Page 74 - Appreciative Leadership

The Wisdom of Inquiry 47

• Tell me about a time when you have felt satisfaction and pride in
your work.
• Tell me about a time, a situation, or a position when you were
most engaged, alive, and energized at work.

When questions, like those above are great sources of stories about
strengths. If you want to learn about a person’s high-performance pat-
terns, ask a when question. Listen to the person’s answer, and draw out
strengths and high-performance patterns.

• Who else needs to be involved in order for us to succeed in the
future?
• Who else has a stake in the future we are creating?
• Who needs to be involved because they will be impacted by what
we are planning?
• Who can we learn from?
• Who has strengths that best complement your strengths?

Who questions, as those above show, are essential building blocks for

effective work relationships. They are key resources for ensuring that

all the people whose future it is are included in the conversations and
decision making. If you want to ensure that you have commitment, be
sure to ask who needs to be involved in order to make the decisions
and carry them out.

• What are your wildest hopes and dreams for [the organization,
your career, the future, our team, your new book, and so on]?
• If you had three wishes to improve the health and vitality of
[our workplace, the community, the organization, our depart-
ment or team, our family, our relationship, and so on], what would
they be?

• What would you do if you were in charge?