The power of positive questions.

Answers and outcomes depend on the questions we ask. Traditional leadership asks what's wrong and how to fix it. You get different responses and more personal engagement when you ask what's right and how you can build on it.

"Appreciative inquiry" (Al) began as the brainchild of David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland OH in the 1980s. It's spread like wildfire to corporations, governments, schools and non-profits around the world. Whole villages in India and Africa came together to use Al for positive change.

Louise Root-Robbins, coordinator for women's issues for the University of Wisconsin System, led a pre-conference workshop on appreciative leadership at the Wisconsin Women in Higher Education Leadership (WWHEL) conference in October 2002. She asked participants to describe a special moment that went extraordinarily well. It's a different dynamic from questions that invite collective bitching.

"Not only do you get different answers but Succes you get a different emotional engagement," build ex she told WIHE. Success stories build excitement. It can be very energizing to stand back instead of rushing to critical judgment. Regardless of position or title, anyone can be a leader if she's engaged, feels good and has enough confidence to take risks.

Al for organizational change

From opening question to outcome, AI creates change differently from the traditional deficit model. AI assumes that organization is not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be embraced.

Step 1: Appreciate the best of what is. Group interviews solicit rich stories about when the organization was at its best. What made the peak moments possible?