Appreciative Inquiry in Leadership

Earlier today, I got introduced to the concept of AI, no not Artificial Intelligence but Appreciative Inquiry. It is an alternative way of thinking about feedback and working on areas for improvement. Instead of being too focused on weaknesses and shortcomings, a good leader could consider deep-diving into the strengths of the team and leveraging on those to address the gaps.

Sketch notes for AI

4Ds AI Model

4+1 Ds way of thinking

There is also this idea of reframing the problem or issue by flipping it and framing it in a different way. I understand that some schools have already applied this way of thinking and approached the results of school surveys or evaluations. However, it is important that this way is not the best way all the time. Sometimes we have to be extra mindful of our weaknesses and threats (like in SWOT analyses). The following article in Harvard Business Review is good reading to reflect on when the focus on strengths can be overdone. Somehow, all this talk about strengths reminds me of gift-centred mentoring and Clifton Gallup's strengths finder which I wrote about previously.

Last but not least, I attended an ETD ReConnect event (the first ever) recently and had the chance to network with former ETOs who were now back in school. We were introduced to other initiatives and innovations that the various sections and teams in ETD were working on and am most excited about the EdTech Leaders Community which is an attempt to make use of the networks to help all EdTech Leaders to upskills in terms of strategic planning and transformative efforts. I hope that I can leverage on my strengths from being an early innovator in SgLDC (and SLS) there as well although the focus there would be less on Teaching and Learning (T&L). Looking forward to learning from other more experience EdTech leaders there. 

I have also included a little advertisement for the upcoming Educational Support Webinar below for those of you who may be keen.