I Didn't Know This Was a Life-Changing Moment

The Questions Behind Appreciative Inquiry, and Why They Still Work 20 Years Later

Sometimes you’re in a life changing moment, and you don’t recognize it.

There are obvious life changing moments, of course, like when you stand in front of your closest friends and family, and say “I do,” or when a nurse puts a tiny, blanket-wrapped bundle in your arms.

Other life changing moments don’t show their true qualities until years later.

With the benefits of hindsight, that was my experience in the early 2000s. I was working for the Chicago offices of World Vision, the global humanitarian organization. Our team was trying to build a volunteer force from the external leaders who normally just donated to our organization. Yes, we needed their money and resources. But, we thought, it would be a win-win for us and the donors if we could get their brainpower too.

My boss brought in a specialist in Appreciative Inquiry, which is a positive and collaborative approach to organizational change. I witnessed the Appreciative Inquiry process bring a hotel ballroom full of very different people (with strong personalities and sometimes conflicting ideas and approaches) together to shape a shared vision and then design a path to get there.

The process was transformative.

And the process centered around (drum roll) … asking questions. Really powerful, really carefully crafted questions.

Between me and Appreciative Inquiry, it was love at first sight.

Fast forward over 20 years, and I still use the questions of Appreciative Inquiry, and its process, multiple times every week. The process was formative for me—this newsletter and much of my work would not exist without it.

Life changing. I just didn’t know it yet.

Me, at my desk, about the time I was introduced to Appreciative Inquiry.

That consultant my boss brought in was Jim Ludema, one of the early doctoral students of the methodology’s founders, Suresh Srivastva and David Coopperrider. Eventually, I trained with Jim and other Appreciative Inquiry pioneers, and later began consulting with Jim. He is a colleague of mine to this day—you’ll hear more about Jim at the end of this post.

The most productive (and flexible) questions you’ll ever find

Appreciative Inquiry has a standard set of questions that can be applied to a remarkable number of circumstances.

Want to grow sales? These questions will help you find opportunities.

Want to plan a great family vacation? These questions will help you find the common ground between what you want, and what your 8 year-old does.

Want to simplify a complex process between multiple teams in your organization? These questions will get everyone on the same page.

I know that sounds too good to be true, and of course the questions aren’t enough on their own. You have to know how to ask them, and how to bring the insights to a series of exercises that help you go from questions to answers to action plans.

I introduce you to the questions below. But if you want a fuller introduction to Appreciative Inquiry, I have a gift for you.

Earlier this year, Jim and I wrote an e-book, The Three Most Valuable Questions You’ll Ever Ask, on how to use the questions of Appreciative Inquiry. The resource will help you find opportunities to use Appreciative Inquiry in your personal and professional life; and you’ll have the details you need to write great questions using the Appreciative Inquiry approach.

Our ebook is available for subscribers to this newsletter—tomorrow you’ll get an email with a link to the download.

If you’re reading this but you don’t receive Better Than Fine in your inbox, subscribe today. The welcome email will give you access to the ebook as a thank you for subscribing.

The three questions of Appreciative Inquiry

In their generic form, the three questions are:

#1: High Point Experience (HPE)

Think of a time when we’ve been at our best around [our topic]. Tell me the story. What was it about you that made this possible? About others? About the organization?

#2: Images of the Future

Now imagine it’s X years (or months) in the future, and we’re excelling at [our topic]. What is happening? What is new or different? Tell me the story of the future, as if you’re already there.

#3: Strategic Opportunities

With that future in mind, what are the 2-3 more important opportunities for us to pursue, in the coming weeks/months to succeed at [our topic]?

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The trick is, you don’t leave these questions in the generic form. You adapt them for your circumstances—what you or your team really desires.

If your organization was trying to become more innovative, you might gather a group and ask these questions:

#1: High Point Experience

We all have days where we feel inspired, and days where we don’t. Think about a time when you were part of a truly creative or innovative process or project that made an important difference and you felt inspired, engaged, and fulfilled. Tell me the story—what was the situation, what happened, and what were the results?

What was it about you that made this possible? What was it about others that made this possible? What was it about the organization (its processes, ways of working, culture, tools) that made this possible?

#2: Images of the Future

Imagine that tonight you fall into a deep, relaxing sleep, and you don’t wake up for three years. When you awake, you see that a miracle has occurred. Major changes have taken place, and our company has grown and is thriving. You can truly say that we are the organization you dreamed it could be—better, smarter, faster than ever before, with a sustainable culture of industry-leading innovation driving its products, processes, solutions, and more.

What does the organization look like? What’s happening that is new and different? What does the culture look like, feel like, and sound like? How is the engineering department showing creativity in all they do? What do you see in terms of new products? New processes? New ways of working?

#3: Strategic Opportunities

Think about the vision you just described – your vision for creating a sustainable culture of industry-leading innovation within the next few years. With that in mind, what are the 3-5 most important actionable strategies we must implement over the next 3 years to launch us toward your vision?

If your topic were something else, like becoming a better public speaker, the structure of the questions would stay the same, but you’d change the focus to explore your goal.

Using Appreciative Inquiry

You’ve got enough information already to start using the questions of Appreciative Inquiry (especially if you read the e-book!). Just pick a topic that matters to you, and adapt the questions to fit your context.

But if you prefer to learn new ideas live, join me for a 1-hour virtual workshop on the Appreciative Inquiry process on October 1. We’ll focus on using Appreciative Inquiry’s questions to:

• Lead change without starting from what’s broken

• Help your team (or yourself) imagine what’s possible

• Develop people in a more strengths-based, energizing way

Learning and using the Appreciative Inquiry process truly has been transformative for me. I hope you’ll check out the e-book and join us at the workshop (registration required) to see how it might benefit you.

BONUS CONTENT

This week, I listened to an episode of The Curiosity Shop podcast, hosted by Brené Brown and Adam Grant, featuring author John Green.

John (I like to imagine we’re on a first name basis) made the point that “friendships need a project.” By project, he meant a shared area of interest or activity that gives you a regular reason to be in contact.

Examples:

• A sports team can be a project—my husband knows he’ll hear from certain friends during Bears game time on fall Sundays.

• John mentioned he and his mother work in the same community garden, a shared project that brings them together on a regular basis.

• A high school friend and I planned a trip to Alaska with our families, earlier this summer. The planning kept us in regular contact, helping us deepen the friendship.

Here’s your bonus question:

Which of your relationships need a project?

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