Appreciative Inquiry - The Design Phase

At the end of the Dream Stage, an employee’s vision for his future gets laid out clearly. Having the essential elements, we can imagine various circumstances. We now know what we have, and how it can be used in the formation of the future. We therefore need to develop an action plan about the how to and the what to.

Still, a lot of attention needs to be given to the different attributes (vision, contacts, skill) and ability within the people. The tested method of Creative Thinking will come handy in this phase. We have to search for actionable items and determine our priorities. We should consider the future to be a travel destination, and the planning of the travel has already been made. Suitcases and bags are packed. And we are good to go now.

Conversion to concrete plans

This step may look as if it does not adhere to the Appreciative approach, however, it is as important as the factors that the stories give energy to. These factors are important to design an action plan. A method often implemented here at this stage is to make challenging claims that some stories have already been put in action.