WE’RE ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT at finding problems. Humans are hard-wired for it.

And people get rewarded for solving problems. So we get really good at it.

The problem is that this tendency means we’re not paying attention to what’s going right, what’s working. And your employees who aren’t creating problems tend to get ignored as well.

This is one of the exercises I do with clients. We simply step back, look at the big picture, and celebrate what’s working.

Why is this valuable? Three reasons:

  • If something is going well, we want to encourage that to continue and grow.
  • The contrast between what’s working and not gives us greater clarity on what’s going on in our corner of the world.
  • We have to balance the stress of bad news with the gratitude for good news. It makes us feel better, and those we interact with.

I’m not talking about ignoring problems and issues. But focusing exclusively on those means that we’re missing opportunities and draining energy. As a leader, you’re affecting the entire organization with your focus.

Some people like to start their day with a personal “gratitude exercise”, which is fabulous. But it’s an entirely different thing to have gratitude for what’s working well in your business.

Give it a try!