When the Problem Doesn’t Happen
Failure shows you what went wrong. Success shows you what works.
A team misses deadlines, you investigate failure. A manager loses their temper, you analyze anger. Meetings go badly; you study dysfunction.
Avoiding failure asks: What’s the problem? How do we keep it from happening again?
Pursuing success asks: What worked? Why did it work? How can we do more of that?
Study successful exceptions.
Successful Exceptions
A successful exception happens when a usual problem doesn’t happen.
- The project finished on time.
- The complainer offered a solution.
- The habitual interrupter listened.
- The team resolved disagreement without intervention.
- The overwhelmed employee had a productive week.
Exceptions prove failures aren’t inevitable.
Don’t ignore failure. Study success.
Investigate Successful Exceptions
When you find an exception, get curious.
#1. What was different?
Notice changes in preparation, expectations, environment, or timing.
#2. What did you do?
Identify useful behaviors. Unexamined success appears accidental.
#3. Who helped?
Notice relationships, encouragement, information, or collaboration.
#4. What can you repeat?
Identify one useful behavior. Do it again.
Create conditions that make success easier.
Suppose team meetings start late and circle a black hole. But Tuesday’s meeting started on time and found an answer in 20 minutes.
What happened?
Perhaps you sent the agenda early. Maybe someone opened with a clear question. Perhaps everyone came prepared.
Find the difference. Repeat it.
Build on Success
Problem-focused leaders ask, “Why do we keep failing?”
Solution-focused leaders ask, “Where are we already succeeding?”
Successful exceptions reveal hidden competence.
Don’t just study the problem. Study the moment the problem didn’t happen.
Choose one recurring problem. Find one time it didn’t happen. What was different?
The Real Focus of Successful Leaders – Leadership Freak
Positive deviance: learning from positive anomalies | Emerald Publishing
