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Introduction and background
This paper presents evidence of the value of Appreciative Inquiry to individual and organisational development. A collaborative approach to diagnostics was taken with the top 72 managers in a college of Further and Higher Education in UK. The data generated by this management population resulted in a one-year management development programme between 2011-2012. An Appreciative Inquiry approach was used to structure the diagnostic process and engage managers in decisions about their own development and to ensure that development priorities were aligned to the strategic priorities of the college.
A second Appreciative Inquiry was carried out, one year later, with the original management population to evaluate the personal and organisational impact of the programme. This process generated powerful impact stories and significant evidence that the management development programme had been instrumental in creating a more collaborative culture across the organisation. There was evidence of improved performance at team and departmental level where the application of learning had resulted in more effective working relationships and practices. This evidence has subsequently been used to support a bid for outstanding status. The evaluation evidence from the second Appreciative Inquiry will be covered in part two of the article.
The key to success was the collaborative effort of 72 managers in diagnosing the development needs for both themselves and the organisation. Appreciative Inquiry brought a high level of engagement across the management population and accelerated the development of relationships, motivation and innovative problem solving.
Rationale for an Appreciative Inquiry approach
[1] Ready and Conger (2003) define three pathologies that impact an organisation's ability to achieve measurable returns on investment from development programmes; "ownership is power" mindset, productization of leadership development and make believe metrics. The practical implications of this research have been shaping our approach to learning design for some years. When we discussed diagnosis and design with key college stakeholders, we were confident that an Appreciative Inquiry approach would give us a wider level of engagement with management development before the programme started. Appreciative Inquiry stimulated a collaborative ethos from the onset and delivered an evaluation framework that ensured quality impact data charting individual, team and organisational performance.
Appreciative Inquiry delivered a means to avoid all three of Conger's pathologies. The management population conducted the diagnosis,...