Appreciative Inquiry Newsletter Issue 7, November 1999


PURPOSE OF THE NEWSLETTER
This Newsletter is a forum for people interested in making the world a better place using Appreciative Inquiry and developing themselves and others to do even more wonderful things. 

The Newsletter is designed to complement other Ai resources such as web sites, hard copy journals and the Ai listserv, and to support the whole tapestry of Ai.


WELCOME TO ISSUE 7 OF THE NEWSLETTER 
The focus of this issue is Spirituality at Work. We have two wonderful articles that help us look at spirituality from the personal and organisational viewpoints. Diana Whitney, well known to many of you for the courses she runs at the Taos Institute, leads the issue by offering nine ways to be more spiritual at work. Paul Gibbons, a consultant and coach, writes about the What, Why and How of spirituality at work. This piece is based on much longer research he has done in this area. There is much to enjoy in these two pieces.

As usual there is news about Ai training events, websites with AI articles, and two new books on working with whole systems.

At the end of the newsletter you will see how you can contribute to the distribution costs of the newsletter. The secure part of the website will be in place by November 15. 

It seems fitting to think about work at a different and deeper level as we head for a New Year. I hope you find something of value here to help you and the organisations you are in contact with.

With best regards,


Anne Radford


CONTENTS OF THE NEWSLETTER
1. ARTICLES
1.1 Spirituality at Work by Diana Whitney
i) Accept responsibility for co-creation
ii) Go naked
iii) Listen to time
iv) Adopt a language that invites spiritual resonance
v) Practice forgiving
vi) Shape the wealth
vii) Appreciate divine presence
viii) Breathe and express your beliefs
ix) Be with silence
1.2 Spirituality at Work
i) The What
ii) The Why
iii) The How for individuals and for workplaces

2. AI EVENTS 1999 TO 2000
2.1 Nov 5,1999 England: Gender & Diversity workshop with Marge Schiller
2.2 Jan 26-28, 2000 USA/Seattle: AI Learning series with Steve Cato and Diane Robbins
2.3 June,1999 England: Improvisation & Organisation residential with Frank Barrett

3. AI RESOURCES
3.1 ODNET AI articles
3.2 New website in Germany
3.3 New books: UK ‘Working Whole Systems’ USA ‘The Change Handbook’

4. 2000/2001 FUTURE ISSUES
5. SIGNING UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER
6. COUNTRY CONTACTS



1. ARTICLES
1.1 Spirituality at Work by Diana Whitney (WhitneyDi@aol.com)

Since most of us spend the greatest part of our time at work, the challenge of bringing our spiritual selves to work is both real and essential to our well being. I offer the following as ideas you can apply to be more spiritual at work.

1. ACCEPT RESPONSIBILTY FOR CO-CREATION - Recognize that the world we live and work in is the result of our collective interactions with one another. Each and every one of our lives and our daily actions makes a difference now and for the future. To accept responsibly for co-creation is to think positive thoughts, to act in ways that are appropriate to that which we believe and know to be appropriate to the situation and the time, to choose our words and deeds with care for the implications they have on other people and life, and to correct, as soon as possible, any imbalances that may result from our actions.

The key to responsible co-creation is in the creation and use of affirmations. An affirmation is a statement of intention that serves to align the extraordinary power of your mind and your actions with the universal flow of energy. They create the intention, the space and the invitation for what we want to become reality.

Simply, co-creation is the power of positive thinking. More consciously, it means taking time to envision the work world you'd like, to daily pray for it and affirm it in your words and deeds, to be receptive to it and to nurture it as it evolves.

2. GO NAKED - Have the courage to go to work without your roles and facades. Peacefully refuse to play the games of power and ups-man-ship that pervade the work world so many of us know. Instead, be naked in your honesty and candidness. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Speak from your heart. Let your multiple personae be visible. The following are examples of how we separate ourselves from our ideas through our communication:
* From an engineering point of view... (but what do you really think?)
* They want us to. . . (so who are they anyway?)
* When doing this, one ought to consider. . . (one what?)
* As V. P. you should be the one to... (even if I could do it better!)
* Peoples' feelings get hurt when... (are your feelings hurt now?)

If you find yourself tired at work or on the edge of burnout often, then perhaps the roles you are playing are getting too heavy for you and it's time to go naked. Remember, if you undress a little at a time, no one will really notice and someday you'll just be. You are all it takes to make a difference.

3. LISTEN TO TIME - Befriend time, she is an amazing guide to appropriate action. Whatever you do, don't push time because she really does fight back. If you think you can continuously do more work than time allows, you are just kidding yourself and those you work with. 

If you don't have enough time to do everything, it's not time's fault; it's yours for not setting priorities and sticking to them. Life requires discipline, not necessarily military type discipline, but the discipline that comes with commitment and dedication to being the best and to contributing fully through the work we do. Time is the handmaiden of discipline. When we accept self discipline, time becomes our friend.

4. ADOPT A LANGUAGE THAT INVITES SPIRITUAL RESONANCE - Remember the childhood saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but names and faces cannot hurt me." Well, it's just not true. Language is a powerful molder of character, relationships and organizational life. Who we are is a direct reflection of or a reaction to the names and attributes given to us. This process begins as children and continues well into adulthood. In the same manner, the language we use to describe people and events in our work environment creates the context for our work.

Awhile ago I began using words like inspiration, enthusiasm, praise and rejoice in reference to work events. I did it initially as a way of reminding my self of my spiritual focus while working. What I observed, however, is that others picked up on these words, used them and a resonance was created between us. A couple of my favorite management spiritualisms are: "The I.D.E.A. of Leadership is to Inspire, to Develop, to Empower, and to Affirm the people around you." And, "Praise is the Fuel of High Performance."

Try it, the next time you want to tell someone you like and will support their plan, tell them you think it's inspiring and see what happens. If the space in the room becomes bigger and brighter or perhaps quieter, you'll know you hit a cord that resonates with the greater good of the universe. And you'll be supporting someone in doing what is appropriately theirs to do.

The language and metaphors we use to explain events and our experience of them reflect our world view. For many of us we adopt a language at work that portrays the world as a machine dependent upon material input, transformation and output, a machine which enhances economic exchange and accumulation. People are talked about and treated as part of the machine. Much of what makes us human, including our spirituality, gets left out or overlooked in this worldview. A holistic worldview and language invites us to express our spirituality in the workplace.

Suggested Activity: Make a list of words and phrases which in your mind invite spirit into your life. Review your list and circle those words and phrases that are currently in your work world vocabulary. Now, go back through your list one more time and pick out 3-5 uncircled words that you want to begin using in the work place.

In addition, take some time now and reflect on your own vocabulary and communication style. What words and phrases do you habitually use that reflect, perpetuate or invite negative energy? Ask a friend to monitor your communication for the next week or so and to help you erase these words and phrases from your linguistic repertoire.

5. PRACTICE FORGIVING - Many organizations today, especially businesses, are very goal oriented. The organization has goals, each department has goals, and individuals throughout the organization have goals. On the whole I see this as a positive, proactive means of organizing the activities of a large number of people. A focus on goals can encourage both individual contribution and responsibility, and collective effort and achievement. When goals are not achieved, however, there is a tendency in many organizations to be unforgiving. In many cases it is not sufficient to merely identify the person(s) at fault, but it is also necessary to publicly place blame.

This creates an organizational context of blame: superiors blame their employees, employees blame customers, sales blames service, manufacturing blames sales, or nursing blames the lab technician. Think of the increases in productivity that would occur if all the energy that currently goes into finger pointing and blaming was put to work toward the mission of the organization.

The key to transforming blame and guilt is forgiving. Make a habit of forgiving on a daily basis. Consciously forgive people who seem to block you from your goals or who seem to mistreat you. Within yourself, acknowledge the situation, forgive those involved, let go of the situation and move on to something that is positive and productive for you. Don't linger on the downside of life.

Forgiving requires acceptance. If you are ready to forgive, you must first accept who they are. Remember, each of us is imperfect in our own way. Second, arrange a time and place to talk with them. Pick a time and place where you can both relax and feel comfortable. Third, practice what you want to say, go over it in your mind and hear yourself saying the words. Remember, your plan is to forgive. What does it sound like and feel like to really forgive someone? Fourth, have your meeting, explain what it is that you felt hurt by and then say the magic words..."and I forgive you." Fifth, go home and pray and ask God to forgive you as you have forgiven others.

6. SHARE THE WEALTH - Closely related to the practice of forgiving is the practice of giving. What comes to mind is the saying, ' What comes around goes around." To the extent you are forgiving, you will be forgiven. To the extent that you give, you will be given to. This does not mean that you should count up what you give and expect to get an equal or exact measure in return. What it does mean is that if you are open to the flow of energy in and out of your life, it will continue to flow. If, on the other hand, you block the flow by not giving, then, chances are, you will not experience life as giving to you.

From a holistic perspective, we have the capacity to give physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. To give physically is to give material goods and services: money, food, help with construction, clothes or physical support and shelter. To give mentally is to give ideas and information. To give emotionally is to give affection and to share feelings and dreams. To give spiritually is to share the awareness of spiritual presence in your life.

Within any organization there are rules, sometimes consciously delineated, but more often unconsciously evolved, that specify who can have access to what and under what circumstances. This is especially true when it comes to information. Believing that information is power and that power is best held onto, too many managers today deny their subordinates information. By doing so they make it difficult for both work and learning to occur. When did you last check your assumptions about the information your staff and colleagues need to do their jobs with what they say they need? You are probably withholding information without even knowing it. So, commit yourself to giving information freely and trusting those you work with to use it wisely.

Along with information, the work world sorely needs an increased flow of understanding, affection, support, honesty and acceptance of diversity. By giving these to those you work with, you create a work environment which encourages people to be fully and truly who they are.

There's one last point I want to make about giving. When you are feeling like you really need to be given to, whether it's a mental, physical, emotional or spiritual need, then is the time to go out into the world and give. Giving opens the doors to receiving. And if you don't think you have anything to give, think again. You'll be amazed at how easy it is to give a smile, a few kind words, an ear for listening or a helping hand. Remember, what goes around comes around.

7. APPRECIATE DIVINE PRESENCE - Let no day be so full or busy that you don't have time to appreciate the wonder of life around you. It's very likely that if you don't have time or energy to notice what's going on around you, then you're not likely to have time for inner reflection and self-appreciation.

To recognize and appreciate the miracle of life invites future miracles. There is life in everything around us, in things natural and in things fabricated; in events joyful and in situations of disaster. Both beauty and disaster can humble us and remind us that we are but a small part of a larger universal life force and being.

The uniqueness of our lives cries out to be expressed. In some ways we are fortunate to be at this point in history. The survival and success of large organizations is directly related to the organization's ability to foster creativity and to support diversity in the workplace. Organizations unable to do this will not be able to support themselves or their employees into the future. And so, as you are called to explore, discover and express the creative force within you, so too is your organization being called to cooperate in the creation of our future.

To allow the creative we must have faith that what is appropriate and just will endure. It is not our role to decide whether life should or should not exist. We are to recognize that the seeds of creation are in each of us and that our role is to nurture them and express them in the form that best acknowledges and honors our unique gifts.

8. BREATHE AND EXPRESS YOUR BELIEFS - All too often we hold our breath and brace ourselves for the awful things that we expect to happen. In the process of bracing ourselves we block and prevent the flow of vital life energy. And, ironically, we contribute to the likelihood that the unexpected will overwhelm us. People who can handle the ins and outs and the ups and downs of life are people who keep breathing no matter what occurs.

Could you imagine a long distance runner holding his breath for the home stretch? Of course not, yet many of us tense up and forget to breath when faced with equally rigorous demands at work. The next time you are faced with a challenging meeting, a demanding customer or an almost impossible schedule, pause and breathe. Focus on the rhythm of your own breathing and on the life giving energy of your breath. Feel yourself full of life, joyful and capable of achieving extraordinary results. The power of breathing is the power of life.

Not only does breathing nurture us individually, enabling us to live and work fully and prosperously, it can also serve to foster harmony among people. In this way breathing and singing have much in common. When a group of people either breath or sing together they become in sync with one another, thus creating the foundation for synergistic work. There are companies whose members use both breathing and singing to create workplace alignment. They begin each day singing songs to foster a collective spirit and to inspire the achievement of their shared purpose. In addition, meetings start with all present breathing together until they are of one breath and one rhythm. It is much easier and more likely that a group of people will become of one mind when they are already physically in harmony with one another.

9. BE WITH SILENCE - There is a time and a place for everything, but in many of our lives the time and the place for silence is unknown. In our society, we do not learn nor do we practice the art of silence. In general, we place a greater value on speaking than we do on listening. We certainly put a greater focus on problem solving by analysis and getting people together to talk, than we do on quiet contemplation.

It seems to me, that the more uncertain our lives get, the more we talk and think and do as ways of trying to create order out of the chaos. Why is it, at these times when we most need quiet and calm, that we are unable to allow it in our lives and our organizations? According to organizational theorist, Herbert Simon, the limiting factor in an organization is the ability of its members to process information. There is no doubt that the lack of silence in an organization greatly reduces its members' ability to process information and to discover new possibilities.

Opportunities for silence can contribute not only to greater innovation and creativity at work but also to a more peaceful work environment. Silence enables us to let go of both work related and non-work related tensions. It allows us to step out of the defensive roles we take on as we communicate with one another. And, it allows us to clear our minds and focus on our goals and priorities. It enables us to establish the emotional distance and mental perspective necessary to contribute to the organization's success without getting caught up in dysfunctional games of competition and fear.

There are several ways to incorporate silence into your work environment and style. I know of managers who have an open door policy except for clearly communicated times each week. During these times, meetings are not scheduled, phone calls are not put through and day dreaming is in order. This practice ensures quiet time and provides a sense of self-control in the workplace. Managers who take time out for contemplation set an example and thereby encourage it among their staff.

A colleague has developed the habit of calling time outs during heated meetings. Initially, this practice began as a way for her to take time to decipher the main points of discussion and to determine appropriate next steps. What she discovered, however, was that given time alone to silently reflect on what was happening in a meeting, those present would inevitably come to very similar conclusions about appropriate next steps. Taking time out without leaving the room, allows each person to recognize what's important and what's extraneous. It allows the group to individually tune into the flow of universal knowing and to let go of blocks to appropriate action without having to explain, defend or be embarrassed by an out of order idea.

Organizations are building running tracks, putting up volleyball nets and changing the menus in the company cafeteria to encourage wellness in the workplace. So why not create meditation rooms which enable people to relax, to breathe and to listen to their intuition.

Peaceful organizational environments set the tone for peaceful and productive work relationships. As the quality of work life is enhanced so too is the quality of work performed.


1.2 Spirituality at Work –What, why and how? by Paul Gibbons who lives in San Francisco and London (pauligibbo@aol.com) 

With well over 50 books and dozens of conferences available on Spirituality and Work, increasing numbers of people and organizational leaders are wondering what this phenomenon is all about. Spirituality at Work sounds like an oxymoron – What does it mean? Why is it relevant to individuals and organizations? How, in practical terms, does one proceed?

The what
The term spirituality means different things, not all of them good, to different people. In its broadest sense, spirituality is simply a journey towards the sacred. Alternatively, it is a search for meaning, connectedness to the transcendent, to others, and to the world. While for some this transcendent is God, and their spiritual path is their religion. For others, however, alternative transcendent concepts, belief systems, and spiritual practices define their spiritual search.

Spirituality at Work is both an individual and an organizational concept. 
For individuals integrating work with that journey towards the sacred might mean taking the following steps for each of which there are well-scripted paths:
* Taking a spiritual approach to career development 
* Addressing issues of work-life balance and integration
* Bringing deeply held values to work
* Examining the spiritual dimension of leadership
* Creating community at work
* Practising spiritual principles in workplace relationships

For organizations, Spirituality at Work means:
Nurturing and placing boundaries around the expression of individual spirituality
Re-orienting the organizational mission and strategy, and re-organising the structures and processes in order to achieve spiritual goals, through spiritual means.

Does that mean turning businesses into monasteries? No, but it could mean a radical shift in the current paradigm whereby human, social, and environmental resources are harnessed in the service of earning a profit. The shift is towards serving humanity, communities, and the environment with money as the medium of exchange that it was historically, rather than an objective in its own right. Of course, finance is important. The lights must go on, workers must eat, and capital must earn a return, but money becomes a tool for the organization for achieving its ends, rather than an end in itself. This last is a tall order, but hearteningly some highly successful organizations have begun to orient themselves in this way.

The why?
Many of the world’s spiritual traditions are thousands of years old, yet recently interest is soaring. Spirituality as been the fastest growing segment of the book market since 1990 and an overwhelming majority of Americans and Europeans believe in God. However, most people fragment and compartmentalise their lives which means work becomes "just a paycheck", not a place to find deeper meaning and satisfaction; it becomes a "jungle", not a place to build community; or a "dog-eat-dog" world, not a place for compassion or brotherly love.

But what would be possible if this were otherwise? How much more fulfilling would our lives be if work could connect with our souls and provide deep meaning and joy? How much more humane would workplaces be if principles of compassion and contribution were practised daily? How different would our society be if workers came home contented and peaceful? What about organizations that put societal and the environmental goals first, rather than as constraints to be reckoned with?

If these seem lofty and idealistic, then perhaps some harder reasons justify taking an organizational perspective on Spirituality at Work. To begin with, spiritual beliefs are part of human nature whether or not an individual views themselves as spiritual. For instance, is there a loving God, a wrathful God, or no God? Are people innately sinful, or innately good? Is the world chaotic or ordered? How much of it can one control and manage? Since these beliefs are omnipresent, they drive behavior. 

Another, much more practical reason, is that interest is growing. Some industry beating companies are putting spiritual principles to work. SouthWest Airlines has never used redundancies (layoffs) despite the vicissitudes of the airline industry. The Body Shop cares how its products are developed. ServiceMaster’s (a 65,000-employee company) corporate mission is to "honour God in all we do". 

The how
For individuals for whom spirituality is important, the workplace door is not the place to park it. Willingness to begin the integration is the first step. Then begins a process that involves self-examination, reflection, study, visioning, and disciplined action. Fundamental to this process is support. Guidance in the form of coaching or workshops is essential as is the establishment of a support group within the work community. The process takes honesty, openness, and dedication for workplaces are full of structures and relationships that make spiritual practice difficult. 

For workplaces, Spirituality at Work is taxing even at the most basic level, that of nurturing individual spirituality and setting boundaries around its expression. If the trend continues, more workers will be asking for time and space for lunchtime prayer meetings, or meditation, or be talking about raising spiritual issues at work. Furthermore, for the more demanding task of re-orienting the organization’s mission, changes to the organizational culture, reward systems, management practices, and leadership will be required. 

So Spirituality at Work is not an easy answer to complex problems. Individuals and organizations should be wary of those well-intentioned souls who would peddle it as such. However, spirituality is a journey, not an outcome. It is a life-long process of learning, changing, and growing that applies equally to organizations that would embrace it. However, the prize is a big one. In a seminal book, "Working", Studs Terkel researched more than a hundred workers and concluded "to survive the day is triumph enough for the walking wounded among us". Thoreau asserted that "most men lead lives of quiet desperation". On college campuses, one can read daily about horrific environmental and human exploitation by our corporations abroad, and it was only five years ago that down-sizing became part of our culture at home? Is this the way things need to be? 

Spirituality at Work claims that it is not. It offers to help individuals find the right job that provides deeper meaning, or new ways of leading that call to the heart and soul, or new approaches to work that turn dreariness into fulfilment. It offers to help organizations re-orient themselves toward more human-centred, compassionate, environmentally and socially responsible outcomes. Ultimately, it would make business a servant of people, a creator of community and a steward of the environment. 

2. EVENTS
2.1 ENGLAND Gender & Diversity workshop with Marge Schiller. Her article "Organizational Gender Issues—The Next Step" will be the basis of the workshop.
Date: Friday 5 November 1999. We’ll create our own fireworks!
Venue: BBC Television Centre, Wood Lane, London. Time: 9.00am to 12.30pm
Price: 58.75 GB pounds inc. VAT. Payment by cheque or credit card (MC/Visa). To reserve a place, call Anne Radford at 44 (0)7000 077 011.
2.2 USA-APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY LEARNING SERIES led by Steve Cato and Diane Robbins
Date of 1st workshop: January 26-28th, 2000 Location: Seattle, Washington
Learn about Appreciative Inquiry: what it is, the major features of the theory and method, and how and when to use it. 
Contact: Steven M. Cato, Ph.D. scato@worldnet.att.net or Diane Robbins on dbrobbins@mindspring.com
2.3 EUROPE: Early June 2000
Improvisation and Innovation three-day residential with Frank Barrett. This idea grew out of the London workshop. If you are interested, contact Anne at editor@aipractitioner.com.

3. AI RESOURCES
3.1 ODNET has a very long list of AI articles at url: http://odnet.org/odresources.html
One of their links is to an Appreciative Inquiry Resource List at :
http://www.serve.com/taos/appreciative.html
3.2 NEW WEBSITE in Germany
Walter Bruck has developed a website with information in German about AI, articles including "Lasting changes from the human power source in the organisation" and events in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Europe. It is http://www.appreciative.de.
3.3 NEW BOOKS
3.3.1 UK "Working Whole Systems: Putting Theory into Practice in Organisations" by Julian Pratt, Pat Gordon and Diane Plamping
‘This is simply the most thoughtful, comprehensible and accessible work I have yet seen on working with the whole system.’ Margaret Wheatley, author of Leadership and the New Science. A description of AI is included as a way of engaging large groups of people.
Price 9.95 GB pounds. From the Kings Fund in London tel 44-171-307-2591 fax 44-171-307-2801 or from amazon.co.uk

3.3.2 USA Information from Peggy Holman about her new book (pholman@email.msn.com)
"The Change Handbook: Group Methods for Shaping the Future" is now available. This is an edited collection of approaches to whole systems change. It includes a wonderful contribution from David Cooperrider and Diana Whitney on Appreciative Inquiry.
More information from the publisher, Berrett-Koehler on http://www.bkconnection.com/products/productshow.adp?code=17
The cost of the book is $39.95. A packet of 6 copies of each topic booklet is $45.

4. 2000/2001 FUTURE ISSUES
Topics suggested for future issues include: 
* AI as an internal process generating an Ai dialogue with oneself.
* AI in national, city and local government
* Creating positive change in interracial attitudes
* Ai and Youth.
If you have more ideas, do contact any of the country co-ordinators. 

5. SIGNING UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER
After November 15, you will be able to go to the website www.aradford.co.uk and make your contribution to the distribution costs of the newsletter in a secure part of the website. Your credit card information will be scrambled so that only you see it. I will see your name and the amount you contribute only. The only cost-effective alternative to paying by credit card seems to be sterling travellers cheques or cash. The minimum contribution is $10 or 6.25 GB pounds. My mailing address is 303 Bankside Lofts, 65 Hopton Street, London SE1 9JL, England. Your contribution means that you will receive the newsletter until next August. The country contacts, and I, will review the situation again then. 

Many thanks for the very encouraging notes supporting the idea of keeping the newsletter going in this way.

6. COUNTRY CONTACTS/CO-ORDINATORS
If you would like to contribute to the newsletter, please contact one of the following:
Walter Bruck/Germany wbruck@wb-consult.de
Gervase Bushe/Canada bushe@sfu.ca
Steve Cato/USA West Coast scato@worldnet.att.net
Bart Cox /South Africa letsema@wn.apc.org
Joep de Jong/The Netherlands joep.dejong@syntegra.nl
Muriel Finegold/USA East Coast Marafine@aol.com
Mette Jacobsgaard/Denmark 101572.622@compuserve.com 
Bill Kinsey/Zimbabwe bkinsey@econ.vu.nl and root@bruin.uz.zw
Liz Mellish/Australia info@mellish.com.au
Ravi Pradhan/Nepal ravip@mos.com.np
Hamdi Qenawi/Egypt qenawi@usa.net
Anne Radford/England + Newsletter Co-ordinator editor@aipractitioner.com
Marge Schiller/USA East Coast MRSENTP@worldnet.att.net
Magdalena Steinmeyer/Mexico hgstein@ibm.net
Laverne Dees Webb/USA East Coast lavernew@aol.com
Margaret Wright/Scotland 100067.2577@compuserve.com
To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE to the newsletter, email editor@aipractitioner.com.

I hope you have enjoyed this. Do let me have your feedback and comments. Issue 8 will be distributed in February 2000. 

Do forward the newsletter to as many people as you like.