It is best if the leader frames questions in a positive way, using what Cooperrider refers to as “appreciative inquiry.”2 Appreciative inquiry is “the study and exploration of what gives life to human systems when they function at their best.”3 This approach to personal and organizational change is based on the assumption that questions and dialogue about strengths, successes, values, hopes, and dreams are themselves transformational (for both the questioner and the person questioned). It is a relational process of inquiry, grounded in affirmation and appreciation.
