Amplify What Works: Leading Through System Strengths
The smartest leaders don’t just fix problems, they scale what’s already working.
Today a leaders attention is often pulled toward what's not working such as declining metrics, conflict areas, failure to thrive, or underperformance. While these deserve attention, they are not the only data the system is offering. In fact, focusing exclusively on problems can obscure the more valuable question: Where is the system already thriving, and how can we do more of that?
Systems are dynamic, self-regulating entities. That means they're always producing signals; not just signs of strain, but also signs of resilience, creativity, and alignment. The challenge is that many of these strengths operate under the radar. They show up in moments of flow, in pockets of high trust, or in the kind of collaboration that feels almost effortless. Systemic leaders learn to recognize and amplify these patterns.
When we talk about "amplifying what works," I am not advocating for blind optimism. This is not a leadership style built on ignoring dysfunction. Dysfunction always needs addressing, especially when it relates to toxic organizational culture and toxic leadership culture, habits and behaviors. However, beyond fixing the dysfunction, we also need leaders to make a strategic shift in attention i.e. from deficit correction to strength multiplication and amplification. You don’t ignore what's broken; you learn to contextualize it within the larger system and use what's working as a source of leverage.
Amplifying what works requires two key mindset shifts:
From linear to systemic thinking:
Instead of cause-and-effect logic ("X caused Y to fail"), you begin to see how parts of the system interact, influence, and reinforce one another. Strengths are often emergent properties of those interactions, not isolated successes.
From control to curiosity:
Rather than assuming a top-down fix, you ask: What’s emerging? What’s already generating value, energy, and impact; and how do we replicate or scale the underlying dynamics?
This isn’t just a mindset shift; it’s a leadership strategy rooted in science, trust, pattern recognition, and relational intelligence. The leaders who thrive in volatile, complex environments aren’t the ones who move fastest to fix what is broken or not working, they’re the ones who pause long enough to notice what’s already moving well and why.
3 Practical Systemic Strategies to Amplify What Works
Map the Bright Spots
Start by identifying areas in your organization where energy is already flowing. Where is work getting done with ease? Where are teams collaborating effectively? Where is trust high? These are your “bright spots.” Interview the people involved, observe the dynamics, and go beyond metrics, and start to curiously explore and look at the behaviors, relationships, and cultural patterns underneath.
Listen Beneath the Surface
Often, success isn't found in grand strategy decks but in the informal, lived experiences of your people. I know that will annoy all the consulting companies, but it is the truth. Your pretty strategy decks are worthless. Rather, leaders should start to listen to what’s not being said in meetings, pay attention to the rituals, workarounds, or practices that people rely on daily. These informal elements often contain the “unofficial system” that tells you what’s truly working.
Scale the Principle, Not the Practice
Avoid the temptation to cut and paste success from one part of the organization to another. What works in one team may not land the same way elsewhere. Instead, extract the principle behind the success (e.g., psychological safety, clarity of purpose, cross-functional trust, or whatever it might be) and adapt it to the context of other parts of the system.
Take a monent ot reflect:
Where in my organization is energy naturally flowing right now?
What teams, projects, or relationships are quietly thriving, and what enables that?
What do our “bright spots” reveal about what we value, but may not be naming?
How do we reward or reinforce the behaviors and principles that lead to success?
Am I giving as much attention to what’s working as I do to what’s failing?
What feedback loops exist around our strengths; and are we learning from them?
What stories of success are circulating within the organization; and what are they teaching us?
What small interventions could make a significant difference if applied to the right part of the system?
Where do I personally need to shift my attention to lead more systemically?
What is the system already telling me about where to lean in; and where to let go?
Call to Action
If you're a senior leader ready to lead beyond the noise, to move from fixing problems to multiplying strengths, let’s talk. You already have all the solutions you need, you need to just know where to look and how to leverage them. Most leaders are not systemically minded, it’s not what organizations or business schools teach. So there is no judgement there, only the recognition that we all know surface level solutions very rarely solve anything.
I help executives uncover the deeper patterns in their organizations, surface the stories that matter, and lead through a systemic and narrative lens. Together, we’ll explore how to recognize, replicate, and scale the success and intelligence already present in your organization and teams.
Lead with clarity. Lead from connection. Lead from what’s strong.