Jim Francek for The League of Women Voters

September 9, 2012

To introduce a model for positive change To engage & expand the participants’

understanding of the current context in which LWV is operating,

To clarify the intention of this effort and it’s potential impact on the LWV

To introduce the principles of positive psychology as delineated by Appreciative Inquiry,

To facilitate a virtual dialogue that: applies these principles to their work & assists them in creating positive questions & conversations.

“We now live in an age of what Microsoft researcher, Linda Stone, calls continuous partial attention. I love that phrase. It means that while you are answering your e-mail and talking to your kid, your cell phone rings and you have a conversation. You are now involved in a continuous flow of interactions in which you can only partially concentrate on each.”

 

“If being fulfilled is about committing yourself to someone else, or some experience, that requires a level of sustained attention,” said Ms. Stone. “And that is what we are losing the skills for, because we are constantly scanning the world for opportunities and we are constantly in fear of missing something better. That has become incredibly spiritually depleting.”

EMERGINGFUTURE

CONTEXT

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What makes up the CONTEXT of the League today?

EMERGINGFUTURE

RESOURCES

STORY

POWER

AGILIT

YINTENTION

CONTEXT

© AMCi, Capital Consultants LLC, & TAVA Full Circle, LLC All rights reserved

Big challenges facing our democracy Voters crave authentic solutions League is needed now more than ever League can have a huge impact on

elections 2012 and beyond! Appreciative Inquiry technique can and

is making a difference.

More reflective of our communities (younger, more diverse, etc)

More visible, more vibrant and welcoming, More deeply connected with their communities Increasing in members and volunteers More leaders and more sharing of the work in

teams Flexible activities for people to engage in as

their volunteer life permits

EMERGINGFUTURE

RESOURCES

STORY

POWER

AGILIT

YINTENTION

CONTEXT

© AMCi, Capital Consultants LLC, & TAVA Full Circle, LLC All rights reserved

In reviewing over 30 years of psychological

research, found there were 45,000 studies on

depression and only 300 studies on joy

M. Seligman, President APAUniversity of Pennsylvania

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

Marcel Proust

Please respond to poll questions…

Change begins the moment we ask a question!

The art of being an effective coach is to engage others

with the right positive questions at the right time !

14

To value… To recognize the best in people or the world

around us; To affirm past and present strengths, successes,

and potentials; To perceive those things that give life (health,

vitality, excellence) to living systems To increase in value, e.g. the economy has

appreciated in value

15

To explore and discover To ask questions To be open to seeing new potentials and

possibilities

Synonyms: discover, search, study

Language shapes our reality!

We know things through language and conversations!

We live in the world our stories create!

Words create the framework for our lives!

DEFICIT APPROACH

What’s the biggest problem here?

What do you have to do to correct what’s not working?

Why do you miss the mark so often?

Why are these recurring problems?

DEFICIT APPROACH AFFIRMATIVE APPROACH

What’s the biggest problem here?

What do you have to do to correct what’s not working?

Why do you miss the mark so often?

Why are these recurring problems?

What possibilities exist that we have not thought about yet?

What’s the smallest change that could make the biggest impact?

What solutions would have us all win?

What makes our questions inspiring, energizing, and mobilizing?

Inquiry and change are simultaneous!

Asking questions influences change!

Questions direct our attention… which directs our experience!

What are the morale issues within the League?

or What excites you

about your work in the League?

Every moment is full of an infinite array of possibilities!

What we choose to notice becomes our experience!

If you want to build a ship don’t drum up the people to gather wood, divide the work and give orders…

Instead teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea!

Expect to be inspired!

“When we seek to bring out the best in others, we somehow bring out the best

in ourselves”William Arthur Ward

• Powerful Placebo

• Pygmalion

• Positive Affect

• “Inner Dialogue”

• Affirmative Organizing

Inquiry intoThe Appreciable World Advancing

Hig

h

Initiating

Lo

wAI TheoryAI Theory

Elevate & Extend Inquiry

Positive Fusion:Broaden & Build

Strengths

Activate Energy:Positive Emotions

Elevate & ExtendBroaden & BuildPositive Actions

Ext

ensi

on o

f R

elat

edne

ss

A Theory of Affirmative Organizing

• Organizations are made and imagined• No iron laws• Metaphor: heliotropic hypothesis• Healthy organizations = 2:1

positively imbalanced “inner dialogue”• Educative effect of positive imagery• Positive image (discourse) as an obstacle• Organizations do not need to be fixed• Leadership = affirmation