Unlocking Capacity:
Best Practices & Future Trends in Appreciative Management
Here is what we are reading at the AiMS institute this week about what’s working well, and what’s coming next in how we lead, plan, and operate in business:
Richard Branson Says What Separates Great Leaders From the Pack Simply Comes Down to 2 Words
IQ and school grades aren’t the sole determinants of success. Effective leaders possess a high degree of emotional intelligence alongside technical skills, and three critical aspects of business success. These are being a good listener, finding empathy, and communicating effectively. Core skills we cover in the AiMS Leadership Certificate program!
Redefining Leadership: The Rise Of New Organizational Structures
There is an evolving relationship between leaders and employees in modern businesses, a shift from traditional top-down leadership to more collaborative and egalitarian approaches. Leaders not only manage but also build positive relationships with employees. The changing dynamics of leadership require a more nuanced and emotionally intelligent approach to effectively navigate the complex relationships within organizations.
5 Ways To Cultivate A High-Performing Team
There are five key contributors to building such high-performing teams: building trust through recognition and feedback, encouraging transparency in mission and values, adopting a growth mindset that embraces failure, ensuring leadership models trust and empathy, and seeking diverse talent that adds to the existing culture. Fostering a culture of trust and openness is essential for achieving high team performance and success in the dynamic business world.
Team building 201: Exceptional team performance involves leadership from everyone
The evolution of team dynamics emphasizes exceptional team performance is no longer solely dependent on a single leader but relies on the collective leadership of all team members. There are three essential attributes for exceptional team performance: 1) Embracing contributions from all team members, 2) Holding oneself and others accountable for top performance, and 3) Commitment to professional development and well-being.
Whenever you’re ready, there are three ways we can help you as a business leader/owner:
Become an AiMS Leader
If you’re a leader looking to elevate the 1-to-1 and team conversations you are having click here to book a call with us to learn about our leadership development programs.
Our 10-session Appreciative Inquiry Leadership Certificate program is designed to give you practical skills and capabilities that result in positive and productive outcomes each and every day.
And our 4-month AiMS Strategic Management Certificate program is designed to help you bring more voices into your planning and operational conversations in ways that significantly elevate strategic possibilities and get things done at the team or organizational level.
Become an AiMS Organization
If you’re a high-growth company experiencing rapid change and are looking to implement and/or transform the key management functions using modern practices (that drive bigger and bolder visions, goals, and actions)…
…partner with AiMS today to implement a transformational management system that mobilizes and energizes your company’s greatest asset – your people.
Contact us at jeffb@aims-institute.com to explore what’s next and best for you.
Learn to use AiMS tools to open up your team meetings
If you’d like a FREE list of generative questions you can use to open your team meetings positively and productively, click here to download the list!
Learn to use AiMS tools to open up your team meetings
If you’d like a FREE list of generative questions you can use to open your team meetings positively and productively, click here to download the list!
Unlocking Capacity:
Leadership Thoughts in Appreciative Management
Here is a custom blog from the minds at the AiMS institute:
When it comes to finding the right talent for your organization, a crucial part of the hiring process is the interview. We all know the standard fare: “Tell me about yourself,” “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” and the classic, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” While these questions are not without merit, they often yield rehearsed answers that do little to reveal a candidate’s true capabilities. If you’re ready to revolutionize your hiring process, it’s time to introduce generative interview questions into your toolkit.
Generative questions are questions aimed at bringing out the best in people and situations. Instead of focusing on what’s wrong or needs fixing, these questions help people talk about their strengths and the good stuff that’s already happening. The idea is that by talking about what’s going well, you can figure out how to make things even better moving forward.
These aren’t just “feel-good” questions. They’re designed to spark real change by helping people see what they’re already good at and how they can build on that. So instead of asking, “What problems do we need to fix?”, you might ask, “What are we doing really well that we can do more of?” The goal is to inspire a more positive and collaborative way of thinking that can lead to meaningful improvements.
In a nutshell, these questions encourage positive conversations that help people get creative about making things better. They help you focus on the assets you already have—whether it’s talented people, strong skills, or successful projects—and think about how you can leverage those to achieve even greater things.
At the AiMS Institute, we are experts at asking the kinds of generative questions and leading the kinds of conversations that drive results, improve culture and develop people (simultaneously).
Unlike factual or straightforward questions that elicit predetermined responses, generative questions force the candidate to think critically, reflecting on their experiences, skills, and problem-solving abilities. Questions like, “Can you describe a time when you had to innovate to solve a complex problem?” offer deeper insights into a candidate’s capabilities. Generative questions not only give you a nuanced understanding of a candidate’s skill set but also offer a glimpse into their soft skills like adaptability, communication, and emotional intelligence.
The traditional interview questions focus on hard skills—qualifications and technical abilities. However, in today’s increasingly interconnected world, soft skills like teamwork, adaptability, and problem-solving are becoming more and more crucial. Generative questions allow you to assess these invaluable skills effectively. By asking the candidate to narrate past experiences or contemplate hypothetical scenarios, you get to see how well they articulate thoughts, adapt to new situations, or empathize with others. These traits can often be more telling indicators of a candidate’s suitability for a role than any résumé bullet point.
What’s more, these questions can be tailored to align closely with the actual work the candidate will be doing. Hiring a project manager? Ask them how they would execute a particular project from start to finish. Need a creative mind? Pose a question that forces them to generate ideas for a hypothetical campaign. This not only assesses their professional competence but also offers a glimpse into their strategic thinking and resource management.
Ready to dive deeper into the world of generative interview questions? We have curated a comprehensive guide filled with generative questions tailored for various roles across different industries. Download the guide and equip your team with the skills to identify the best talent that aligns with your organizational values and goals.
Download Our Guide to Generative Interview Questions for Candidates: AiMS Interview Questions for Candidates.pdf
Wishing you the best in your quest for the perfect hire!
Best Regards
Jason MacKenzie
COO, AiMS Institute
Whenever you’re ready, there are three ways we can help you business leader/owner:
Unlocking Capacity:
Leadership Thoughts in Appreciative Management
Here is a custom blog from the minds at the AiMS institute:
When it comes to finding the right talent for your organization, a crucial part of the hiring process is the interview. We all know the standard fare: “Tell me about yourself,” “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” and the classic, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” While these questions are not without merit, they often yield rehearsed answers that do little to reveal a candidate’s true capabilities. If you’re ready to revolutionize your hiring process, it’s time to introduce generative interview questions into your toolkit.
Generative questions are questions aimed at bringing out the best in people and situations. Instead of focusing on what’s wrong or needs fixing, these questions help people talk about their strengths and the good stuff that’s already happening. The idea is that by talking about what’s going well, you can figure out how to make things even better moving forward.
These aren’t just “feel-good” questions. They’re designed to spark real change by helping people see what they’re already good at and how they can build on that. So instead of asking, “What problems do we need to fix?”, you might ask, “What are we doing really well that we can do more of?” The goal is to inspire a more positive and collaborative way of thinking that can lead to meaningful improvements.
In a nutshell, these questions encourage positive conversations that help people get creative about making things better. They help you focus on the assets you already have—whether it’s talented people, strong skills, or successful projects—and think about how you can leverage those to achieve even greater things.
At the AiMS Institute, we are experts at asking the kinds of generative questions and leading the kinds of conversations that drive results, improve culture and develop people (simultaneously).
Unlike factual or straightforward questions that elicit predetermined responses, generative questions force the candidate to think critically, reflecting on their experiences, skills, and problem-solving abilities. Questions like, “Can you describe a time when you had to innovate to solve a complex problem?” offer deeper insights into a candidate’s capabilities. Generative questions not only give you a nuanced understanding of a candidate’s skill set but also offer a glimpse into their soft skills like adaptability, communication, and emotional intelligence.
The traditional interview questions focus on hard skills—qualifications and technical abilities. However, in today’s increasingly interconnected world, soft skills like teamwork, adaptability, and problem-solving are becoming more and more crucial. Generative questions allow you to assess these invaluable skills effectively. By asking the candidate to narrate past experiences or contemplate hypothetical scenarios, you get to see how well they articulate thoughts, adapt to new situations, or empathize with others. These traits can often be more telling indicators of a candidate’s suitability for a role than any résumé bullet point.
What’s more, these questions can be tailored to align closely with the actual work the candidate will be doing. Hiring a project manager? Ask them how they would execute a particular project from start to finish. Need a creative mind? Pose a question that forces them to generate ideas for a hypothetical campaign. This not only assesses their professional competence but also offers a glimpse into their strategic thinking and resource management.
Ready to dive deeper into the world of generative interview questions? We have curated a comprehensive guide filled with generative questions tailored for various roles across different industries. Download the guide and equip your team with the skills to identify the best talent that aligns with your organizational values and goals.
Download Our Guide to Generative Interview Questions for Candidates: AiMS Interview Questions for Candidates.pdf
Wishing you the best in your quest for the perfect hire!
Best Regards
Jason MacKenzie
COO, AiMS Institute
Whenever you’re ready, there are three ways we can help you business leader/owner:
