Transform your team working with workplace with REVOLUTIONARY WORKPLACE Appreciative Team Building Activities and Ideas

“Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is the joint and positive exploration for the best in people, groups, teams, organizations, and the relevant world around them.

AI involves the art of asking positive inquiry questions that strengthen and focus on the positive possibility of a workplace’s capacity to enhance it’s positive potential.

Appreciative Inquiry assumes that all living systems have untapped, trapped, and unexplored inspiring accounts of positive experiences. By linking this past “positive core” to your workplace staff teambuilding events and change approach you accelerate your positive team results.

“Appreciative Inquiry, the study of what positively works”.

AI has been applied across many organizations, from whole system change to Real Appreciative Inquiry team building events in South Africa, to individual coaching services.

The appreciative team building approach has extraordinary power to unleash energy, passion, enthusiasm and momentum for positive powerful team and company change.

Appreciative inquiry process creates conversations that awaken passion, pride, participation and engagement. When team relationships are positively grounded in passion, pride, and positivity, teams become more cohesive, efficient and effective.


Potential Teams Building process Approach

Traditional team / group problem solving usually starts by looking at what isn’t working so these team problems can be fixed. The similie, operating in this approach is “your team is like a machine”: if all the correct parts are in the correct place and working properly, the team machine will revert to its previous “unimpaired” functioning level.

Compare this old approach to an Appreciative Approach which begins with with DISCOVERY – A positive approach questions about what is working, in order to uncover the prime foundations of positive team performance.

The team then plans its future by expanding and sustaining the resources in this unique “positive core”. The idea here is that the team is an evolving, expanding potential with untapped possibilities. I

nstead of just regaining the team’s prior performance level, an appreciative inquiry team building process aims at creating breakthroughs toward the team’s highest potential.


Appreciative Inquiry Team Building Interviews

Sample Interview protocol to begin the AI Team Buillding inquiry:

1) Think back to a time when you were on a successful team. Think of a time that you felt engaged, energized, happy, fulfilled and most effective – when you were accomplished even more than you ever imagined. What made it such a powerful team? Tell the “story” about the events, situation, people involved, your involvement and how the team achieved its incredible results.

2) Without being humble, what was it about you and your actions, thoughts and beliefs that contributed to the success of your team? Describe in as much detail at possible your personal qualities and what you value about yourself that enabled the team’s success.

3) Imagine that It’s 1 year from now and your team is functioning even more successfully than you imagined. What are you doing, how are your team mates working together differently?

What does this activity and success look like? How= did you make it all happen?

Team members pairs, interview each other, and then groups of 4-6 people share, compare and explore the stories.

The core themes and elements that come out of these successful times will emerge. Through further inquiry and discussions the entire team then DESIGNS new strategies to leverage the existing assets so day-to-day functioning and performance of the team approaches an ideal level.


The stages of an Appreciative Inquiry are:

1) DISCOVERY : Discover the best of what is
2) DREAM: Envision what might be
3) DESIGN :Dialogue what should be
4) DO : Innovate what will be.


Appreciative Inquiry Team Building Process & Applications

  • The appreciative Inquiry teamwork process is useful in almost any kind of team initiative:
  • Newly formed teams
  • Teams aiming for more effective collaboration
  • Ongoing project teams facing challenges
  • Teams needing renewal, rejuvenation or clearer focus
  • Leadership teams on strategic planning outings

Appreciative inquiry team building frames your agenda from a positive perspective ie rather than digging into causes of conflict, an appreciative inquiry approach explores the sources of the best cooperation.

Instead of diagnosing the problems, Appreciative Inquiry Team working development focuses on improving the present results by discovering the foundations of highly engaging workplaces.

By looking for causes of problems low morale is reframed as a search for the root causes of greatest team excitement and commitment.

Every time you expose yourself to conversation about peak experiences, you will discover a special enthusiasm, engagement, energy and rejuvenated team optimism. With a deliberate focus on strengths and positivity, Appreciative Inquiry for Teams avoids the resistance that often emerges in problem-focused conversations.

The Appreciative Inquiry Team Building approach ensures a positive -” play the ball and not the man” – way forward.

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