In a message dated 96-01-03 00:14:37 EST, you write:
>Some former colleagues of mine at Case Western have been developing
>approaches to "appreciative inquiry" over the last 10 years or so.
>Basically, the idea is that we can inquire into organizational strengths
>just as energetically as we have organizational deficits, and that the
>products of this inquiry can stimulate energy and imagination more
>effectively than traditional problem-solving approaches. Ultimately, the
>knowledge generated by these inquiries will in turn stimulate more
>creativity in the development of new theories of organizational
>functioning.
I found this very interesting in light of recent research in community
development and youth development. The emphasis is on "pulling from
people's strengths" rather than focusing on eradicating weaknesses. There
has been a major ( and successful) paradigm shift in preventing youth
problems which focuses on (1) what's right, not what's wrong; (2) learning
from resilient youth (those who make it against all odds) rather than
dysfunctional youth; (3) building assets rather than reducing risks, and
on (4) what we must do rather than on what they should do.
It would be interesting to discuss how this might be integrated into the
workplace - which for so many people is the surrogate community. I think
we've known for a long time that "trying to fix the deficit" or "eradicate
(your) weaknesses" doesn't work. My leadership positions(before I started
my own business) have been in situations where union rules made it
virtually impossible to hire or fire. I couldn't do the job by myself - so
we survived and grew by "pulling from people's strengths" and putting them
in positons where they could shine. It was a lot more fun and much more
productive to focus on recognizing and developing strengths.
-- Carol Sager The Critical Linkages II Newsletter 21 Wallis Rd. Chestnut Hill, MA 02167 617/469-9644 v 617/469-9639 fax sageredent@aol.com