Appreciative Coaching®: A Positive Process for Change

How we see the world is how we construct it. What we pay attention to and are curious about forms the foundation for how we take action in creating our future. The ways in which humans communicate, interact, create symbols, and construct metaphors with one another create our social reality.

Application: What we pay attention to grows.

Our brains are wired so that we can only focus on one thing at a time. Like a Gestalt figure/ground image, whatever we pay attention to becomes the “figure” and everything else the “ground.”

This explains why the power of our attention and intention is so great. If we are focused on the negative, on what we don’t want, or on our problems, we are not able—at the same time—to focus on the positive, on what we do want, or on solutions. We are constantly making choices as to what we focus on and therefore what we will grow in our lives.

The Positive Principle is an expression of all the concrete ways in which we can focus on the power of the positive in our lives. Research shows that the more positive affect we can build, the more likely we are to succeed. Positive inquiry moves us towards what we most desire. When we are in a positive mode, we act more effectively.

Application: Our positive emotions build capacity.

Negative and positive emotions are not opposites but fulfill different functions and are both contagious. The negative emotions of fight, flight or freeze help us react to threatening situations to preserve our safety and survival. In contrast, positive emotions like hope, interest, contentment, joy and love create resources for action. They nurture our human capacity and potential by broadening our capacity to build skills, engage in community and be inspired.

The Anticipatory Principle relates to our human capacity for anticipating the future. Our brains are literally wired to anticipate or imagine the future. This human ability is one of the most important resources we have for change. Our images of the future not only guide our current behavior in the direction of that future, they also create a tension within us that compels us to act towards that future.

Application: We anticipate the future.

There is a relationship between positive imagery and positive action. With no conscious effort, we humans project our thoughts, actions and desires into the future—like a projector illuminating a picture on a screen. What will we have for dinner tonight? What will we do this weekend? We live only in the present and anticipate the future from the present. The power of vision is creating a conscious picture of the future that draws us forward.

The Simultaneity Principle uses the power of the present to effect change. Inquiry and change are not separate moments in time (as in traditional problem solving) but happen simultaneously. We change the present through our questions and dialogue, therefore changing the meanings of the past and future. As the past and future change, so do the meanings of the present – simultaneously. The questions we ask “laser” attention in a certain direction, intended or not, and sow the seeds of change.

Application: Inquiry builds the foundation for change. Inquiry = change.

Change occurs when we are prompted to think in new ways. Inquiry directs both attention and action simultaneously. We can ask ourselves negative questions (what’s wrong with me?) or we can ask growth questions (what do I need to learn? What strengths of mine can help me move forward?). With the very first question we ask ourselves, we begin to direct the kind of change we’ll make.

The Poetic Principle affirms that we are continually interpreting and reinterpreting the stories of our lives. Through the choices we make, we find that the experiences of our past, present and future are endless sources of learning and interpretation, just like reading a good poem at different stages in life. Our life journey does not take a straight path and new situations will always arise to challenge us and call upon our inner resilience. This principle helps us shift our perspective to seeing possibilities for new stories about ourselves.

Application: We have the power to change.

From the mechanistic perspective, the present is seen as only one brief moment on a fixed line from past through present to future. The past is considered the cause and predictor for actions in the present and future, making human change seem difficult and incremental. With this principle, the past is only one possible influencer of action and change. We actually live only in the “now.” Thus, the present and future are equally valid influencers and we are capable of sudden and profound changes.