A year ago the experience of being an IRI Board member had some peaks and, well, frankly....troughs! For example, many of us spent our time at the Imago conference putting together a budget, and putting out fires. Day-to-day issues dominated our time together. There was no time for vision, all we could see were numbers swimming on spreadsheets.

When the Board met for our annual Board retreat in New Mexico this April, we had 6 months with a professional Executive Director behind us, and the business was running smoothly. At last we could “Dare to Dream” about our future, which is what Board members are supposed to be doing!

The retreat gave me a chance to do something I have been interested in for some time. I admire very much the work on Appreciate Inquiry, led by David Cooperidge at Taos Institute. How could we apply this to the Imago organization?

The wonderful thing about Appreciative Inquiry is that it provides a way of uniting huge diverse communities (like ours!) around some strong positive ways forward. It avoids all the negativity and wastefulness of problem solving and placing blame. Instead groups are united around answering positive oriented questions, focusing on what is great about the past, and using that to co-create a shared vision.

At the retreat the Board started with its mission, and turned it into an “Appreciative Inquiry” question.

How do we change the world, one relationship at a time?

That’s a very broad question, and we realized there were three key supporting questions, rather like a three legged stool.

How do we build a strong community?
How do we build a strong organization?
How do we build and maintain a strong brand?

As we answered these questions we felt a tangible difference in the way we were working together. We found we were quickly building consensus over complex and difficult issues about intellectual property, because we were answering them from the perspective of a longer-term vision and a sense of the key priorities.

That’s when we started realizing how powerful the Appreciative Inquiry process might be if we could use it to give voice to our whole community, and unite you all in shaping our direction. It has been painful in the past when we have worked as a large group through complaints and feelings of hurt. What could it be like if instead we worked together through the positive?

So we’re going to try it out at the October 2005 Conference in Atlanta, and the Peace Project has agreed to lead us all in a session. Let’s see what if feels for us all to be connected by a positive vision, and to build energy and direction that will enable us to create a world of stronger relationships.