Appreciative Inquiry Opportunities (and discussion!)

The below is from the Rev. Dr. Robert Voyle, Director of the Clergy Leadership Institute. I would welcome a conversation about the use of the Appreciative Inquiry technique in small congregations and stories from those who have implemented some of the principles. What are the strengths? In what situations is AI most appropriate? When might other alternatives be better?

Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a positive organizational process that uses focused interviews and dialogue to discover, build on, and grow the inherent life giving qualities of any individual or human system. The appreciative approach contrasts many contemporary organizational development interventions that utilize an illness model to focus on and eliminate problems. Beyond being an organizational process, appreciative inquiry becomes a generative way of being in the world that energizes and enables the creative best in people and their organizations. While positive in focus the appreciative approach does not avoid problems. Rather AI looks to what is working and creatively expanding those activities to motivate and inspire transformational solutions.

The Clergy Leaderhsip Institute is offering many AI trainings in 2007 in locations across the country.

For further information and to registger, please contact
the Rev. Dr. Robert J. Voyle, Psy.D.
Director, Clergy Leadership Institute
24965 NW Pederson Rd. Hillsboro, OR 97124-9210
http://www.clergyleadership.com/
503-647-2382