I got the results back from the Appreciative Inquiry session I did with Dr. Denise Henning at the Board Leadership of Southeast Alberta conference on March 12, 2016. It was a great session and tons of fun. The best indicators that it was a great session was that attendees wanted more: more resources and more time.
As my time as President of the Library Association of Alberta rapidly comes to a close, I had the opportunity to speak with some respected colleagues about strategies and tactics of library advocacy. It was a short presentation on what we had done in terms of membership engagement and provincial advocacy during the course of my Vice-Presidency/Presidency (2014-2016), as well as some valuable library advocacy resources.
One of the things I love to do is work with people and organizations through the strategic planning process. David Cooperrider believed that strategic planning was one of the most creative times in an organization's life because it called for elevated thought and action, and that it was a time to recreate connections across a system. At the recent SE Board Leaders of Alberta Conference (file below), i had the delightful fortune to present with Dr. Denise Henning on the underlying principles and processes of AI. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is an unapologetic search for the best in people, and it is a powerful tool for re-framing problems and creating positive organizational change. This interactive session covered the philosophy and practices of AI, including the 4-D cycle (and its permutations), SOAR (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results), and practical tips for how to facilitate AI sessions with teams. I'm so excited to do this again at the Alberta Library Conference coming up at the end of April, and I am considering how to incorporate AI into my doctoral dissertation.
PS. Would like to thank Andrea Woods, colleague, friend, and talented photographer from Woods photography, for assisting with the slides.
The Pecha Kucha format forces you to get down to the essence of what you want to say. I shared the life journey that brought me to Medicine Hat, AB in six minutes and forty seconds during Pecha Kucha (Volume 5, November 2014) in Medicine Hat, AB.
I facilitated a conversation about whether libraries could or should remain neutral on issues related to community progress at the Canadian Library Association & Tradeshow that was held in Edmonton, AB of June 2010.
