Tra-la, It's May! Stay Positive, People
| by Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin
Use Appreciative Inquiry to sidestep our hardwired negativity bias.
This morning I saw a post on social media asking people to contribute examples of negative comments people make about project managers. I started to reply ... thought better of it ... but it has bugged me all day. This blog may have to be categorized under "Rants" but here goes.
What possible value can this sort of "research" contribute to the well-being of either individuals or companies? While I'm quite sure that any group of people (or animals, or objects) can have derogatory descriptions (some warranted, some not) appended to them, it's harder to understand why, in the organizational context, we would want to collect such labels. Even when someone has perhaps earned a less-than-positive review, by focusing on the negative, we set off a downward spiral in relationships, in trust and ultimately in performance.
As an adherent of the Appreciative Inquiry model of group problem-solving, I counsel my colleagues in project management and other organizations to use the model to sidestep our hardwired focus on the negative:
- Define the area of focus. What is working well that we can expand on?
- Discover what/who contributes to this success
- Dream up ways to expand on these successes
- Design systems around what we do best, and who is engaged/passionate for the topic.
- Deliver ... with heart.
What are some things I have heard people say about project managers?
Wow, he really knows how to get things done.
We never had such a productive meeting before! She's amazing.
We could not have pulled this off without him.
She really knows her stuff ... and picked up on what was key about our culture right away. So observant!
I never understood that until he explained it. He's a terrific mentor.
Now, let's start from there.
(You can learn more about Appreciative Inquiry here.)