Colleagues told me an interesting story. A large Dutch company, operating in Russia as well, decided to change the system of work.
The employees were unhappy. They were explained the meaning of the coming changes, but the resistance only intensified. The situation has reached an impasse. And then one day, during a large meeting on the ship, the head of the company, tired of fruitless discussions, said: “I am also dissatisfied with many things, so let’s do it this way. I will put two boxes on the table in front of you. In one you throw notes, which will list all your claims and grievances, everything that annoys and angers you in the company. In the other we will put the good that you see here, that for which you came here. I’ll write down my thoughts too.»
The boxes filled up quickly. When everyone sat down in their places, the head of the company quickly took the box with the «bad» from the table and … resolutely threw it overboard. “Let’s not talk about what’s bad,” he said calmly. “Let’s deal with what we all like here…” For the remaining two days, the participants of the event, shocked by the sight of the box that had flown overboard, dismantled and sorted everything valuable and pleasant that is in their work. The resistance is gone, the dialogue has begun.
A paradoxical but effective way to solve problems is to look at what is already working out well
Perhaps without knowing it, the Dutch top manager put into practice the main principle of “positive research” (appreciative inquiry, or AI) — a method of organizational development that has been developed by American psychologist David Cooperrider and his colleagues since the 1980s. . Cooperrider believes that the most effective way to change is to look at what is already working great.
This approach gives us inspiration and enthusiasm, gives us energy. If you think only about problems and failures, there will always be more and more problems and difficulties. If we look closely at our strengths, then we are already developing them. This applies not only to people, but also to companies: we are changing in the direction we pay more attention to.
The positive research method works in different organizations: public and private, large and small. The collective work, in which all (or at least the majority) of the company’s employees participate, goes on for four days: to find the value core of the organization in dialogues, to dream about what will happen in the best case, to clarify the internal structure of the ideal organization, and, finally, to embody » dreamed» into life. Four days of unity, full concentration of attention and … formal downtime.
Fortunately, the positive changes that invariably follow positive research make us forget about the losses. And what if you ask yourself, without waiting for the training: “What can I do best? When was I most productive? Why am I valued? And change will begin.