Tired of always fixing what’s broken? What if instead, you focused on what’s working well and built from there? Today, we’re talking about using an Appreciative Inquiry approach to problem-solving in the workplace. Let’s shift from frustration to forward momentum.
Tired of always fixing what’s broken? What if instead, you focused on what’s working well and built from there? Today, we’re talking about using an Appreciative Inquiry approach to problem-solving in the workplace. Let’s shift from frustration to forward momentum.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
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Hey, it’s Rachel Cooke, your Modern Mentor. I’m the founder of Lead Above Noise, where we help leaders activate performance and engagement without burning out. We do offsites, bootcamps, workshops and keynotes - whatever you need. And if your organization could use a boost? I’d love to pop in. Shoot me a note at Rachel@leadabovenoise.com so we can explore.
And if you have any thoughts at all on the show, let me know with a rating or review! All feedback is helpful and I’m all ears!
OK, onto today. So, I was one of those kids - and I know I’m not alone here - who would come home with the 98 on the test and my parents immediately wanted to know what happened to the other 2 points. Can you relate?
Thing is, my parents were great, really. And they were joking…mostly. But the truth is, the human eye and mind are drawn to what’s wrong over what’s right. You know - when your boss says 10 amazing things about you and 1 piece of here’s-something-you-can-work-on…we all know which of those 11 things takes up the most real estate in your brain.
I’m sure there’s an evolutionary reason for this - something about saving ourselves from the saber-toothed tiger. But given that saber-tooth sightings in the workplace have been pretty low this year, don’t we all wish we could focus a little more on the positives?
And the good news is, this isn’t just about protecting ourselves emotionally. It’s actually a really strong problem-solving approach. The craft of Appreciative Inquiry (or, as I sometimes call it, “the other AI”) has been around for years. And it’s something I use a lot with clients when we’re trying to activate stronger results. We deep dive not into what’s broken, but what’s already working. And we explore what those things have to teach us.
So, today, let’s talk about how you might use this mindset or approach to make wonderful things happen for you and your at work.
Let’s start with the basics - like what does the other AI look like in practice? It actually follows a structured five-phase process that helps organizations unlock their strengths and build on them:
First, we start with Define. Instead of jumping into problem-solving mode, we take a step back and decide what we actually want to create more of. If you’re struggling with low engagement, rather than asking, “How do we fix disengagement?” reframe the question to, “How can we build a culture where people feel excited to contribute?” That’s the real starting point.
Then we move to Discover. This is where we dig into what’s already working. We look for stories, examples, and successes—tiny ones are fine—that give us clues about what’s driving positive outcomes. Maybe it’s a leader who makes people feel heard, a process that makes collaboration easy, or a team dynamic that just clicks. These insights become the foundation for what comes next.
Next up is Dream. And this is where we get creative. Imagine if everything was working at its absolute best—what would that look like? What would people be saying? How would work feel? I once led a team through this exercise, and someone described their ideal workplace as a place where “meetings feel energizing and clarifying rather than draining and soul-sucking.” That vision helped us build a strategy to rethink how time was spent.
Then we Design. We take the best of what we discovered and what we dreamed up, and we map out tangible ways to bring them to life. Maybe it’s a new way of running meetings, a shift in communication norms, or a simple change in how recognition happens. This is where the ideas start becoming real.
And finally, we Deliver—or as some say, Destiny. This is where we bring it all to life. Appreciative Inquiry isn’t about launching a big initiative and hoping it works—it’s about running small experiments, testing what sticks, and making adjustments along the way. The key is momentum.
So how do we put this into action in real life? Well, here are a few practices to play with.
Start meetings with wins
I mean, super quick. Spend 5 minutes upfront shouting out a few things that went well this week - that delivered a result, or taught you something new, or just felt fresh and fun. Even infuse a little gratitude into it - getting people into the mindset of looking for wins, puts us all in a collective mindset of winning. Which kind of makes us winners.
Find your bright spots
We spend so much time fixing weaknesses that we forget to harness our strengths. One of my clients right now is a chief technology officer. And he’s frustrated with the varying degrees of successful collaboration he’s seeing between his engineers and his architects. He’s tried a bunch of interventions, but the work we’ll be doing? Well, I’m going to spend time with the most successful collaborators on his team to get under the hood of why it works when it works.
From there, we turn their specifics into more general principles that will ultimately get shared and practiced by the rest of the team.
Granted, if it comes naturally to them, it may be hard for them to articulate exactly what they’re doing to make it work. But my job is to push and probe until we hit insight. And you can do the same.
Flip the Problem Statement
I’ve worked with teams on this as they try to problem-solve low employee engagement. They tend to come at it with questions like “why are people so disengaged?” or “what problems do we most need to solve?”
But sometimes the simple flip to something like “When have we felt most motivated and connected?” and “What was happening in those moments?” What made work feel good?” Can really shift the energy of the conversation.
It may sound silly but try it with something really simple. I did this recently when I had a bad workout at the gym. When that happens I tend to beat myself up. But this time I managed to pause. And to ask myself when I last did this particular workout, and what felt great and different? And I realized there was a nutrition thing at play here. So a few days later, when I had the same workout planned? Well, you know where this is going. I ate the thing I knew my body needed and the game changed!
It’s about pulling your brain out of that negative zone and moving it into the realm of solutions.
Create together
Likely you’ve heard me talk, before, about the power of co-created solutions. I just believe in this, so I’ll bang this drum again.
Appreciative Inquiry is participatory by nature. Unlike traditional problem-solving where leaders diagnose issues and prescribe solutions, AI thrives on broad participation. The Design phase isn’t about a single person deciding “how” to build on strengths; it’s about collaborating with those who experience success firsthand to shape the best path forward.
Dreaming is about imagining the best possible future. When we create it together, we ensure bits of the best come from all of us.
Back to my technology client. I’ll be interviewing team members one at a time. But when it comes to designing the way forward? I’ll pull them all in a room. I’ll present back all the pieces they’ve told me are working and I’ll invite them all to choose their favorite elements - the bits and pieces that serve each of them - to bake into the final solution we land on. So all have contributed and all feel a sense of ownership.
I hope you’re feeling inspired to find a challenge and attack it with goodness and positivity.
If you try it—or have another idea to share—I’d love to hear from you! Shoot me a note anytime at rachel@leadabovenoise.com.
And if your team or organization needs a boost—whether it’s through a workshop, keynote, or Pulse Check—let’s talk. You can find me at LeadAboveNoise.com. And if you’re loving the show, don’t forget to follow Modern Mentor on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Thanks so much for listening and have a successful week.
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