Success Stories by
Market Sector

Appreciative Valuation

Unique Challenge:

Many companies use 360° feedback systems as a part of a yearly performance appraisal and professional development process. A business in the northeast United States, having used a traditional appraisal tool for a number of years decided they wanted to experiment with a different, more appreciative, less anonymous way of providing feedback and guiding the growth of the senior management team.

What Was Done:

We created an interview protocol that included:

Telling stories about observed peak experiences in the manager’s work
What people valued about that manager
What they thought she or he was “being called to be” in the organization
Wishes for the manager’s future

The manager being “valuated” invited four staff members in addition to him/herself and the owner/supervisor to participate in a 2-hour AI Valuation Process. A facilitator guided the process wherein the 6-staff members who represented a 360° slice of the manager’s daily work contacts interviewed each other using the protocol. The person being valuated paired-up with his/her supervisor. All six then met and shared the highlights from their interviews and the facilitator captured all of the comments on newsprint. The manager got to hear all of the comments directly and thereby get a better understanding of where the feedback was coming from and how to make sense of it.

Outcome:

The group session was exhilarating for all attending and everyone left feeling connected and enriched through the process. The notes were then shared with the manager and the supervisor; and, they got together privately to have a conversation about the data, to add any additional information and to formulate an action plan for the manager’s further development. This process is now being considered as the way to do performance appraisal for all managers in the company.