Asking Positive Questions to Generate Movement - Sept 2009

Can you ask yourself what is going well or going right?

This type of thinking develops resilience within those who think it. Asking ourselves what is going right leads to an upward spiral of mood and energy critical to coping with difficulty and problems. Leaders need to instill hope in others. Asking ourselves what is going right can instill hope within ourselves, which can then spill over to others around us.

Often at school and work, we are taught to ask what is going wrong. This line of questioning does not lift our hearts and spirits. It engages our minds in worry and analysis, leads to negative or downward spirals and contracts our thinking process.

Asking what is going right is also called appreciative inquiry. This line of questioning leads to generative or expansive feelings and actions on the part of those aligned with asking positive questions. We need generative actions as leaders to keep us moving forward when we feel blocked or face difficult challenges.