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Nurturing Strength to Ignite Change...
There is so much good happening in the World. Often we read stories of positive change that is taking place at home, work, within teams and communities, etc. In these stories, I began to notice was that the authors were utilizing the word 'courage' to describe the people within the story; but what do we
really mean when we talk about courage? What images appear in your mind when you see/hear the word COURAGE?
The dictionary describes courage as "the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous." The root of the word courage is cor - latin word for heart. Some have said courage takes "strength of heart".
Individuals, who may be new to Appreciative Inquiry, often ask:
How do I introduce Appreciative Inquiry? How do you handle the negatives? How do I convince others? Where do I even start?
As we know, change is not easy and can be scary concept - requiring us to look within ourselves for strength to move forward. Yet, everyone has the skill and the capacity to be courageous. How can we nurture this strength (courageousness) within ourselves and others? How might courage complement and/or add value to the field of Appreciative Inquiry?
'Changing the world is not easy, but its pursuit will change you profoundly." ~ Leroy Hood
Appreciatively,
Kathy Becker,
President and CEO,
The Center for Appreciative Inquiry
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7 Reasons Why Emotional Intelligence Is One Of The Fastest Growing Job Skills
By: Harvey Deutschendorf, Fast Company
According to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report, emotional intelligence will be one of the top 10 job skills in 2020.
The awareness that emotional intelligence is an important job skill, in some cases even surpassing technical ability, has been growing in recent years. In a 2011 Career Builder Survey of more than 2,600 hiring managers and human resource professionals, 71% stated they valued emotional intelligence in an employee over IQ; 75% said they were more likely to promote a highly emotionally intelligent worker; and 59% claimed they'd pass up a candidate with a high IQ but low emotional intelligence.
The question, then, is why companies are putting such a high premium on emotional intelligence. Here are seven of the top reasons why highly emotionally intelligent candidates are so valuable.
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Why Storytelling Will Be the Biggest Business Skill of the Next 5 Years
By: Shane Snow, Chief Content Officer at Contently
In 2012, a pale woman with crazy eyebrows and a keytar strapped to her back made a video of herself, wearing a kimono and holding up hand-Sharpied signs on a street in Melbourne. One by one, the signs flipped, explaining that the woman had spent the last 4 years writing songs. She was a musician, and had parted ways with her record label, which had said the cost of her next album would be a whopping $500,000. She and her band mates were very happy to no longer be with the label, and had worked hard to create some great new music and art. But they couldn't finish producing the record on their own. She needed people's help to get it off the ground and to make what was now her business - independent music - work.
"This is the future of music," one of her signs read. Another, "I love you."
And then she posted the video on Kickstarter. In 30 days, it raised $1.2 million dollars. 24,883 people pre-ordered the album, bought artwork, or simply donated money. The album and tour became a huge success, and the artist turned her music into a real, profitable business. The woman in the kimono, if you haven't heard this story already, was Amanda Palmer, and she went on to give a massively popular TED talk about the whole affair.
Palmer changed the game for independent musicians with that campaign. And she did it, not by simply asking for money, but by telling her story.
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A Simple Brain Hack For More Creative Problem Solving
By: Lydia Dishman, Fast Company
Think outside the box. This time-worn advice has been offered as a panacea for getting out of all manner of ruts and for jump-starting innovation. But how you exactly go about coming up with a creative solution to a problem isn't always so clear.
Theodore Scaltsas, a professor of classical philosophy at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, points to the work of Jakob Hohwy, author of The Predictive Mind, as proof that our brain solves problems based on how they fit solutions based on our previous experiences.
In an article for Harvard Business Review Scaltsas posits, "If all solutions are old ones in some way, then why are we so good at producing new ones?" Especially since we humans tend to equate our creativity with eureka moments that just occur to us spontaneously. Scaltsas has an explanation that involves a simple cognitive trick.
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Language as Action: Managing Progress & Accountability
By: Luke Younge, Certified Ai Trainer & Coach, The Center for Appreciative Inquiry
In a previous post I wrote about the concept of Destiny in Appreciative Coaching. For many, the 'radical' approach outlined in that article made sense and breathed new life into their coaching practice; however, many people are curious - how do we evaluate or monitor our client's progress as they live out their Destiny? The International Coaching Federation (ICF) requires its members to adhere to eleven core competencies. The purpose of these competencies is to help coaches support and maximize their client's personal and professional potential. One core competency involves managing a client's process and accountability. This article intends to suggest some methods to: measure, track and evaluate the progress of one's coaching, assess progress and accountability, and reinventing what these terms can mean for us as appreciative coaches.
Progress and Movement
There is a paradigm of progress that says that to progress we must close the gap between where we are and where we want to be. We start here and move to there. In this paradigm milestones, markers, progress indicators all make sense and are very helpful in making good progress. Let's call this the traditional paradigm of progress. There's another paradigm that says that progress is really only seen in hindsight.
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Is "Why" an Appreciative Question?
By: Melissa Robaina, Certified Ai Facilitator & Consultant, The Center for Appreciative Inquiry
A few days ago I shared a fascinating HBR article on LinkedIn titled, "Become a Company That Questions Everything". The article talks about how companies should encourage curiosity in the workforce by inviting employees and other stakeholders to ask questions. The article itself has a large graphic of the word "why". As I shared the article on our various social media outlets, one person asked me if "why" is an appreciative question. I stopped what I was doing just so that I could let that question sink in. I mean, I believed it could be, depending on the context in which it is used but I was curious as to what others thought.
After pondering the question for a day or so, I posted the question on various LinkedIn groups I am connected to. The question spread like wildfire. I was honored that so many people took the time to share their thoughts and experiences. The discussions that emerged were engaging and insightful.
Most of the responses I read agreed that while "why" might not be the first choice in questions we ask our clients, it could, however, be appreciative depending on the context, tone, intention, and the level of trust between the inquirer and the client. In my work with Appreciative Inquiry, I have learned that crafting questions, so that they are both appreciative and meaningful to the client, is more of an art form than methodology. Our success as practitioners lies in our ability to recognize which type of question will work best for the situation. Many of you provided great examples of appreciative "why" questions. Some examples of appreciative "why" questions included, but were not limited to... |
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How to Apply Mindfulness to the Creative Process
By: Crystal Goh, Mindful
When London School of Economics co-founder Graham Wallas wrote The Art of Thought in 1926, he outlined a classic framework for training our minds in the art of the creative process. More than half a century later, most scientists define creativity as "producing something new and useful", and we have a much richer understanding of creativity's cognitive and neural underpinnings. But what seems to remain from Wallas's framework is this: creativity requires both freedom and constraint in our thinking.
Applied neuroscience-a fancy way of saying "how to use neuroscience knowledge in real life"-helps us understand how to practice the creative process. And it turns out, when you break down the brain processes involved in creative achievement, it becomes clear that mindfulness goes hand in hand with creativity. In fact, there are actually scientific ways to apply mindfulness to the creative process. First, let's look at the key ingredients for the creative process.
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Appreciative Inquiry Certification Trainings
For nearly two decades, The Center for Appreciative Inquiry (CAI) has been a leader in Appreciative Inquiry Trainings and Certification. Thousands of individuals, teams, organizations and communities have participated in one of The Center for Appreciative Inquiry's workshops, gaining Ai expertise as well as personal and professional fulfillment. With a CAI Certification, you can demonstrate not only knowledge and skill-set, but also a commitment to high professional standards and a strong code of ethics.
Individuals who have participated in Appreciative Inquiry (or strength-based) workshops/trainings from other Ai providers are eligible to receive Appreciative Inquiry certification from The Center for Appreciative Inquiry. Learn how you can earn your Appreciative Inquiry Certification and join our growing network of Ai Professionals.
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Appreciative Inquiry Directory: Join Our Growing Network
The Center for Appreciative Inquiry's Directory was created to allow clients to find Certified Appreciative Inquiry professionals worldwide, provide expert support and peer collaboration for independent consultants, and build a growing network of individuals who want to increase their impact for making a positive difference in the World - inspiring success and connections of people, community and organizations.
Who is listed on the Appreciative Inquiry Directory?
- Individuals certified through the Center for Appreciative Inquiry (CAI) from 2005 to present are eligible to be included in the Center for Appreciative Inquiry Directory Listing for FREE for the duration for their certification.
- Individuals who have participated in Appreciative Inquiry workshops by other Ai providers are also eligible for certification and a directory listing - please contact us directly to learn how.
Directory profiles are easy to create and update and will make you locatable by our worldwide audience. All Directory profiles will remain visible on our website for FREE for the duration of your certification.
Create your Free Ai Directory listing today! Our Directory Profile creation process is easy and takes only a few minutes. Once approved, you can begin enjoying all the benefits of your Free Appreciative Inquiry Directory Listing.
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We Are Looking for Appreciative Inquiry Trainers
The Center for Appreciative Inquiry is seeking experienced trainers, coaches, consultants and facilitators to become certified to teach its Appreciative Inquiry Trainings and Workshops. Trainers will be certified to deliver our various workshops (to business, community, non-profit, education, etc.) to support the growth and interest in Appreciative Inquiry focusing on dialogue, collaboration and how the human systems thrive.
We are looking for high energy people with a commitment to helping others develop and grow as internal facilitators and to be part of creating a better World Community. If you are grounded in humans systems flourishing demonstrated by your views of social change and by participating in the AI Community, you may be a good match for this program. |
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MEMORIAL DAY SALE
Save $200 on all 2016 Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator or Coaching Trainings. Please enter promo code
MEMDAY16 upon checkout to receive the Memorial Day discount. Visit our
event calendar for training dates and locations.
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Offer Expires 06/03/2016. Please note that our Memorial Day Sale cannot be combined with any other offer and is not available to those already registered for a 2016 Ai Facilitator or Coaching Training.
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Copyright © 2016. All Rights Reserved.
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