Message From Julie: What If We Spent More Time Analyzing What’s Going Right?
Author: Julie Chance, Founder of Action-Strategies-By-Design
As leaders, we’re trained to be problem-solvers. We scan for gaps, inefficiencies, and breakdowns. We hold post-mortems, root cause analyses, and performance reviews—all in the name of fixing what’s broken. Yet, we often overlook a powerful approach to implementing change and improving results – analyzing what’s actually going right.
In their book Switch, Chip and Dan Heath suggest that as leaders, we spend too much time diagnosing failure and not nearly enough time understanding success. It’s a subtle yet profound shift in thinking. Rather than zeroing in only on what we need to fix, we should be devoting equal attention to identifying, learning from and scaling our successes.
The authors talk about “bright spots”—those moments, behaviors, or outcomes that are already working well. Instead of obsessing over what’s failing, they suggest we study these bright spots with the same rigor we usually reserve for problems. They emphasize that “finding the bright spots” is a critical aspect of successfully initiating change.
When was the last time you dissected a success? Not just celebrated it, but really broke it down to understand why it worked? Who was involved? What conditions made it possible? What habits or mindsets were present? How to repeat the success?
Focusing on what’s going right isn’t about patting ourselves on the back or ignoring reality. It’s an approach to understanding why something is working and how we can replicate and scale it. When we dissect successes, we’re creating a blueprint for future achievements.
Interestingly, focusing intentionally on what’s working can also shift your team’s mindset toward learning and growth. It generates momentum, builds confidence, and encourages people to think creatively about what’s possible. Instead of problem fatigue, teams experience success momentum, which is highly motivating.
As leaders, it’s our job to deliberately shine a light on success as well as failure. Ask your team: “What went exceptionally well here, and why?” Listen carefully. You may uncover strengths you weren’t aware existed or novel approaches that can inspire future innovation and change.
Here’s my challenge to you: This week, pick one thing that’s working well and along with your team, analyze it. What’s making it work? How can you replicate the success? Where else might these lessons apply? Encourage open dialogue about what’s working, why it’s effective, and how you might magnify it moving forward.
Let’s become experts not just in fixing what’s wrong, but in replicating and scaling what’s right. Because sometimes, the path forward isn’t hidden in the problems. It’s already shining in the bright spots—we just have to look.
As leaders, we don’t have to abandon our analytical instincts. We simply need to redirect some of that analytical rigor toward our successes. The payoff? A team culture that thrives on replicating wins instead of merely avoiding losses.
What successes can you and your team dissect today?
