Leadership, Appreciative Inquiry & Diversity

1. SUNY LEADERSHIP REUNION Clint Sidle & Chet Warzynski August 5, 2014 Leadership, Appreciative Inquiry &Diversity

2. Objectives • Experientially demonstrate the importance of diversity. • Learn how leading diversity can improve organizational creativity and performance. • Apply the Appreciative Inquiry Process to developing strategies for leading diversity. • Review and discuss possible strategies for leading diversity at SUNY.

3. Agenda • 10:00 Welcome and Objectives • 10:15 An Experiential Exercise • 11:00 Assessing Diversity at SUNY • Noon Lunch Speaker: Carl McCall, Chair, SUNY Board of Trustees • 1:30 Leadership, Appreciative Inquiry and Diversity • 2:00 Developing Leadership Vision & Strategies • 3:00 Adjournment

4. Leadership and Diversity Leading CHANGE Leading INNOVATION Leveraging DIVERSITY

5. Questions for Analyzing Experience • How do you feel? • What are your thoughts and feelings about this exercise? • Were there instances when you thought of taking a step and did not? When? Why? • Were there instances when you took a step and second-guessed your decision? When? Why? • What was your decision-making process? • Why do you think we did this exercise? What was the purpose? Benefits? Drawbacks? Outcomes? • To what degree were you aware of your peers in this exercise? • How does this experience relate to your role as a leader at SUNY?

6. Ap-pre’ci-ate, v., • Valuing; the act of recognizing the best in people or the world around us; affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials; to perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, excellence) to living systems • To increase in value, e.g. the economy has appreciated in value. ● Synonyms: VALUING, PRIZING, ESTEEMING, and HONORING.

7. In-quire’ (kwir), v., • The act of exploration and discovery. • To ask questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities. ● Synonyms: DISCOVERY, SEARCH AND SYSTEMATIC EXPLORATION, STUDY.

8. What is Appreciative Inquiry? It is the discovery of the best in people, their organizations, and the relevant world around them. It is an art and practice of asking the unconditional positive questions that strengthen a system’s capacity to apprehend, anticipate and heighten positive potential. Instead of negation, criticism and spiraling diagnosis, there is discovery, dream, design and destiny. It works from accounts of the “positive change core”. AI links the energy of the positive core directly to any change agenda and changes never thought possible are suddenly and democratically mobilized.

9. Principles of Appreciative Inquiry • The whole system can have a voice in the future. • It is easier to create the future when we know the history. • Dialogue and the language we use creates our reality. • We learn and create new knowledge from our differences. • The questions we ask determines the knowledge we use. • In every organization something works. What we focus action on becomes reality.

10. Appreciative Inquiry: The “4-D” Cycle Discovery “What gives life?” (The best of what is) Appreciating Dream “What might be?” (What is the world calling for) Envisioning Destiny “How to empower, learn, and adjust/improvise?” Sustaining Design “What should be…the ideal?” Co-constructing

11. Pre-Work Instructions • A story or “high point” experience…leading positive change. • What things do you value most from your experience… • Diversity Recruitment and Selection • Development and Promotion of Diversity • Diversity Vision and Strategies for SUNY Instructions: • Identify the positive • Take notes • Focus on Diversity: “Diversity is any dimension that can be used to distinguish groups of people and individuals from one another.”

12. Leadership, Appreciative Inquiry and Diversity Dialogue A dialogue in pairs: • Without being humble, what do you value most about yourself? What do ou bring to the table that is unique or different from people you work with? What is special about you as a human being, a friend, a leader at SUNY? • Think of a “high point” time working with someone who was “diverse” – someone different from you. What impacted you about this interaction? What made it a high point in your experience as a leader or member of your organization? • What do you feel is the most valuable thing you have done with your organization toward furthering the concept of diversity?

13. What is a World Café? A World Café is a conversation in which a group of people have dialogue around a question that is important to the organization. The guidelines for this conversation are: • Clarify the purpose • Create a hospitable space • Explore questions that matter • Encourage everyone’s contribution • Connect diverse perspectives • Listen for insights and discoveries

14. Café Etiquette • Focus on what matters • Contribute your thinking • Speak from your mind and heart • Listen to understand • Link and connect ideas • Listen together for insights and deeper questions • Play, doodle, draw – writing on the table paper is encouraged • Have fun!

15. World Café Conversations Conversation #1: Expectations/Background – What is important? Conversation #2: Recent High Point Experiences – What stands out most? Conversation #3: Diversity Recruitment & Selection – Examples Conversation #4: World Class Development & Promotion – Benchmarks Conversation #5: Diversity Engagement & Retention – Strategies Conversation #6: Vision & Strategies – What should SUNY do short term & long term?

16. Selected References • AI Commons website at http://appreciativeinquiry.cwru.edu • Ricketts, Miriam and Willis, James (2001). Experience AI: A Practioner’s Guide to Integrating Appreciative Inquiry with Experiential Learning. • Srivastva, S. & Cooperrider, D. 1990. Appreciative management and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. • Watkins, J. M. & Mohr, B. J. 2001. Appreciative inquiry: change at the speed of imagination. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons. • Whitney, D., Trosten-Bloom, A. & Rader, K. 2010. Appreciative leadership. New York: McGraw-Hill.