The Power of Co-Creating Change Through Appreciative Inquiry

What if, instead of starting with what’s wrong, we started by exploring what’s already working?

I recently worked with a senior leadership team with an ambition to be truly transformative within a large and complex organisation.

There are many different team models and approaches we could have used. Instead, we chose Appreciative Inquiry.

Appreciative Inquiry has been around since the 1980s, but it remains a powerful way of engaging people in creating meaningful change together.

Starting with what’s working

When organisations want to create change, there can be a natural tendency to begin with the problem.

What’s not working? What’s getting in our way? What do we need to fix?

These are important questions. But they aren’t the only questions we can ask.

Appreciative Inquiry shifts the conversation towards what’s working.

It encourages people to explore their strengths, share stories of success, identify what enables them to perform at their best and imagine what might be possible if they could create more of those conditions.

Importantly, this doesn’t mean ignoring challenges.

Instead, it provides a different starting point for exploring them.

Discover. Dream. Design. Deliver.

Appreciative Inquiry creates a structured way for teams to explore positive change together.

Discover: What is already working well? When have we been at our best and what made that possible?

Dream: What could the future look like? What might be possible if we built on our strengths and successes?

Design: What would need to be in place to make that future a reality?

Deliver: What practical actions can we take to move forward?

This approach can change the energy of the conversation.

Rather than change being something designed elsewhere and then presented to people, those involved have an opportunity to contribute to creating the way forward.

The power of co-creation

Co-creation doesn’t mean everyone needs to agree on everything.

It means bringing together different perspectives, experiences and strengths to create something people understand, believe in and can contribute to.

For the leadership team I worked with, the outcome was greater alignment, stronger connection and a clear, actionable plan for moving their transformative ambition forward.

And there is something important in that.

When people have been genuinely involved in shaping the future, there can be a much stronger connection to making it happen.

So, if your team or organisation is facing an important challenge or opportunity, perhaps the first question isn’t simply:

What’s wrong and how do we fix it?

Perhaps it’s also:

What’s already working — and how can we build on it to create something even better?

Mather Consulting works with leaders and teams to facilitate meaningful conversations, build alignment and turn ambition into action.

Could a different conversation help your team create a different outcome? Get in touch to explore how facilitated team development could support your organisation.

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