If You're Wondering How to Solve the Problem, You're Asking the Wrong Question

We, the ambitious change makers, want to solve problems.

But solving problems, paradoxically, requires us to stop focusing on the problem. Rather than focusing on what is going wrong, we have to focus on what's going well. Rather than focusing on the needs and deficits, we have to focus on assets and strengths.

Reframe the problem as a question or a topic to explore. If the problem is that organizations aren't working well together, consider exploring questions like “What is good collaboration?” “What roles do we play in working well together?”

The next step is important. Even when you've framed a positive question or topic to focus on instead of a problem, it's too easy to start looking at what's missing and why you might not be able to achieve the positive outcomes you've envisioned. Don't. Look instead at assets you and your collaborators bring.

Even if you think they don't have anything to do with the topic or question, talk about every strength, every physical asset, every connection, every skill. These are the tools with which you will create those positive outcomes.

You may recognize this as Appreciative Inquiry, or the first couple of rules of Strategic Doing. But you don't have to know about those approaches to benefit from asking positive questions and bringing your collaborative strengths to bear.

Ask “where do we want to go?” and “what progress have we made?” not “why aren't we getting there?”