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This page from the site provides an overview of the choice map.
You can purchase the choice map and download it from the Inquiry Institute website.

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Every coach knows that the questions we ask clients largely determine coaching success. We intuitively understand that "a question not asked is a door not opened." ¹ But how confident, comfortable and skillful are we at coming up with those seemingly magical questions? How intuitive are we at predictably generating questions that cause clients to stop in their tracks and exclaim, "Wow, I never thought about it that way before!"

As a coach, it's logical to think that learning about great questions means focusing on the question it- self. But that's only part of the story. Beyond the practices of questioning, what's essential is the question asker, the source of those life-changing questions. And for that, the mindset of the coach makes all the difference. It's about cultivating the mindset from which great questions arise.

MINDSETS & CHOICE MAP

The Choice Map is a visual summary of this work on mindsets and questioning, and like twin engines of an airplane, both are needed for a great flight. The term mindset "represents the set of beliefs and assumptions we hold about ourselves, others, and the world." ²

Notice the mindset paths on the Choice Map. Learner mindset is optimistic, open-minded, curious, and filled with possibility. By contrast, when we're in Judger mindset, we tend to be pessimistic, close-minded, critical, and judgmental. If we think and act from Judger, we typically land in the proverbial "Judger pit." I say "we" because everyone has both mindsets. This includes all of us: coaches as well as clients. It's an essential part of our humanness.

We're usually unaware of our mindsets and that they often shift from moment to moment. The awareness helps us make the critical distinction between "having our mindsets" or "our mindsets having us." As I like to remind my students and clients, "We're all recovering Judgers." ³

It's especially important to not "go Judger on Judger," either on our own Judger or that of others. When aiming our critical Judger at ourselves, we can become demoralized, dispirited, and feel hopeless and helpless. When we aim our Judger at others, even if it's just in our thinking, we often come off as insensitive, defensive, or downright demeaning. From Judger we operate with tunnel vision, which is why I've written, "Judger mindset is the enemy of good judgement." ⁴

Along with engaging in question- ing practices, cultivating Learner mindset is the surest way to generate those transformational questions that cause clients to stop in their tracks, suddenly seeing the world and their own possibilities with fresh eyes. Learner mindset is the path of curiosity, courage, and the habit of asking open-minded questions of ourselves and others. ⁵

The goal, for coaches and clients alike, is to develop so much strength and resilience in Learner mindset that it becomes "home base" for how we think, speak, behave, and relate. Bolstered with these skills, along with deep curiosity, our inevitable visits to Judger territory become less frequent, less intense, and less limiting. It is only through the clear lens of Learner mindset that positive thinking, solutions, relationships and possibilities become visible and accessible.

LEARNER MINDSET IS COACHING MINDSET

Learner mindset is the place from which coaches and clients most effectively and happily operate. The problems and frustrated goals clients bring to coaching are generally steeped in Judger, even if they don't know that concept.

Since solutions and growth are most reliably available from Learner, embodying the habits and skills of "living from Learner" puts both clients and ourselves on the fast track for achieving our goals. It strength- ens the ability to be conscious of choice and more fully responsible for one's thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and outcomes, ultimately supporting the ability to self-coach and live masterfully.

CHOICE MAP AS COACHING TOOL

The Choice Map is practical in several important ways. Our ability to distinguish between Learner and Judger mindsets helps us become more aware in general and better observers of ourselves and others.

Eventually, we're able to simply ask ourselves at any moment, "Where am I on the Map right now?" or "Am I in Judger or Learner?" If asking "Am I in Judger?" make sure you're asking non-judgmentally!

Additionally, the imagery of the Choice Map provides common language, a kind of shorthand for communicating. I often ask clients (in-person or virtually), "With this person or situation, where would you say you are on the Choice Map?"

Another practical, even transformational aspect of the Choice Map, is the moment by moment "how to" it provides for switching from Judger to Learner, as illustrated by the Switching Lane. Taking the Switching lane becomes highly intuitive once we've caught onto the practice. It begins with waking up from the trance of Judger by asking "Am I in Judger?" We follow up with Switching questions such as: "Is this what I want to think or feel?" "Is this how I want to be communicating?" or perhaps, "How else can I think about this?" As we practice self-observing and asking Switching questions, we cultivate the resilience and possibilities that come alive with Learner. This is what Carol Dweck means when she writes about changing "... from a judge-and-be-judged framework to a learn-and-help-learn framework." ⁶

Let's revisit the Learner mindset as the coaching mindset. Imagine you're preparing for a coaching session and find yourself in Judger, thinking, "What irrelevant things will she/he bring up this time?" Noticing your Judger, you switch by wondering what Learner thinking would help you better serve your client. You come up with a new question, "How can I invite her/ him to stay more focused on their real agenda?" This shift will impact your coaching presence as well as how you listen, connect, and communicate.

Each time we switch to our "Learner self," we reinforce the first two pillars of emotional intelligence (self-awareness and self-management/ self-regulation). We recover from an amygdala hijack--those moments when our fears catapult us into Judger, which I call a "Judger hijack"-by asking Switching questions, thus returning yet again to Learner mindset territory. This also reinforces the principles of appreciative inquiry, strength-based thinking, and positive psychology.

By learning to mindfully "accept Judger and practice Learner" and asking Switching questions, we're literally taking advantage of neuroplasticity-our brains' innate capacity for learning and change.

This reinforcing of Learner makes a difference in neuroplasticity. As Rick Hanson instructs, "Your brain takes its shape gradually from what you routinely rest your mind upon." ⁷

QUESTIONING & CHOICE MAP

An aligned term for Learner mindset is "Inquiring mindset." When we're in Learner, we're continually curious, naturally asking many questions of ourselves and others. By shifting from an "opinion and statement way of being" to a "curiosity and questioning way of being," we're simultaneously cultivating the mindset from which great questions arise.

Notice that the questions in the thought bubbles of the figures on the Choice Map are in the form of internal questions, which I call Question Thinking. By becoming facile with recognizing the power of mindsets and the internal questions associated with them, coaches can significantly enhance the quality, quantity, and impact of the questions they ask clients.

SUMMARY

The focus on the twin engines of mindsets and questioning can complement any coach training and coach approach. Operating with curiosity and caring, the more coaches become aware of their own mindsets and develop the capacity to "live from Learner," the more deeply they cultivate the mindset from which their own great coaching questions can arise.

Staying in Learner mindset and engaging in the practice of asking ourselves one question - "What do I want my question to accomplish?" - helps coaches cultivate the skills for coming up with those transformational questions that make all the difference in our clients' success.

REFERENCES

1 Adams, Marilee (Goldberg). The Art of the Question: A Guide to Short-Term Question-Centered Therapy. John Wiley
& Sons, Inc. Publishers, New York. 1998.
2 Adams, Marilee. Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 12 Practical Tools for Leadership, Coaching, and Life (3rd edition). Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., Oakland, CA. 2016.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Dweck, Carol S., Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House Publishers, New York. 2006.
7 Hanson, Rick. Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time. New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Oakland, CA. 2011
Published in, and reproduced with permission from, choice, the magazine of professional coaching www.choice-online.com
Thank you for sharing!

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Mindsets & Questioning - Inquiry Institute

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Every coach knows that the questions we ask clients largely determine coaching success. We intuitively understand that "a question not asked is a door not opened."1 But how confident, comfortable and skillful are we at coming up with those seemingly magical questions? How intuitive are we at predictably generating questions that cause clients to stop ...

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Thank you for taking the time to give us some 'feedforward' on the course.

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December 2020.

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LEAP FORWARD COACHING SESSION #1 - DECEMBER 2020

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Presentation & outputs from the LEAP Forward December 2020 Coaching Sessions

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Source: David L. Cooperrider Center, Champlain College , Vermont.

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Example of questions to ask staff, patrons, and strangers

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By Nicklas Balboa and Richard D. Glaser, Ph.D.
In loving memory of Judith E. Glaser, who died in November 2018 after a three-year battle with metastatic pancreatic cancer.
"The key to better health is to better understand our brain. By understanding how the brain functions, communicates, and responds to our environment, we can reach our full potentials. The brain does not speak French or English, it speaks neuroscience " -Judith E. Glaser

Conversations are not just a way of sharing information; they actually trigger physical and emotional changes in the brain that either open you up to having healthy, trusting conversations or close you down so that you speak from fear, caution, and anxiety. Conversations have the power to change the brain by boosting the production of hormones and neurotransmitters that stimulate body systems and nerve pathways, changing our body's chemistry, not just for a moment, but perhaps for a lifetime.

As we communicate, our brains trigger a neurochemical cocktail that makes us feel either good or bad, and we translate that inner experience into words, sentences, and stories. "Feel good" conversations trigger higher levels of dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins, and other biochemicals that give us a sense of well-being.

The millions of minute-by-minute neurochemical reactions within our brains drive our states of mind. These states of mind shape our relationships every day, affecting the way we communicate to build trust with others. Conversational intelligence ® (C-IQ) gives us the power to influence our neurochemistry and the neurochemistry of those we converse with, even in the moment. C-IQ lets us express our inner thoughts and feelings to one another in ways that can strengthen relationships and success. As we come to understand the power of conversations in regulating how we feel every day, and the role language plays in the brain's capacity to expand perspectives and create a "feel-good" experience, we can learn to shape our world in profound and healthier ways.
Multiple Dimensions of Conversations
Conversations are multidimensional. Understanding how to access the right dimension for a situation is the art of conversations. There are three levels of conversations, each representing a way of interacting with others.
Level I: Transactional Conversations
Transactional conversations include interaction dynamics such as asking and telling. These types of conversations confirm what we know and give people a platform for giving and receiving information.
Level II: Positional Conversations
Positional conversations include interaction dynamics such as advocating and inquiring. These conversations allow us to defend what we know; they give people a platform for having and expressing a strong opinion about something. In these conversations, we are less open to influence and more interested in selling our ideas.
Level III: Transformational Conversations
Transformational conversations, also called co-creating conversations, include interaction dynamics such as sharing and discovering. This means asking questions for which you have no answers, listening to the collective, discovering, and sharing insights and wisdom. This generative way of communication leads to more innovative insights and deeper listening to connect to others' perspectives.
Wired for Trust
Our brain is designed to detect trust and distrust in our everyday conversations. This hardwiring is millions of years in the making. Trust is the first signal we seek to determine if we can open up or need to close down. Trust is the feeling of "I am safe, and I know you have my back." It is associated with the release of the neurotransmitter oxytocin, which is associated with love, bonding, and collaboration. When we feel safe, we down-regulate the activity of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis, which lowers our stress response, and we up-regulate our social engagement systems through the production of oxytocin and other prosocial hormones (Porges 2009).

A safe space allows us to engage in co-creating conversations with others as we activate our trust networks in simultaneity with our ability to strategically think and our ability to empathize and show compassion to others, and it increases our ability to see into the future, or foresight. These incredible competences activate only when trust is present. Distrust, on the other hand, is associated with the release of the stress hormones cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. Trust and distrust are mediated by two separate areas of the brain: trust by the prefrontal cortex and distrust by the amygdala (Dimoka 2010).
The Amygdala
The amygdala is a small structure in the brain embedded bilaterally in the limbic system, which is classically viewed as our emotional processing center. This little almond in our brains can be thought of as air traffic control, sifting through salient information and categorizing it as either pleasurable or threatening. If we determine a stimulus to be threatening, the amygdala prompts the stress response: fight, flight, or freeze (Dimoka 2010).

The amygdala may be here to protect us, but it becomes overactive when faced with chronic stress. When we face chronic stress, our bodies produce higher levels of cortisol, a hormone that shuts down our prefrontal cortex-the thinking center of our brain - and activates conflict aversion and protection behaviors (McEwen, WE-IQ TV Interview with Judith E. Glaser, April 25, 2018). We also become more reactive and sensitive and may perceive greater negativity than exists. These effects can last for days, imprinting the interaction on our memories and magnifying their impact on our future behavior. Cortisol functions like a sustained-release tablet-the more we ruminate about fear, the longer the impact. This triggered reaction is not momentary-it is sustained over a half-life of 13 hours or a full life of 26 hours. When cortisol rules over our bodies, we are unable to engage and connect, locking us in Level I conversations.
The Prefrontal Cortex
Through co-creating conversations that focus on how we can cooperatively tackle challenges, we activate an appreciative mindset, changing our neurochemistry. We turn off the threat-based messages from the amygdala and turn on the brain connections that feed up into the prefrontal cortex. By translating current information, impulses, and our biochemistry, the prefrontal cortex helps us make judgment calls, have empathy and compassion, and anticipate the future. This foresight is the power to successfully predict what will unfold based upon understanding the patterns that lie ahead and synthesizing their meanings. When we find positive patterns of engagement, we can utilize nature's critical catalyst, oxytocin, to reinforce a bonding experience. Oxytocin is both a neurotransmitter and a hormone produced in the brain by the hypothalamus, regulating neuroendocrine functions, and secreted into the bloodstream via the posterior pituitary gland. Release of oxytocin into the bloodstream is dependent on the excitation of neurons in the hypothalamus.

In a recent interview, Professor Bruce McEwen of Rockefeller University discusses the many functions of oxytocin, showing its role in trust, protection against stress, new cell growth (neurogenesis), and sensitivity towards emotional stimulus (McEwen, WE-IQ TV Interview with Judith E. Glaser, April 25, 2018). Oxytocin receptors project into the hippocampus, our hub for long-term memory and spatial location, where they promote neurogenesis and protect memory from uncontrollable stress (Lee 2015 & Lin 2017). Oxytocin has been called the "love hormone" and truly lives up to its name, as its receptors stretch all the way to the heart, where it plays a role in healing and protecting against stress. (Carter & Porges 2012). When trust and oxytocin are present, we can lower our guards and begin to connect with others, building lasting relationships of reciprocal trust and creativity.

Level II conversations are indicated by the intermittent release of both oxytocin and cortisol. While we exhibit conditional trust in this state, we are listening to accept or reject, not to connect. With oxytocin present, we can begin to bond, however the balance of both hormones is the key to breaking through the door to Level III conversations.
Co-Regulation
Co-regulation is based on the mammalian biological need for connection, which is the ability to mutually regulate physiological and behavioral states (Porges 2015). Understanding how the levels of oxytocin and cortisol shift during engagement-and how to regulate this neurochemistry in real-time with others-is the critical catalyst for enhancing your C-IQ. In order to build trust, partners need to be able to transparently "read" each other's intentions and determine if the trust is reciprocal (Dimoka 2010). Co-regulation is a supportive process where the activation of positive and helpful feedback between people takes place more frequently and more consistently. Once people find giving feedback easy and realize it produces positive changes in how they interact with others, they will integrate it into their everyday life.

Through 30 years of experience in corporate organizational communication, the CreatingWE Institute developed a set of tools that create a method of Co-regulation for promoting social engagements. C-IQ's catalyst tools are a powerful set of measurement tools that analyze the frequency of negative cortisol-producing behaviors versus positive oxytocin-producing behaviors that occur during conversations in today's workplaces. They measure, through subjective observation, how often people engage in both positive and negative behaviors and rate the frequency of those behaviors on a Likert Scale from 1, which is almost never, to 5, which is almost always.

Humans in physical proximity influence each other's nervous systems, whether they are aware of it or not. We can create emotional contagion, for example, of positive or destructive feelings, that can quickly move from one person to another (Barsade 2002). Positive emotional contagion leads to successful communication and co-operation.

When we co-regulate, we use that resonance to move toward greater understanding, cooperation, trust, and compassion. When someone starts to get defensive, or I-centric, we can keep ourselves open and remain we-centric by utilizing co-regulation to help them shift their chemistry. By up-regulating we-centric behaviors like priming conversational space for trust and asking discovery questions, we can elevate engagement and levels of trust.

Once you understand the dynamics of engaging and up-regulating the social engagement system and down-regulating the stress response, you are ready to enter the next dynamic of a conversation, Level III.
The Dance of Two Brains
Two brains in action are different than one. The Interactive Brain Hypothesis, as explained by Joy Hirsch, a professor of neuroscience at Yale's School of Medicine, proposes that as we share information during conversations our brains evoke neural activity unique to dyadic, or paired, communication. Humans and animals tend to mimic gestures and synchronize emotional expressions of others in order to better connect. Professor Hirsch's work demonstrates how congruence between gestural and verbal communication can enhance comprehension, while an incongruence between gestures and spoken language can serve as an alerting social cue, activating social comprehension areas of the brain like the temporal-parietal junction (Hirsch 2017). Moving into a congruent pattern of communication is the signal to the rest of our body that we can be trusting and open. In order to connect with others through mimicry and synchronization, we need to be able to listen.

A good listener engages physically and mentally, shares eye contact, and uses positive affirmation to show they are paying attention. When we listen to connect, we activate Wernicke's area: the part of the brain that allows us to comprehend spoken language. (Hirsch, WE-IQ TV Interview with Judith E. Glaser, May 1, 2018). The stronger the relationship is between the speaker and the listener, the stronger and more successful the conversation will be.

Neural coupling, or synchrony between speakers and listeners, predicts the success of a conversation. A study from Princeton University, using fMRI to record brain activity from both speakers and listeners during natural verbal communication, shows how a speaker's brain activity is coupled with the listener's during successful communication (Stephens 2010). This coupling of brains, or synchrony, disappears when we fail to communicate. As an example, when speakers communicate with a listener who does not understand the language of the speaker, they fail to sync (Stephens 2010). When we connect at a deeper level with others, our brain patterns mimic each other's-we actually start to see the world through their eyes (Hirsch, WE-IQ TV Interview with Judith E. Glaser, May 1, 2018).

Being able to see the world from others' perspectives is the benchmark of Conversational Intelligence® and Level III conversations. We now know that there is a sea of biochemical and neural activity inside our brains and bodies that influence our ability to connect, navigate, and grow together as a culture. Understanding the neuroscience behind conversational dynamics is the foundation of C-IQ and the key to unlocking the door to the full potential of our relationships.
Nicklas Balboa is a researcher and project manager for the CreatingWE Institute. Richard D. Glaser, Ph.D., is a biochemist and founder of the CreatingWE Institute.

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By Nicklas Balboa and Richard D. Glaser, Ph.D. In loving memory of Judith E. Glaser, who died in November 2018 after a three-year battle with metastatic pancreatic cancer. "The key to better health is to better understand our brain. By understanding how the brain functions, communicates, and responds to our environment, we can reach our full potentials.

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Marilee Adams, author of Change Your Questions, Change Your Life and The Art of the Question,  created The Choice Map as a tool to describe the choice point we each face as we begin a conversation.  When we take an appreciative mindset, we begin on the 'Learner" path or we if we start with deficit mindset, we go down  the "Judger" path.
What makes this map even more practical is the introduction of the 'Switcher Lane'.  Once we begin down the judger path (our default path) we can choose to cross over to the learner path.
In this six minute video, Marilee describes in detail the Choice Map:

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Explanation of The Choice Map - From "Change Your Questions, Change Your Life" by Marilee Adams

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Download the Choice Map for Personal Use Only

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Download the Choice Map for Personal Use Only

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Visit Inquiry Institute to get your own copy of Choice Map

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I have a problem and I want you to fix it.

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I have a problem and I want you to fix it.

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Marilee shares a story about a participant in her workshop who shared she loved her job and didn't like her boss. Interesting to hear the questions that she was asking and how Marilee helped her to change her mindset and change her questions by asking her new questions.

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Marilee Adams - "I have a problem and I want you to fix it."

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Session with National Defence University on Strategic Thinking 

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Session with National Defence University on Strategic Thinking 

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A participant reflected on the power of the questions we ask, in particular the questions that were asked in 1919 at the Treaty of Versailles. "I wonder how history would have been different if we had designed that treaty with different questions?"

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Marilee Adams - Questions Create Our World

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David Coperrider interview at the Drucker School of Business (3 mins)

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David Coperrider interview at the Drucker School of Business (3 mins)

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Professor David Cooperrider (creator of Appreciative Inquiry) talks about Appreciative Inquiry and the power of strength-based leadership.

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Appreciative Inquiry: A Conversation with David Cooperrider

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Appreciative Inquiry in a Broken World - Article published April 2020

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Appreciative Inquiry in a Broken World - Article published April 2020

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David Cooperrider shares his insights on how AI can be of help during this time of Covid.
"For the long-term, we know this from years of research: corporate cultures are almost totally tested and forged in the crucible of crises, during the most challenging times of external adaptation and internal integration. How leaders lead during times of catastrophe has an outsized effect on the future of such things as corporate trust, collective confidence, resilience or brittleness, and strong or elevating corporate culture. Times of crisis almost always reveal or reinforce an institution’s “true colors”— and it can be a time of lasting set-back or exceptional co-elevation and unified achievement.

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David L. CooperriderUniversity Distinguished Professor Appreciative Inquiry in a Broken World

Faculty Director of the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit

Ring the bells that still can ring,Forget your perfect offering,There is a crack, a crack in everything (there is a crack in everything);That's how the light gets in...

- Excerpt from Leonard Cohen's song "Anthem"

Organizations everywhere have entered a new reality that few would have imagined at the opening of 2020. In the span of several months, the COVID-19 pandemic has irrevocably transformed economies around the world, infected millions, and will tragically result in unpredictable numbers of horrific deaths. As I write, heartbreak, prayers, and mourning fill this morning's headlines. "US Leads World in Coronavirus Deaths After Deadliest Week" announce USA Today. Businesses and employees in many sectors are struggling to survive and stay afloat in the face of debilitating losses and recession. Leaders are worried about massive revenue loss, human safety, prospects of bankruptcy, and offering sound, transparent, and ethical policies to employees. Leaders and managers must react to disrupted supply chains, enable remote workforces, break bad news to employees and families, as well as maintain their own hope and energy and so that they can continue to serve, guide, and move forward without any trusted roadmaps. For many, there is a sense of brokenness.

But there is one silver lining. It's in times of disruption that the best in human systems can burst forth. Resilience, for example, CAN grow. Values can be lived, come alive, instead of merely espoused. Moreover, while it may seem a luxury to talk about enterprise improvement, betterment, innovation, and positive organization development during a major dislodgment like this, that's exactly what leaders need to do. To be sure, in the immediate or near term, resilience and bounce-back capacity is existentially crucial. And for the long-term, we know this from years of research: corporate cultures are almost totally tested and forged in the crucible of crises, during the most challenging times of external adaptation and internal integration . How leaders lead during times of catastrophe has an outsized effect on the future of such things as corporate trust, collective confidence, resilience or brittleness, and strong or elevating corporate culture . Times of crisis almost always reveal or reinforce an institution's "true colors"- and it can be a time of lasting set-back or exceptional co-elevation and unified achievement. And while there are dozens of articles flying around everywhere on "the pandemic's lessons for leaders," there is little on the tools, mindsets, and change management methods for advancing collective resilience And little on advancing deeply developmental trajectories or for aiming higher for a better, more meaningful, mission, and galvanizing a purposeful future
What is Appreciative Inquiry? How Can We Be Positive in a Pandemic? Isn't This Moment a Problem-to-Be Solved?
While beyond the capacity of one blog-post to go deeply into the theory and practice of Appreciative Inquiry (let's call it "AI" for short), it has been hailed by CEO's around the world, as well as leading researchers, such as University of Michigan's Robert Quinn. In his book, Change the World , Quinn singled out the power of AI and wrote: "Appreciative Inquiry is revolutionizing the field of organization development and change." Likewise, in a NY Times best-selling management book, Marcus Buckingham concluded that the theory of Appreciative Inquiry , as articulated by my colleagues and I in the early 1980s, was one of the three major catalysts for today's strengths-revolution in management. The other two great sources of the strengths revolution in management included Peter Drucker's Effective Executive and Marty Seligman's call for a field of Positive Psychology for the study of human flourishing. Together, appreciative inquiry, Drucker's management theory, and positive psychology have created a society-wide positive-strengths movement. Because as Buckingham states, "it works"-and it's being used in places as diverse as Apple and the United Nations to Johnson & Johnson and the US Navy.

What is the big idea of Appreciative Inquiry? It began with the observation that ever since industrial age , managers, researchers, and consultants have seen organizations not only in machine-like terms but in deficit-based terms as "problems to be solved" or fixed. True Abraham Maslow's observation that " if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail ," those same managers and consultants became, over the years, quite good at finding, analyzing, and framing problems in organizations. So much so that organizations became problems personified. And hence a whole vocabulary of deficit-based change grew up centered on concepts like "gap analysis," "organizational diagnosis," "root causes of failure," "resistance," "unfreezing," "needs analysis," "threat analysis," and the need for high levels of dissatisfaction and urgent "burning platforms."

Much like diagnostic medicine with its focus on illness, management early on got locked into a problem-analytic view of the world, especially when it came to concepts and tools for managing change. Early in the 1980s, we began to question the deficit-based change field and the root metaphor that "human systems are problems to be solved." We observed that the pervasive problematizing perspective was constraining and limiting, just as industrial era machine metaphors were also limiting. Peter Drucker often spoke about how bureaucratic organizations too often "feed the problematic and starve the opportunities." Businesses almost instinctively, much as our negative evolutionary brain does, would almost on autopilot focus on what's not working and then activate 'root cause' mindsets, only to find themselves facing a set of different, but related questions down the line. Questions like, " How can we fix our lack of engagement? " " What do we do about low motivation? " or, "why are people just not on board? " In a world where 70% of all corporate change efforts falter (see the McKinsey analysis , and the growing cynicism about "the next change program announcement") and then in even more personal domains like dieting, where of the "deficit-based" initiatives fail - we in the field of change theory realized a great need to aim higher, dig deeper conceptually, and better articulate what we mean by the far too casual term "positive change" for it is and can be, deep and powerful - certainly not superficial at all.

In our earliest work at the acclaimed Cleveland Clinic -now the world's #1 heart center and one of the nation's most exceptional health care organizations- we engaged in a radical reversal of the traditional problem-analytic approach. Influenced by the writings of Albert Schweitzer on "reverence for life," we intentionally said organizations are not institutional machines perpetually in need of repair, which deteriorate steadily and over time. Rather organizations are, fundamentally, living systems and centers of human relatedness, alive and embedded in potentially ampliative (upward amplifying) networks- our vast "universe of strengths."

Instead of "problems to be solved," human systems are "universes of strengths." In a real way-when you think about how the appreciable world is so much larger than our appreciative eye -human organizations are the offspring of the life-giving miracle of human interaction and imagination, our cooperative relatedness, and the remarkable story of civilization itself. The more we study "what gives life" versus "what's wrong," the more we can move in the direction of or become what we study. Instead of studying low morale, for example, we should, if indeed we want to accelerate the future we desire , study times and enablers of human flourishing in the workplace "because human systems move in the direction of what they study." Quite literally, this is true: all the studies in the world of low morale or disengagement among employees in the workplace will teach almost nothing about the dynamics of exceptional enterprise-wide flourishing. When we study the worst cases of low morale, we learn the details about the conditions that cause or correlate with low morale. But it is doubtful that the causes of low morale are the same thing as the enablers of human thriving, excelling, or flourishing. Moreover, eradicating something, like getting rid of low morale or disengagement, is not the same as something such as flourishing. Put directly: if we want to learn about the what, when, why, and how of the conditions that lead to human, group, and enterprise flourishing, that's precisely the topic we should bring to our research frame, rigor and disciplined analysis.

The simple act of observation in a human system changes the phenomenon itself. In another realm, in physics, for example, this concept has been called the Heisenberg observer effect . But in human systems, the result is even more powerful. Inquiry and change are not separate moments. Inquiry intervenes. Let's say we do 200 in-depth interviews in an organization into the times, the conditions, and the enablers of flourishing. Change, in this instance, is already happening. The attention of people shifted. The stories they learning from have shifted. People's sense of the possible has, just through the act of asking questions, shifted. Even their dreams and hopes for a better future are shifting. In marketing, it is called "the mere measurement effect," but honestly, there is nothing small about it. When we look at how inquiry-is-change-how inquiry-and-change is a simultaneous moment in human systems-we start seeing the power of it. It is something I've called "the exponential inquiry effect" to indicate how our first questions, like the early stage of a snowball, can grow into exponential tipping point movements. That's why, in the practice of AI in leadership, we say: "We live in worlds our questions create."

(Before we go on, let me hit the pause button here and ask you to think about it now: what question or questions, amid the pandemic, would you put in front of a team or even everyone in a company, at a time like this, amid trial and upheaval?)

In a privileged and truly memorable conversation with Peter Drucker, I found we shared views in common: a realization that strengths do more than perform, they transform. Appreciative inquiry into strengths, solutions, and strategic opportunities is a meta-strength. For Drucker, the development of an appreciative eye is, in essence, the first task of great leadership. "What is leadership all about?" I asked the father of management thought. He responded without hesitation, and I wrote it down and read it over and over:

"The task of leadership is ageless in its essence,....the task of leadership is to create an alignment of strengths in ways that make a system's weaknesses irrelevant

That is what appreciative inquiry does. It provides the theory-base and the many -from the 4-D cycle of Discovery-Dream-Design-Destiny to the cultivation of appreciative intelligence . And from creating concentrated effects of strengths in the , to the power of questions for enabling (1) the elevation of systemic strengths; (2) the configuration and magnification of systemic strengths; and (3) the refraction of organizational strengths outward into society. In other words, the discovery and design of positive institutions that bring our highest human strengths, such as love, sense of humanity, and courage, into the world.
But AI... in a Pandemic?
Of course, there are also many contemporary debates and questions surrounding the idea of appreciative inquiry. For example, is appreciative inquiry really just all about seeing the world through Pollyannaish eyes and searching for "the positive" and ignoring difficult, painful, even catastrophic realities? In the final part of this blog article, I would like to address this and then turn to the tools you might use, including kinds of AI questions and positive organization development approaches we have used during this time of upheaval. What I would like to share is a set of questions I have recently piloted and with leaders, managers and change agents at major corporations such as Progressive Insurance, PNC Financial Services, and the Cleveland Clinic. What I can say with certainty is this: Appreciative Inquiry might just reach its highest potential for impact for organizations in the midst of the pandemic. And to understand why it helps to look first at this simple model (below) that I wrote about last year in a remarkable new book by Joan McArthur-Blair and Jeanie Cockell on building resilience.

At the lowest rung-and perhaps the easiest domain of all to practice appreciative inquiry-is the appreciative inquiry into the extraordinary, the best in human experience, those times of "positive deviance" that are literally way above the line and jump out. At the second and sequentially more difficult rung, is the capacity to do appreciative inquiry during times of the ordinary-at those times that are so taken-for-granted that we often fail to apprehend, appreciate, or even attempt to search for everything that is giving life. Here we are talking about the capacity for seeing the best in the seemingly ordinary and insignificant events, where there are no starbursts, no mountaintop experiences. Thank goodness, then, for the example of our gifted artists and the many layers of meaning that they help us see and appreciate. Think of how a Vincent van Gogh teaches us to see the extraordinary in an ordinary tea-cup, an unpretentious vase of flowers, or a common scene of fruit on a simple table. William Wordsworth, as another example of the second level of appreciative maturity, encourages the cultivation of appreciative intelligence in the midst of the ordinary. He writes: "With an eye made quiet by the power/of harmony, and deep power of joy/we see into the life of things."

And then there is a third developmental level for the practice of appreciative inquiry-and it's the least understood. It's the kind of appreciative inquiry sensitivity, skill, or literacy as evidenced by someone such as Victor Frankl , in his enduring classic Man's Search for Meaning. So, this, the 3rd level of elevated AI capacity, is not an appreciative inquiry into moments of excellence or experiences of the life-giving in the ordinary, but appreciative inquiry in the midst of tragedy. Victor Frankl, as we all know, was in the horrific concentration camp where everything was taken from him and others. And yet, in the midst of his studies, he saw resources, relationships, and regenerative possibilities that gave life to many. There are examples upon examples of Frankl's idea of finding the life-promoting meaning amid extreme suffering; they are threaded throughout his accounts of the harsh conditions of the Nazi concentration camps. Frankl believed that " Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." In his 1959 book- "Saying Yes to Life in Spite of Everything: A Psychologist Experience of the Concentration Camp"- he said: "What is to give light must endure burning."

What I would like to underscore here is that appreciative inquiry is not about positive or negative. Its call is to transcend this polarity. It's not about positive or negative human experience but inquiry into life : the task of AI is the quest and search for what gives life and deep meaning-even in the midst of the tragic. Indeed, in so many times of disruption, there is always the potential to surface and summon our better humanity. That's why the best in human systems can forth just as life, even a blade of grass, can bust out all over, even after a cement highway has been placed over it. Resilience, for example, during a tragedy, CAN grow. It is not a noun, not a thing, but a verb, something that can be built and forged in the crucible of crises. Resilienc is the developmental act where corporate culture and values can be vivified, with their meanings made alive, instead of merely espoused.

Some of the most interesting research moving us even beyond the field of resilience happened when researchers in the area of post-traumatic stress disorder began finding remarkable cases of post-traumatic . PTG, they discovered, is more common than ever thought and is now being defined as the "experience of individuals whose development, at least in some areas has surpassed what was present before the struggle with crises occurred." Critical elements of post-traumatic growth, in addition to the gift of conversations worth having , and power of questions , revolve around the interplay of at least five dimensions used in surveys:

What appreciative inquiry does then, in terms of a theory of change, is that it embraces one of the most challenging and meanest paradoxes of change. It argues that we change best when we are strongest. As human beings, we can change best and in the most capacity filled way when we experience the combined power of every relevant resource. Even the tiniest seed of hope, available to us across the entire strengths spectrum, outside and inside any given system, including social and cultural assets, technical and economic ones, psychological and spiritual strengths, ecological strengths of nature, and the strengths of moral models, positive deviations and collaborative creativity combines to create incredible change. And if we change best when we are strongest or have access to everything needed for resourcing our change capacity (encircling the change agenda in a kind of "surround sound of strengths"), then the reverse is also true. There is a mean paradox inherent in situations where change, resilience, and renewal are needed most . For example, when a person is in a dark depression or there are imminent threats of a company facing bankruptcy or traumatic market shifts-or pandemic - at precisely those moments when we feel the weakest, we are being asked to change? This mean paradox should be reversed, shouldn't it?

Well, that's exactly what Appreciative Inquiry can help you do.
The Question of How To?
What do you think? Might your organization or team benefit by becoming more resilient, by uniting together and by intentionally harnessing the energy and power of this profoundly disruptive but uniquely developmental moment? And if so, how might you leverage AI, even in simple ways?

I would like to share with you a set of questions that I've actively leveraged in recent days with change leaders at leading companies such as Progressive, Cleveland Clinic, and Parker. Imagine bringing teams or whole departments or even your entire organization together on Zoom or the platform of choice. Imagine using these questions (listed below) for a paired interview to begin. Person A interviews person B, and then person B interviews person A. After you share the vision, hope, and agenda of the meeting, people can start with the handout of questions; however, they are encouraged to go deeper with their own curiosity and desire to dig deeper. With the Zoom platform, there is a simple way to give pairs their "own" private zoom room. Then, if you have 30 or more people, next place the pairs with other pairs and form groups of eight for "roundtable" dialogues. Have them process the questions by capturing themes, compelling stories, new visions, future dreams, and pathways to action. Finally, bring everyone back together and have spokespersons from each group report out, sharing each group's most empowering stories, and new designs for the future.

My guess is that this meeting, if you do it and adequately tailor it to your context, might well be remembered as one of the most unifying, empowering, and developmental meetings that you have ever experienced as a group conversation. In so many ways, we live in worlds that our conversations create . That's how lives and collective cultures deepen and develop. And to be sure it is not just the AI part of it. More substantially, it is certain that the best in human capacity-profound capacities for respect, kindness, courageous and collectively intelligent mobilization-can be elevated during any crises moment and then extended as a more durable feature of life in the future. And please, if you do utilize and adapt the AI questions offered in the last part of this blog, I would love to hear from you about your experiences, insights, and especially how you improved the questions for dialogue. And when you wind down the meeting-whether it happens over one lengthier session or a series of shorter ones, you might want to summarize everything you heard and reflect it to the group. This reaffirms consensual validation and next steps, the kinds of things that help your organization develop resilience, bounce back capacity, and grounded hope, even marching orders, for the future-grounded, now, in more of your organization's "true colors." And then you might move to closure by showing this video clip called "true colors" and then invite everyone to finish by going around the group-sharing this:

"As I depart from our meeting today, one of the true colors of our organization or community that I'm most proud of is____________, and one adjective that best describes my feelings as we now look ahead to the future is_____."

We are Better Together:Building Resilience and Preparing for the Future We Want to CreateOpening AI Conversation in Pairs

(Completed by ________ o'clock)

#1. Moments of Magnified Meaning Making. Organizations everywhere have entered a new reality that few of us would have imagined at the start of 2020. In the span of several months, the COVID-19 pandemic has irrevocably transformed economies and organizations around the world, infected millions, and will tragically result in unpredictable numbers of deaths. And yet, moments like this do perhaps offer the opportunity for shifts-big and small. But openings do not last forever, and one way to keep such openings vital and expansive is to magnify meaningful stories through conversation with others.

A) In terms of what you are experiencing in these days and recent weeks, what is the most important thing stirring in you right now, and how do you sense it relates to our future, your most important hopes, or a broader sense of purpose?

B) All around the world, we are seeing people on the front lines of care in hospitals, in our communities, and in our businesses-everywhere we look, we see individuals responding in courageous, caring, and even unexpected ways. If you could put the spotlight on just two of the most powerful stories you've seen or heard about (one in society outside our organization and one inside our organization), what would they be? Consider examples that provide you with an image, inspiration, or new understanding of what we as human beings are capable of together-what two stories or examples (again one outside our organization and one inside) would you like to put the spotlight on?

C) Now in your view, at the highest level of our country, and of our world overall, what possible good can come from this crisis, this tragedy, this moment of response?

#2. Leadership is About Making a Difference: Meg Wheatley once defined leadership not in terms of hierarchy or position but in terms of leaving the world a better place than we found it. "A leader," she said, "is anyone who wants to make a difference at this time." And that's you, that's me, that's all of us who-at this time-are wanting to make a difference in our families, with our friends, in our faith communities or volunteer networks, in our organization, and in our world. In all of this, what are you/we learning about leadership?

Through the ups and downs of these times, we have all reached down deep and been part of making a difference. As you reflect on your own ups and downs, high points and low points, peaks, and valleys, we invite you to share one of the moments where you worked alone or together with others to make a difference at this time. It might have been at home with family or some contribution to one of your friends, neighbors, relatives, or even strangers' lives. It might have been in your community or somewhere in the world at large-and it might have been right here, in our organization or work.

A) Wherever it is from, please share one story of leadership from your life during these times-where you were helping to make a difference at this time-and why it stands out for you. Please share the story. What happened? Where? When? How did you feel? How did you overcome challenges? What contributions? Insights for us here- an organization where we want to empower leadership from every level and from everywhere-what insights can you offer?

B) Now, from this story, and without being too humble about it, what does this story and others like it, say about you- your three most important or signature strengths? And how might you be able to leverage those qualities in our organization and team conversations here today?

#3. The Continuity Question: What are those things we should keep?
Charles Darwin once said: "it's not the strongest of the species that survive nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change"- especially in times of challenge and complexity, like ours.

Likewise, we know that our organization-indeed every organization in today's world-must change, evolve, and transform in the future. But even in moments of volatility, tragedy, and uncertainty like this, there are examples and signs of our organization's true colors, best values, or core strengths that we should keep.

Likewise, we know that our organization must learn, change, evolve, and transform in the future-every organization has to change in this constantly changing world. But resilient organizations-those able to bounce back- know how to preserve what they do best they know how to boldly and bravely get better and change at the same time.

A) Before we move to our hopes for our organization's future, we want to ask you the continuity question. If you could keep three of our greatest strengths, unique assets, or best qualities-where everything else can change-what, in your view, should we keep? What three greatest strengths, assets, values, or historical qualities that you would hope and want us to maintain, grow, and continue to value even as we move into a new and changing future? And think about this as you keep your selection to three things: how will these strengths and values serve us now, to build resilience, and enable us to bounce back?
Please finish the following sentence: "The things I really want our organization to keep and build upon no matter how much we change in a changing future include________."

B) Emerging New Strengths and Signs of Promising Possibility:
Now, as you look at our organization in this moment of the pandemic, dramatic challenge, and uncertainty, there are the seeds ofnew strengths emerging-signs and examples of new potentials, progress, and new promise. Think about one or two newly emerging strengths or ways of working -signs of emerging potential and possibility that you believe show promise, not just for the moment but for the future too. What one or two things are we beginning to do new and different now that you would want to spotlight and have us extend and perhaps keep doing into the future?
#4. Images of a Better Future: Visions of the Organization You Want in 2025
Let's assume tonight you fall into a sound sleep...and it lasts for five years. When you wake up, it is 2025. During those five years, our organization has taken lots of lessons from times of challenge, especially the unprecedented disruption of the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. Out of all of this, we actually became a much better organization. We produced small improvements. We also thought way out of the box and created several breakthrough changes and innovations. With both the small changes and the more significant and braver breakthroughs, you love what you see. In the five years-from 2020 to 2025-so many new opportunities, improvements, and good things came together that it's like a miracle, and our organization became a place that exceeded even your highest dreams and expectations .
Now it's time to describe what you see and why you like it. What's happening in this vision of the future, that's new, different, or better? And how do you know it? What do you see-in terms of people, business successes, customer success, innovations in services and technologies, or how the organization is designed and managed? In your vision of this ideal future, how do our key stakeholders view our company?
So now it's 2025, and you wake up. You are standing there seeing this organization in the future-it's like the next chapter in a book. You see an organization that created new business opportunities and opportunities to serve customers, partners, and communities. You see a more fully human organization with great relationships, collaboration, and high engagement. You get a tour of everything-from operations to customer experiences. You see the value our organization is creating both as a business and a business leader doing good and doing well in our community and the world. You see a unity of spirit and a stronger culture with values, leadership, and ways of working that you are proud of.

A) Please make notes on what you see. What's happening in 2025 that's changed, new, and better? And please complete this sentence.
"I will be most proud of our organization in 2025 when __________________________.

B) Now with this future in mind, what is the smallest step we could take now or soon that might have the most significant impact in realizing elements of your desired future?
Now following your interview with your partner, simply share back a few things you learned from them, key insights, or stories for which you feel grateful. Then thank them in any way you want for a generous and powerful conversation. Click Here for Downloadable and Printable Questions Handout
C) What is one bigger, braver, and bolder thing we might consider, perhaps even an initiative we've never discussed much before? What is one bold thing that might propel us to new success, new contributions to building a better world, and to the future you want to see?
If you potentially want an experienced AI professional or your own training to assist you with this AI, or simply would benefit from a Or if you wish, you can contact me directly at coaching phone call behind the scenes, feel free to email and set up a call with Jessica Blackman, the managing director of the David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry at Champlain College's Stiller School of Business at jblackman@champlain.edu. dlc6@case.edu and we can access the AI networks and resources we know in in your region and industry sector.
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Appreciative Inquiry in a Broken World David L. Cooperrider University Distinguished Professor Faculty Director of the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering, There is a crack, a crack in everything (there is a crack in everything); That's how the light gets [...]

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Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry by Jackie Kelm 

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Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry by Jackie Kelm 

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In this 10 minute interview, you will learn about the history of AI and Jackie will share the key principles of AI.

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Jane Magruder Watkins (1937-2018) was Professor David Cooperrider's mentor.  AI began as an Action Research method and Jane had the vision to bring it into the field of Organizational Development.
She was known as the 'mother' of Appreciative Inquiry. The story of Appreciative Inquiry is not complete without introducing Jane.
For 30 years Jane taught AI in more than 60 countries. She is the co-author of the book Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of Imagination.

This interview was filmed a couple of years after she had been diagnosed with dementia.  While she would describe her brain as "not working as well as it used to", she came to life when she talked about Appreciative Inquiry.  (7 mins)

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Jane Magruder Watkins on Appreciative Inquiry

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This portrait was made in June 2015, based on conversations I had with Jane (Magruder Watkins) in May 2015. She shared stories about her past, present and hopes for the future on the topic of Appreciative Inquiry (AI). She tells about her friendship with and deep respect for David (Cooperrider) and the key role her mother played in her life. Above all she talks with passion how important it is for us to keep looking at what works! Touching as she is experiencing memory loss and finds that very challenging. This portrait was made with the support of the David Cooperrider Center at Champlain College.

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Short article that explains Appreciative Inquiry philosophy and the assumptions of AI. It also shares an example of how to use the AIR framework with young children.

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This site has a great list of questions that you can use for check-ins.
If you want to learn more about the check-in process, visit the other webpages on this site.

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The following questions are like reliable tools whose handles have worn to fit my grip. I put my faith in them, and they have performed for me again and again, in a range of settings.

Note that this idiosyncratic collection of questions is particularly suited to me-my personality, my culture, the work I do, and the contexts in which I work. They might not be right for you; in fact, one of my preferred questions could flop for you. Create your own list of favorites by experimenting and identifying questions which perform well in your world.

CHECK-IN FAVORITES
Please share your name, position, and tenure?
Sometimes known as "the basics," this is one of the most simple, no-risk check-ins. As noted elsewhere, humans have a deep, animal need to know this information about strangers-ideally presented in the person's own voice-before they can feel comfortable. As such, this is the essential place to begin when people don't know one another.

I like...
This sentence stem prompts participants to complete the thought. I often append it on the end of the basics as above. Its many benefits include that it doesn't take much time to answer; it elicits diverse answers ("chocolate, fishing, getting up early to watch the sunrise, my kids, old movies, politics, reading technical journals, the Pittsburgh Penguins"); it brings a bit of each person's "life-outside-of-work" into the room; and it generates a positive, uplifting feeling. It also gets people chuckling, which is healthy for any group.

How are you doing today?
This question asks participants to share a top-of-mind summary of what's going on in their world, and in various forms it's the default way that many mature groups begin their meetings. For many, the expression "checking in" actually means responding to one of the variations of this question, which can elicit responses that are superficial or deep, quick or lengthy.

What are your goals for this meeting?
It's often valuable to anchor participants in what they hope to accomplish at a gathering. This surfaces their interests while it activates a sense of agency and shared responsibility for the meeting. In addition, it provides insights that better enable you to guide the group toward a satisfactory outcome.

What's something we wouldn't know about you by looking? Humans inevitably make up stories about one another based upon scant information, and these stories can get in the way of knowing who people truly are. Responses to this question quickly make participants more multidimensional than they first appear: The introverted CFO is in a punk band; the former gang member likes reading history books; the buff cop cares for his elderly aunt. Such surprises result in a "pause and reappraisal" experience that is an essential habit for any person who wants to work well with others.

Tell us something about your name
Our names are one of the oldest and most intimate things we have. This question typically elicits compelling stories that touch on culture, family, childhood, and vulnerability. The responses often tangibly illustrate diversity as well. Simply ask people to say their full name, and then share something about the name. It's that easy.

What was one highlight from your weekend/vacation/holiday (or one thing you are most looking forward to about it)?
Not the deepest question, but an easy, quick and enjoyable way to encourage participants to bring their "outside" lives into a meeting.

What is something you wanted to be when you grew up?
A lightning fast question that nevertheless generates interesting, heartfelt responses. This one usually gets people laughing, and even participants who know one another are often surprised by the answers. I tend to include this one as part of a short set of questions.

Where did you grow up, and what's one thing you liked about growing up there?
Same as above.

What's your favorite thing to watch on TV?
This modest question has many strengths. It's quick. It's low risk, yet leads to diverse and revealing answers. Perhaps most significantly, it generates energy, connections, and positive feelings as people share their viewing passions. Great for participants who are meeting for the first time as well as those who know one another fairly well. (Perhaps not as good for larger groups. It gets a bit old after 6 to 8 people answer.)

Pick something out of your pocket, purse or briefcase, and share what that object says about you.
A simple one that's quick and that has a little gimmick. It works well.

What's something that you are grateful for and why?
There is growing research on the benefits-to personal health as well as performance-to feeling gratitude. This question brings it into the room. It can be useful to exclude family members as an acceptable answer (as in, "Share something you are grateful for in addition to your family?"). Otherwise, once one person has mentioned family, others feel pressure to say it too or it will appear that they don't love their family! And then it's monotonous and boring. Don't use this question for a very new group, as it can appear too "touchy-feely" to check-in skeptics.

Tell us something about your formative years that shaped you as a person and influenced how you show up at work.
A powerful question that people use to connect their personal and work lives in range of compelling ways. Groups feel different-safer, more engaged, more connected-after this one.

What's something you appreciate about working here (on this team, in this division, at this organization, etc.)? Alternatively, what's something you find challenging about working here?
This is another question I often use in smaller groups but that can work well in large groups if the timing is right. (It requires some trust to answer honestly.) People find the question compelling, and are often extremely curious about what their fellows will say.

What is one way that people misjudge you?
I employ this question more often for pair or small group work, but it can be effective in larger groups too if they've built some trust. Like the question above about "What wouldn't we know by looking?" this one disrupts the stories people tell about one another (even those who have known one another for years). It's also an open door for self-revelation. I typically add a bit of explanation when I ask it, as in: "One way that, because of your gender, the way you carry yourself, your profession, where you work, your size, your age, your race, your appearance, people assume you are one way when you are not that way?" Responding to his question takes some time, but for a group whose work warrants the investment, it's a real winner.

What value would you like to suggest should guide us during this meeting?
I often rely on this question for potentially contentious meetings. I usually use it as part of an extended check-in with multiple questions. People share values like "humility," "patience," "open-mindedness," and "respect." Responding to this question has a powerful inspirational and prophylactic effect on groups.

CHECK-OUT FAVORITES
Please share one of the following: an insight/"aha," an appreciation, a commitment, or a hope.
This is my current favorite check-out question for trainings and workshops. Answers are usually heartfelt, deep and short, it provides choice and variety, and all participants find something authentic to say in response. If the group has worked together effectively, a few participants typically express something heartfelt about how much they have "appreciated" the experience and their peers; such warmth feels good in the room at the close. I allow participants to pass, but very rarely does someone choose to do so.

What are you taking with you as a result of this meeting, and/or what are you leaving behind?
This effective check-out is well suited for the final meeting of a group that has met for some time. Use the analogy of packing your luggage for a trip: participants should identify something (a misconception, a fear, a concern) that they are "leaving behind," and something (an insight, a feeling, a new relationship) that they are taking with them.

One thing that's surprised, encouraged, or inspired you about our work?
Another strong and often used check-out, particularly for a group that has made progress and will continue to work together in the future.

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The following questions are like reliable tools whose handles have worn to fit my grip. I put my faith in them, and they have performed for me again and again, in a range of settings. Note that this idiosyncratic collection of questions is particularly suited to me-my personality, my culture, the work I do, and the contexts in which I work.

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The Power of Listening TED talk by William Ury (cofounder of Harvard’s Program on Negotiation,)

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The Power of Listening TED talk by William Ury (cofounder of Harvard’s Program on Negotiation,)

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William Ury explains how listening is the essential, and often overlooked, half of communication. His stories of candid conversations with presidents and business leaders provide us with impactful lessons, such as understanding the power of a human mind opening up. He asks us to join a listening revolution, and promises that if we all just listen a little bit more, we can transform any relationship.

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The power of listening | William Ury | TEDxSanDiego

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January 2021

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Work in Progress:  Respectful Engagement Prompts - PLEASE PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT. (add to comments below or email Mo McKenna)

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Work in Progress:  Respectful Engagement Prompts - PLEASE PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT. (add to comments below or email Mo McKenna)

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We are working on gathering different ways to connect with others when there may be strong emotions present.  We want to create a resource that can provide some guidance. This is our first draft ...

Begin by PAUSING:

-       Remain calm, take a deep breath

-       Stay curious & lean back into the other person’s conversation first. Do not start with your own thoughts.

-       Ask questions, keeping the issue separate from the person

-       Be alert for either/or thinking - aim for both/and thinking

CONSIDER some of these comments ... what other comments have  you used that helped?
·       “What you said triggered in me a realization that I struggle with similarly. Please tell me the story of how you came to that point. I want to understand what you are saying.”

·       “You feel very strongly about this topic. Please tell me what brought it about.”

·       “I’m feeling your anger, & frustration, could we return to what you said a little later? I need to calm down & reflect. When might be a convenient time for us to get together again?

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Generative Questions - Eliciting Conversations That Challenge the Status Quo 

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Generative Questions - Eliciting Conversations That Challenge the Status Quo 

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Professor Gervais Bushe has created this four part framework to describe generative questions.

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Name it, flip it, frame it model with a couple of examples

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The Problem with Problem Solving & Example of Positive Reframing Process  

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The Problem with Problem Solving & Example of Positive Reframing Process  

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In this 5 minute video, Tony Silbert reflects on the traditional problem solving process and compares this with Appreciative Inquiry.  He also explains the positive reframing process.

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Tony Silbert The Problem With Problem Solving You get more of what you look for

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February 2021

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What we focus on grows.  The AI principles help us to shift into an appreciative mindset.   In this mindset we can focus on what's working to access positive energy to fix what's not working.

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Choice Map - Did You Know We Are Wired to be Judgmental?  Be practical and use the Switching Lane Video

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Choice Map - Did You Know We Are Wired to be Judgmental?  Be practical and use the Switching Lane Video

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As humans, our brain is wired to keep us alive. You may be aware of the fight or flight reaction that arises in response to a threat to our lives that during prehistoric times was necessary for the survival of the species. Today, although we don’t face those same threats, our brain is wired to perceive them as dangerous and will overreact to modern stressors that are not life-threatening.

A common stressor that I have observed, especially in this past year of the pandemic, is how easily people are triggered by “those other people” and are quick to blame and complain. What’s important about this observation is that we have the tools innately to counteract how we are wired to respond.

When “other people” trigger you and you find fault with them or maybe yourself, you become judgmental. This is normal. When you notice how your body reacts to this, it is an opportunity to engage in somatic practice, such meditation.  And you can pay attention to the questions you are asking yourself about the person or situation. Watch 2 min video

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The questions on the Top 12 List evolved out of Marilee Adams’ work with coaching clients and workshop participants over many years.

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Approach > Top 12 Questions

The questions on the Top 12 List evolved out of Marilee Adams' work with coaching clients and workshop participants over many years. The list can be used in at least three ways:

First, it is a logical sequence of questions to help you work through any situation you might want to change or improve.

Second, you might just want to scan the list for questions you've been missing.

Third, you can turn to it when you're looking for just the right question to emphasize in a particular situation.

Within this list are questions that are applicable to a variety of life's challenges. The goal is to integrate these questions into your everyday thinking. Then, when a challenge arises, you'll be able to easily recall some of them. Not every question applies to every situation. That's why you'll want to develop a collection of your favorites and work with them on a regular basis. These questions can open and change your mind. They allow you to unveil new choices, options, and possibilities you might otherwise have missed.

Here's the list:

1. What do I want?

2. What are my choices?

3. What assumptions am I making?

4. What am I responsible for?

5. How else can I think about this?

6. What is the other person thinking, feeling, needing, and wanting?

7. What am I missing or avoiding?

8. What can I learn?

...from this person or situation?

...from this mistake or failure?

...from this success?

9. What action steps make the most sense?

10. What questions should I ask (myself or others?)

11. How can I turn this into a win-win?

12. What is possible?

Keep this list in a handy place where you can refer to it whenever you feel stuck, want new alternatives, or a change.

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Approach > Top 12 Questions The questions on the Top 12 List evolved out of Marilee Adams' work with coaching clients and workshop participants over many years. The list can be used in at least three ways: First, it is a logical sequence of questions to help you work through any situation you might want to change or improve.

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Sign up for Inquiry Institute newsletter - they often offer free webinars on topic of choice map

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Over 300,000 copies sold and translated in 20 languages!

"Provides an invaluable road map for helping you truly understand the best way to get to the core of the issues you face. A high-impact read for every human resource and leadership development professional."
Steve Miranda, Global HR expert and former CHRO, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

"If you want to master the art of coaching, you have to master asking great questions. One of the fastest ways to crack open any situation is to use the surgical precision of a smart question. There is no question that Marilee Adams's book is your go-to resource."
David Goldsmith, Executive Director of 7 Paths Forward
Click here for your copy! Upcoming Virtual Courses & Webinars
Q-Storming Basics - 2021 Click here for details.

Change Your Questions, Change Your Results Coach Webinar Series - 2021 Click here for details.

The Chief Question Officer® (CQO) Certificate Training Program - 2021 Click here for details.

Q-Work™ Virtual Workshop Series - 2021 Click here for details.

More workshops coming soon!

"We've used Question Thinking so successfully in our work with teams that it has led to a radical transformation in how people approach and resolve problems. It also made an immediate and sustained change in their behavior. In an organizational culture, the more that people can be taught these processes, the greater positive impact it can have on productivity and the bottom line."
Carmella Granado, Senior Director of Organizational Effectiveness, Flex Inc.

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"Provides an invaluable road map for helping you truly understand the best way to get to the core of the issues you face. A high-impact read for every human resource and leadership development professional." Steve Miranda, Global HR expert and former CHRO, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) "If you want to master the art of coaching, you have to master asking great questions.

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Conversations Worth Having Resource - Weekly till March 15th 2020 & Starting up again on April 26th 2021

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Conversations Worth Having Resource - Weekly till March 15th 2020 & Starting up again on April 26th 2021

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Monday Kickstarter: Turn Stress & Challenges Into Conversations Worth Having Learning Group

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SCHEDULE:

Dates: Every Monday (February 1 - March 15, 2021)
Time: 12:30-1:00pm Eastern Time

These 7-weekly Zoom sessions serve as an opportunity for you to practice generative questions and positive framing on issues and concerns you are currently experiencing. You need to attend all 7 sessions to benefit from this virtual series. Please feel free to pop in and out of these sessions as necessary. We encourage you to invite your friends, families, and colleagues who may benefit from these sessions - all are welcome to participate. You only need to register once to participate in the weekly sessions.

Please note: These virtual sessions will be recorded and saved for participants who are unable to attend these scheduled events. A link to this recording will be provided so that participants can view/listen to the recording at a time that works best for them.

EVENT DESCRIPTION:
We are living in challenging times, many of us juggle stress, concerns, and challenges daily. We can move forward in ways that offer renewal, reinvention, and resiliency simply by changing our conversations.

The nature of our conversation is fateful. The way we think and talk about any given situation determines whether we feel energized and good about it, or drained and exhausted. Grounded in our book, Conversations Worth Having: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Fuel Productive and Meaningful Engagemen t, we will be working with whoever is on the call to transform negative, problematic, and stressful interactions they share into life-giving and generative conversations. You'll have the opportunity to practice asking generative questions to change the way you think about things, interact with others, and create a possibility mindset by talking about what you want instead of what you don't want. The two practices-generative questions and positive framing-allow you to address even the most challenging problems with creativity and energy.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

You will walk away prepared to:

Shift your mindset to foster resilience and positivity;

Fuel productive and meaningful engagement;

Communicate effectively with colleagues, constituents, and family;

Ask questions that communicate care and deepen connection; and

Frame complex problems to inspire creativity and innovative solutions.

EVENT VIDEOS AND MATERIALS:

To help you prepare for these live conversations, we encourage you to view our quick CWH overview and download your free Conversation toolkit as well as the Preface and Introduction to Conversations Worth Having: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Fuel Productive and Meaningful Engagement: https://conversationsworthhaving.today/

METHOD OF DELIVERY:

These live events will be delivered and recorded using Zoom. You can participate in these live events using any device: computer, tablet, or mobile. Please participate using the dial-in method you feel most comfortable with. You can find the virtual log-in information below:

Meeting ID: 931 8159 6501 / Password: 456149
Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/93181596501?pwd=SkczaG1GQ28rMndIQkdEQnJSNWsrZz09
One tap mobile: +13017158592,,93181596501#,,,,,,0#,,456149# US (Germantown) OR +13126266799,,93181596501#,,,,,,0#,,456149# US (Chicago)

If you have any questions about this event or have difficulty connecting in Zoom, please contact Cheri Torres at cheri@conversationsworthhaving.today.

CONTINUED LEARNING AND PRACTICE:

If you wish to continue learning about Conversations Worth Having, we invite you to join us for the virtual Conversations Worth Having Bootcamps.

EVENT IS OFFERED IN COLLABORATION WITH:

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Monday Kickstarter: Turn Stress & Challenges into Conversations Worth Having | The Center For Appreciative Inquiry

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Dates: Every Monday (February 1 - March 15, 2021) Time: 12:30-1:00pm Eastern Time These 7-weekly Zoom sessions serve as an opportunity for you to practice generative questions and positive framing on issues and concerns you are currently experiencing. You need to attend all 7 sessions to benefit from this virtual series.

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Sign up for the six week session starting in April 26th

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Monday Kickstarter: Turn Stress & Challenges into Conversations Worth Having | The Center For Appreciative Inquiry

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Dates: Every Monday (April 26 - June 7, 2021) Time: 12:30-1:00pm Eastern Time These 7-weekly Zoom sessions serve as an opportunity for you to practice generative questions and positive framing on issues and concerns you are currently experiencing. You need to attend all 7 sessions to benefit from this virtual series.

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Catch up with outputs from the previous Kick-Starter Sessions .. explore how others. have reframed and questions they came up with

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Opportunity to view a kick-starter session ...

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See how to turn 3 challenges into conversations worth having: talking with an under performing employee, feeling stuck and unable to move forward on ideas, and talking with a staff member who was inappropriate with a student.

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Join the group to learn more 'in the moment' ideas/resources etc. on CWH

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Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

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On our call we explored the notion of when you are stuck, reach out to a colleague from the course to be your 'life-line'. Who are the one or two people in the group that you will reach out and connect with? Contact them and invite them to be your life-line.

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Slides, chat and video and text from 4 pixar stories

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Slides, chat and video of six stories shared in the session