By Tom Davidson
To change your team’s climate using appreciative inquiry, try asking the following questions on a daily basis of both individuals and teams:
You’ve heard about “climate change,” the gradual change in temperature caused by mankind and nature. But this blog is about climate change for teams, the gradual change in the temperature of groups caused by human nature.
What’s you team climate?
– Stormy – Is your team working together or getting on each other’s nerves?
– Stagnant – Are people enjoying their work or bored and stifled by it?
– Blustery Winds – Are your employees complaining to one another and you?
Unlike the weather, your team climate is something you can do something about! So if your climate is not what you want, change it by giving your people a little A.I.R.
– “A” is for Appreciate inquiry – Asking individuals and the team about what is going well, not just what’s broken.
– “I” is for showing Interest in each individual – Constantly showing that you care about your people and what’s important to each individual.
– “R” is for Recognition – Showing that you appreciate the time, talent and effort of each person.
Today’s blog is about asking the right questions; the “I” and the “R” will be covered in the next two blog posts.
“A” is for Appreciative Inquiry
Most managers got to where they are by solving problems, which is only natural. However, overemphasizing “problems” can affect your team’s climate. Looking for gaps, improvements, errors and oversights can gradually drag people down.
The alternative is to look for what’s going right and doing more of that. The concept, called “appreciative inquiry,” is attributed to David Cooperrider, a professor or organization behavior. By looking at what’s going well, people feel more upbeat, positive and voluntarily willing to do even more to make things better.
To change your team’s climate using appreciative inquiry, try asking the following questions on a daily basis of both individuals and teams:
– What went well today?
– What are you most proud of lately?
– What worked so well that we should do more of it?
What are some other questions you can ask to help people do more of what’s working?