Discover. Dream. Do.
Our clients tell us that our strength-based approach is one of the most meaningful professional experiences they’ve had.
Next Ascent’s specialization in strength-based Appreciative Inquiry (AI) empowers you and your team with a crucial skill: the ability to harness powerful, positive thinking and use it as fuel for significant change. We thoughtfully and intentionally search for the best in people and the best in organizations. Our consulting sessions create a forum for discovering and capitalizing on your strengths to help you breakthrough to the next level of success.
Replace deficit-based thinking with strength-based strategizing.
What if instead of a SWOT analysis, which creates an environment focused on weaknesses and threats, you conducted a SOAR analysis — a process that focuses on Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations and Results? Next Ascent posits that when you and your team are strength minded, weaknesses can be overcome, and threats are often opportunities waiting to be discovered.
Build change-oriented connections across your team and stakeholders.
During the discovery stage, Next Ascent brings together people who don’t typically share the same space and places them on a level playing field. The CFO and the truck driver. The board member and the customer. The intern and the VP. These “improbable pairs” give way to a more collective, collaborative process and allow us to engage all stakeholders and representatives. Coming together across different levels opens minds to new possibilities. Suddenly you know your organization from a perspective that is likely very different from your own.
Discover how stakeholder stories can illuminate next steps.
As facilitators knowledgeable in the nuances of Appreciative Inquiry, we take great time to get to know you and your story. We ask a deep set of customized questions that prompt you to anecdotally share stories about your own day-to-day experiences. This part of the process ultimately takes us all on an enlightening journey of self-discovery in which you tap into your positive core and how to operate at your very best.
Create energy across your group or organization.
Next Ascent’s expertise allows you to tap into creativity and open-mindedness, communication and connection. At the end of every session, the energy in the room has changed dramatically. Body language is relaxed. Smiling and laughter pervades. Past barriers and negative assumptions no longer weigh down the work environment. Instead, there is a palpable sense of possibility and not just one, but multiple paths forward. We’ll consult with you to determine which path to go down, helping you develop clear, concrete action steps forward.
While the journey is different from organization to organization, one takeaway is common: a newfound ability to see the possibilities that lie beyond every challenge. That’s the power of a profoundly positive, strength-based approach.
“We’ve never had anybody ask us so many questions or get to know us so well.”
[Robert Reid, Executive Vice President and Chief Accreditation Officer, AACSB International]
“While I was already familiar with Appreciative Inquiry, Pam was creative and innovative in applying Appreciative Inquiry to take advantage of the uniqueness of a very large member/service organization. It allowed us to honor the many voices of Rotary and to focus on what we do best and what we want more of.”
[Slade Lewis, Assistant District Governor and Strategic Planning Chair, Rotary District 7690]