This article describes the process that Norwich City Council used to select and then use Appreciative Inquiry (AI) to support its new Vision of a reshaped Council, and to contribute towards the creation of a set of management and leadership competences based on excellence in customer service found within the Council. This project was a component part of a Council-wide transformation programme, started in 2009, and was intended to contribute towards the creation of a leaner and better performing Council. The article also describes the steps taken to introduce AI to the Council’s senior managers via a launch event, the appreciative conversations undertaken across the Council and the concluding Summit to confirm the root causes of success of the Council and the most advantageous behaviours to be enshrined in the new competences.