Bringing appreciative inquiry to sport organizations

The dynamic nature of sport organizations requires sport, exercise and performance psychology practitioners (SEPPPs) to continually assess how they have impact and support organizational development. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a collaborative, strengths-based approach to organizational change that might be valuable for SEPPPs to incorporate into their service delivery. In this article, we briefly describe the history of AI and consider how AI might be useful for SEPPPs working in sport organizations. We provide an overview of the principles and processes involved with conducting AI interventions, and how AI might be applied effectively to have meaningful impact within sport contexts, drawing on our experiences of using AI in sport organizations. Key recommendations and reflective questions are provided to aid SEPPPs in considering how they might apply the principles and processes of AI within their own practice to create lasting and meaningful change in the context of their own organization.