Are You Asking the Right Questions? with Robyn Stratton-Berkessel

Today we’re talking to Robyn Stratton-Berkessel, who’s an adjunct professor in the School of Management at Champlain College, where she teaches online in the positive organizational development MBA programme. She’s the author of Appreciative Inquiry for Collaborative Solutions, hosts the popular Positivity Strategist Podcast, and is an advisor on various appreciative inquiry initiatives, for organizations all over the world. In this episode, we explore how positivity is improved in workplaces when people are given a voice using participative approaches like Appreciative Inquiry and how leaders can learn to feel confident about these generative approaches. Connect with Robyn: Website:  positivitystrategist.com You’ll Learn: [02:18] - Robyn explains the characteristics of a positive workplace. [04:45] - Robyn shares how we can help leaders feel more confident about the benefits of giving people a voice when it comes to improving positivity in workplaces. [07:37] - Robyn shares an example of how Appreciative Inquiry can be used to help cynics with diverse views find a meaningful way forward together. [10:56] - Robyn explains how we can craft generative questions that help people to see old things in new ways. [13:50] - Robyn explains why appreciative inquiry is more than simply always talking about the positive. [16:24] - Robyn shares how workplaces can harness the opportunity and power of self-organization as one of the outcomes of an Appreciative Inquiry experience. [18:34] - Robyn offers some caveats and cautions about when an Appreciative Inquiry approach might now work so well. [20:07] - Robyn talks about the importance of not using an Appreciative Inquiry approach to gloss over difficult or painful conversations in workplaces. [23:02] - Robyn completes the lightning round. Your Resources: MPPW Podcast on Facebook Robyn's Ted Talk Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining me again this week.  If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post. Please leave an honest review for the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them.  And don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It’s free! You can also listen to all the episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work streamed directly to your smartphone or iPad through stitcher. No need for downloading or syncing. Until next time, take care!  Thank you Robyn!