Dr. Diana Whitney is the founder and president of Positive Change, a global consultancy that helps executives and their teams design and facilitate high engagement, appreciative inquiry processes in support of business goals, strategies and innovation. Diana is also the co-founder of the Taos Institute, an education think-tank with over 500 international associates, teaching and doing research into constructive, relational processes in business, education families and communities. Diana is also the author of 18 books and dozens of articles and chapters including the Power of Appreciative Inquiry: A Practical Guide to Positive Change. She has more than 30 years of experience in helping make change happen, and teaching people how to make change happen around the world.

In today’s episode, Diana shares how she uses appreciative inquiry approaches to help organizations have a curious mindset and discover what gives life to their people to help systems create changes that work.  Diana shares several case studies and what her research has found enables appreciative inquiry approaches to improve relationships and bottom-line business outcomes.

Connect with Diana Whitney:

Website: positivechange.org

You’ll Learn:

• [02:22] - Diana talks about how to introduce appreciative inquiry to clients that you work with.
• [04.24] - Diana gives an example of how this could be approach could be applied in an organization.
• [07:40] - Diana talks about the fear surrounding things that aren’t working well in an organization if they aren't openly discussed.
• [09:42] - Diana explains how successful organisations "nurture out" their staff into roles that are most suitable to them.
• [10:46] - Diana discusses the key skill of flipping or reframing the narrative, to shift the organisation and the thinking of people from what the problems are, known as deficit, into more life affirming, positive possibilities.
• [14:45] - Diana shares the the incredible case study of Hunter Douglas Window Fashions.
• [19:18] - Diana talks about why appreciative inquiry delivers these kind of outcomes.
• [22:00] - Lightning round with Diana Whitney

Your Resources: Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for joining me again this week.  If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post.

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Until next time, take care!  Thank you Diana!