Cultivating Strengths and Generative

Conversations through Appreciative Inquiry

Claire Fialkov, Ph.D., & David Haddad, Ed.D.

Objectives

!   Participants will be able to identify and reflect on their character strengths.

!   Participants will be able to discuss the relationship between positive psychology and appreciative inquiry.

!   Participants will be able to describe the RAP model and explain how it is related to cultivation of strengths.

!   Participants will be able to describe how they will put their strengths into practice.

Assumptions

!   Words create worlds

!   Questions are fateful

!   Sharing stories of strengths fosters connection in community

!   Dialogue is the art of listening together

!   Self-Reflection is fundamental

!   Refocusing attention and memory on positive experiences contributes to well-being

Refocusing Attention

R.A.P.

Reflect & Appreciate

!   We move in the direction of what we are curious about.The more positive and life giving the question, the more positive and long lasting the change.

Power of Audience

!   When your story is told to an audience it becomes a part of your “lived experience” and only then can it be fully integrated and used in practice.

Creating a language of strengths

!   VIA developed survey to measure character strengths

!   Has been taken world wide by over 2 million people

!   Strengths transcend culture

!   Strengths are unique to each person

!   Survey translated into 15 languages

! www.viacharacter.org

Wisdom cognitive strengths of: curiosity, creativity, love of

learning & open-mindedness

Humanity

!   INTERPERSONAL STRENGTHS OF:

!   Love

!   Kindness

!   Social intelligence

!   Emotional intelligence

Courage

!   Emotional strengths that involve the exercise of will in the face of opposition including: authenticity or honesty, bravery, persistence, and zest or vitality

JUSTICE

!   CIVIC STRENGTHS THAT FORGE CONNECTION TO THE LARGER COMMUNITY:

!   FAIRNESS

!   LEADERSHIP

!   TEAMWORK

TEMPERANCE

!   Strengths that protect against excess:

!   FORGIVENESS

!   MODESTY

!   PRUDENCE

!   SELF REGULATION

Transcendence

!   Strengths that forge connection to the larger universe:

!   Spirituality

!   Gratitude

!   Hope

!   Humor

!   Future-Mindedness

Strength Spotting

!  Self reflection is essential for transforming and cultivating strengths

AI Interview Situating your strengths &

moving them forward in practice

(1) REFLECT: AI Interview ���Pairs -10 minutes in each direction ���

!   1. Now that you have considered your strengths tell me about the ones that you

chose as most important to your sense of self?

!   2. Next, pick one or two of your strengths and think about the origin of these strengths and connect them with your early experiences. Some strengths feel as though you were born with them, they are just part of who you are and have always been. They are part of your temperament. Other strengths are learned through experience, some are even learned through adversity or especially challenging circumstances. What might give your partner a pretty clear picture or idea about where this strength came from? Tell the story of the origin of your strength(s).

!   3. How do these strengths gain expression in your life today?

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(2) Appreciate: Group Reflections���Partners join with another pair – form groups of 4���

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!   Establish an atmosphere of safety and trust

!   Focus the inquiry

!   Respectful turn taking

!   Listen with full attention

!   Appreciate

!   Be curious

!   Value ambiguity

(3) Practice���self manage time

•  Imagine that you are part of a new project team at work.

•  Introduce your partner (who maintains a reflective position) to the team and pay special attention to the story of their strengths.

•  The team listens with full attention - how do you imagine the strengths might be used for team benefit?

Practice���assign recorder���

•  What was most valuable about this

experience?

•  What did you especially appreciate about having your story told in this way, before an audience?

•  What might you take forward and practice in your life?

R.A.P.