Using Appreciative Inquiry to Support a Culture Shift in Transition

Abstract

The authors explore the appreciative inquiry framework and its potential value for supporting staff and faculty during a transition leading up to and for the year following the hire of a new University Librarian. Appreciative inquiry occurs in four distinct phases: discovery, dream, design, and destiny, known as the 4-D model; currently the Hesburgh Libraries are between stages 3 and 4. The authors define the appreciative inquiry framework and its four phases; provide a context for the current cultural environment, and discuss major recommendations made at all employee levels during a baseline strategic planning process, the introduction of a balanced scorecard approach and the results of an internal climate survey—all of which pointed to the need for a major culture shift in the libraries; and finally, apply the appreciative inquiry framework to explore how the needed changes identified can be supported during the leadership transition.