Appreciative Inquiry is a phrase I heard last week, that seemed to be worthy of further enquiry. Before I went in search of a better understanding, the difference between inquire vs enquire caught my attention. According to Grammarly “inquiry is preferred for formal requests and official investigations, while enquiry is much broader, referring to any requests, formal or informal”. My informal ruminations about being appreciated and appreciating others is what seems to be top of mind this week.
It certainly helped me find a new burst of energy when I got called out in a meeting for doing some good work. It was a regular internal meeting, when out of the blue one of the founders of the firm I work with said to me “I want to thank you for quietly and effortlessly doing ….” What I did exactly is not important, the impact of his appreciation is the lesson I hold on to. The fact that it got noticed and appreciated made all the difference. My energy and enthusiasm to continue delivering those kinds of results is renewed. I have a bounce in my step and a smile on my face. I reflect on what more I can do and what else I can do to contribute. All it took was the gift of appreciation.
In another interaction with two senior leaders from an external organisation, who are working with me on a project of team building and leadership development, the phrase ‘Appreciative Inquiry’ came up. I had not read about it, but the approach sounded interesting. Here is what I found when I did a little research. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a way to engage groups of people in self determined change. It focusses on what’s working rather than what’s not working, and leads to people co-designing their future. This is very closely aligned with what I learnt in the world of coaching. Focus on what is working and enable people to find their own answers is a wonderful recipe for sustainable positive change.
Who did I appreciate last week? What did I appreciate last week? Did I do enough appreciating? These are some of the questions I pause and reflect on. Linked to this idea, I also found an interesting TED Talks video on LinkedIn by Christine Porath ‘Why being respectful to your co-workers is good for business”. She asks us to reflect on the question “Who do you want to be?” Do you lift people up by making them feel appreciated, valued and respected and heard? Or do you hold them down by making them feel small, insulted, disregarded or excluded?
Christine also shares some ways in which we can lift others up. To me they sit so beautifully with the idea of Appreciative Inquiry. Here are some of the simple things we can do to lift others up.
1) Thanking People
2) Sharing Credit
3) Listening Attentively
4) Acknowledging Others
5) Asking Questions
6) Smiling.
I can say with certainty, it made my week better because I was acknowledged, thanked and given credit for something that I did last week and I intend to pass it forward. Pick any one of these and make it your mission to make somebody else have a good week.
Spend some time appreciating others and your personal and professional stock price is very likely to appreciate in the process. Experiment with a bit of AI and enjoy the rewards it will bring. AI can and does deliver wonderfully.
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A trusted coaching and communications professional, Nikhil Dey is a certified life and leadership coach (International Coach Federation - ICF). Nurturing talent and helping clients achieve their goals is what makes him happy. He loves learning from students of communication, teaching courses and guest lecturing at various educational institutions. When he is not working you will find him on the tennis court or out for long walks with his family and four legged friends.
Previously he has held senior leadership positions at Weber Shandwick and Genesis BCW.
He can be reached on twitter @deydreaming
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