Page 72 - Appreciative Leadership

The Wisdom of Inquiry 45

listened. “What about the college leads you to think that we can
save money without cutting the budget? When have you taken
such a big risk and had it pay off ? Tell me about the situation?
How do you imagine getting the faculty and staff engaged in

your campaign to cut costs? What ideas do you have for rais-
ing money? Whom do you plan to involve in helping to raise

funds? What is your greatest hope for your first year here? What
support do you need? How can I best help you?” Her questions

were affi rming. They helped me make connections and think
deeper than I had up until that point.

As she shared the story with us, the dean described this advi-
sor’s style as a calming influence: a powerful kind of leadership that

encouraged her to trust herself and take the risk she knew was right.

The results? The new dean kept her word. She did not cut the budget.

And in her first year as dean, the college broke even! Most signifi -
cantly, she learned from experience about the positive power of lead-
ing with questions.
Inquiry is a valuable leadership resource, available to all levels of
an organization. It can be used to help one person think through ideas,
create a path forward, and commit to a risk-taking course of action.
Or it can be used as a fast track to engage an entire team, department,
or organization in new ways of working.

Appreciatively:

Who, What, Where, When, and How Questions

Appreciative leaders ask positive variations of the familiar who, what,

where, when, and how questions. The questions they ask seek fully
affirmative descriptions and stories. Appreciative leaders fl ip questions

about problems to questions about success, opportunities, and poten-
tial. When they ask why something happened, it is to shed light on why