno collective approach
Based on the principles of scientific positive psychology, appreciative inquiry was born at the end of the 1980s. It was born in the United States thanks to the research and experimental work of David Cooperrider. Its applications are now numerous and there is no shortage of examples: construction of a shared vision, definition of a collective project, merger, restructuring, team cohesion, improvement in the quality of the service offered, employee commitment, or even alignment of the management committee.
The strength and particularity of this coaching technique is above all to be participatory and collaborative. Even if this can apply to the individual, it is in fact of a large-scale change management method. She helps bring teams together to develop a common project based on the positive experiences of all members of the organization. The challenge is significant but exciting and above all, unifying!
Rather than carrying out changes under pressure, discomfort or fear, the appreciative approach gives pride of place to skills and confidence, without forgetting pleasure. To do this, we just need to look at where, why and how we succeeded, in order to reproduce motor behaviors. It is indeed individual abilities and the desire to do what makes the strength of a human group.
The 5 D model
The principle is simple: ask questions before putting forward a solution. The appreciative approach is therefore based above all on the art of asking exclusively positive questions. In turn, they induce positive responses as well as an automatic connection to pleasant affects. However, it no longer needs to be proven that positive emotions unleash creativity and the ability to solve problems. QED!
Starting from there, the approach therefore seeks to create conditions conducive to exchange and mutual questioning. All members of the organization discover their own individual strengths, skills and qualities based on real-life stories. In order to allow the process to deploy its full potential, everyone's participation is required through duo interviews, group discussions or public communications.
The positive internal dialogue thus created serves as a basis for the development of the organization according to a highly participatory process.
The method is intended to be rigorous and is built around 5 clearly defined steps to bring the collective from the most abstract to the most concrete:
La Definition
Since the organizations go in the direction of the questions asked of them, it is a question here of scrupulously defining the general theme and the more specific subjects of the intervention, the number of which will be limited to 5 maximum. The project, consistent with the company's ambitions, will thus be formulated in the most stimulating way possible in order to set the system in motion in the right direction.
This essential preparatory work is carried out in the room by the leaders and/or those responsible for the project. They are supported by a representative management team. For example, an organization would define its project as follows: “We want to involve everyone in the construction of a business project aimed at offering all our customers, current and future, an unrivaled experience on the market. »
La Discovery, Or Discovery
This central phase allows us to collect all the information that will be used to discover the “positive foundation” of the organization. In other words, what gives it life and around which the project will be built. It is through structured exchanges on their own professional experiences that participants themselves discover their sources of energy, motivation, their unique assets and skills.
The discussions carried out in pairs or small groups are structured around an interview guide previously created by the management team. The four essential appreciative questions asked in turn on each theme of the Definition allow everyone to express themselves with complete confidence:
- Describe a professional experience or situation in which they felt completely engaged, full of resources or life;
- What are their greatest successes? What specific things do they bring to their activity? ;
- What gives them the most pleasure in their activity (organization)? ;
- What three wishes would they make to strengthen the health of their activity (organization)?
Le Become, Or Dream
This third phase consists of projecting the collective into the most desirable future. We then imagine “what could be” based on “what already is” and which we value.
At this stage, discussions are carried out in subgroups of 6 to 10 people. They mainly relate to the fourth question of the phase Discovery. The themes of different individual dreams and wishes are grouped together and then presented in a creative, even playful way through drawings, role plays or slogans. In the end, the selected proposal is enriched before being validated by all.
La Decision, Or Design
Then comes the time to decide on the major actions to undertake to give ourselves the means to realize this dream. This penultimate phase gives way to the construction and direction that we wish to give to the use of resources.
Here again, the work is first carried out in subgroups, starting from the common vision (of Become) in order to subtly guide the use of resources and talents available internally. The session leader then takes care to orchestrate a general exchange whose objective is to present, reformulate and group the decision proposals in the different relevant areas (strategy, structure, know-how, communication, process, etc.).
Le Deployment, Or destiny
Finally, implementing a concrete action plan allows you to transform the “dream” into reality. At the same time, everyone adopts a new method of analyzing their work and leading…change!
Self-organized groups made up of enthusiastic volunteers, possibly supported by the steering team, will ensure that the positive dynamic is maintained over the long term. Without limiting themselves to communicating on the work already carried out and the first observable results, they decide on appropriate action plans, initiatives to carry out and behaviors to adopt, while planning the means of measuring change.
As a conclusion
If you haven't tried it yet, the appreciative approach will undoubtedly appeal to you with its resolutely positive approach. She skillfully combines the past, present and future to ensure the continuity of the organization, facilitate its transition and embrace new things.
Adopting it means satisfying the three essential needs for motivation: autonomy, competence and belonging.
