Mindfulness and Positive Reframing: The Appreciative Intelligence® Model with Tojo Thatchenkery

Who’s Inspiring Impacts today? Tojo Thatchenkery! Dr. Tojo Thatchenkery, PhD, is a professor, author, and Founder of the Appreciative Intelligence® Model, which is based on Appreciative Inquiry and mindfulness. Listen in as Tojo joins host Dr. Lindsey Godwin to detail the concept of Appreciative Intelligence and share how you can develop your own Appreciative Intelligence® with just three simple techniques.

From doctors to economists to parents, everyone can benefit from growing their Appreciative Intelligence®! Tojo says a big part of that is practicing mindfulness and positive reframing. Tune in to learn more about the power of Appreciative Intelligence® and even how it  helped Tojo transform his relationship with his daughter.

Tojo Thatchenkery, PhD, is a professor and director of the Organization Development and Knowledge Management program in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He is an internationally known speaker, consultant, and educator and is featured as one of the leading change thinkers in the Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers. Thatchenkery’s research has been funded by agencies such as the United States National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, and the U.S. Postal Service. He is the author of more than a dozen books and hundreds of articles.

Episode Highlights:

• The difference between Appreciative Inquiry and Appreciative Intelligence®.
• How leaders, individuals, and organizations are using Appreciative Intelligence® (plus their results).
• Why reframing is a crucial part of Appreciative Inquiry and Intelligence.
• How to develop your Appreciative Intelligence® and reframing skills.
• The 4 qualities of people with Appreciative Intelligence®.
• How Tojo has used Appreciative Intelligence® and reframing in his personal life.
• What is the circular economy and how do you see it as reframing in action?

Resources Mentioned:

http://www.appreciativeintelligence.com/ Appreciative Intelligence®: Seeing the Mighty Oak in the Acorn (book) by Tojo Thatchenkery and Carol Metzker The Development and Validation of the Appreciative Intelligence ® Scale (article) by Brian Whitaker, Tojo Thatchenkery, and Lindsey Godwin

Inspiring Quotes:

“Appreciative Inquiry is a systematic way of building on those core values, competencies, assets, etc. thereby creating a much better and healthier organization.

“We also find mindfulness as one of the best examples of a practice for reframing and seeing the positive because in mindfulness, you are accepting the present as good without judging.” 

What is Appreciative Inquiry?

Appreciative Inquiry, sometimes referred to as “the other AI”, is one of the best kept secrets behind meaningful and lasting change at organizations. The AI approach is strength-based, meaning it focuses on identifying and leveraging successes to solve problems, rather than focusing on trying to fix individual failures.

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