Fw: [Ailist] grief, despair, and anger

Mon Aug 21 11:23:39 PDT 2000

When Birgitt sent her message about her negative experience with
appreciative inquiry a week ago, I was curious what response it would draw
from AI practitioners.  I posted the message below.  It generated quite a
few responses.  The two I found most useful are below.  For me, the key
insight is about understanding the distinction between "positive" and
"appreciative".  I think these two messages speak well to that.
Peggy

WHAT WENT TO THE AI LIST:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Peggy Holman" <pholman at msn.com>
To: "Appreciative Inquiry List" <AIList at business.utah.edu>
Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2000 11:39 AM
Subject: Fw: Re: Teacher Mentoring Report

>
> This message came off of the Open Space list.  Thought I'd see what
> perspectives my colleagues on the AI list have on it.
>
> Peggy Holman
>
>
> > My experience with Appreciative Inquiry is that it has its place, but
that
> > it precludes grief cycle work from doing its work and those items that
> need
> > to be spoken that are rooted in being mad or sad or in denial don't get
> > their chance to lead to their healing work. At least in the early
stages.
> >
> > In my personal experience, I have been in an OST meeting in which I was
> > angry. I needed to express what was so for me. Appreciative Inquiry
caused
> > me to feel that it was wrong to offer my input from my passion. And I
> ended
> > up angrier. I was asked to think of highlights and positive stories,
when
> > what I really wanted and needed to do was to share was was REAL for me.
> > Honoring me and my wisdom in the MOMENT. Experiences such as this one
have
> > caused me to use caution with Appreciative Inquiry and to go back to the
> > root understandings of second order change work and to create contexts
for
> > the space to be OPEN.
> >
>

TWO RESPONSES:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jack Brittain" <Brittain at Business.Utah.edu>
To: "AIList" <ailist at Business.Utah.edu>
Sent: Friday, August 18, 2000 9:48 PM
Subject: [Ailist] grief, despair, and anger

> Several comments have hinted at this, but not directly hit it for me.
> Many past discussions have struggled with the difference between AI and
> positive thinking. The appreciative mode is not the power of positive
> thinking, it is finding those forces that sustain people in
> organizations and lead to desired outcomes.
>
> Those that are carrying grief,  despair, and anger, but still giving of
> themselves, are powerful examples of sustaining forces because they are
> persisting despite emotional pain. They certainly need to give up the
> pain for their personal well being, but those things that sustain them
> -- indeed that they personally embody -- are worthy of inquiry, things
> like core values, dedication to service, selflessness. I am wondering if
> the power of AI is not that it ignores the pain, but that it validates
> it and identifies the strengths that people have to move beyond the
> pain, strengths that also allow them to let go. I have found that a
> sense of power and control can do wonders to cure anger and despair. And
> for me, this is a core part of the AI experience, helping those in
> organizations identify the strengths they possess to become the people,
> team, community and organization of their dreams.
>
> Just maybe the fallacy of "dealing with grief" is that implicit in the
> method is accepting powerlessness. Certainly relevant to dealing with
> individual issues like death of loved ones, but I am dubious of the
> validity of this model for organizational applications.
> --
> =================== Jack <Brittain at Business.Utah.edu>
>
> _______________________________________________
> The Appreciative Inquiry Discussion List is hosted by the David Eccles
School of Business at the University of Utah. Jack Brittain is the list
administrator. For subscription information, go to:
> http://lists.business.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/ailist
>

SECOND RESPONSE:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Brenda Turnbull" <brenda.turnbull at mq.edu.au>
To: <ailist at business.utah.edu>
Sent: Sunday, August 20, 2000 4:45 PM
Subject: [Ailist] AI and Feelings

> Yes I'm very interested in this discussion too.
>
> It was thrown into high relief for me last week when I was working with
> a group along AI principles (context was re-energising self in an
> academic environment), and had some very vehement responses along the
> lines of 'but this is positivity, and there's anything BUT reasons to be
> positive in this environment'.
>
> The best way I could struggle at the time to explain it, is that it's
> really not about positivity at all....it's about
> life-bouyancy.....seeing that what I'm/you're experiencing and where
> I'm/you're 'at' right now is valuable and provides the guide to the next
> shift.  So with people experiencing any of the feelings of grief, how I
> see it is that wherever they're 'at' is totally valuable, and if I can
> be with them exactly there, embracing (not colluding), and explore,
> feel, understand that space with them, then that's A.I.(or whatever else
> we want to call it....A.I.will do)....I see it as an attitudinal thing
> that's about using everything as an opportunity for living, I
> suppose....everyting has a value....buoyancy in life....not about
> plastering over life with some false sense of 'always look to the bright
> side' etc etc.
>
> So with the people last week, we started to really explore their
> feelings of hopelessness, cynicism, pain, and as we did, started to get
> underneath that to the unrealised hopes, dreams, passions etc etc, and
> then that created further shifts etc
>
> Anyway that's how I'm understanding it at the moment.
>
> Brenda Turnbull
>

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