Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 13th edition

Welcome back leaders!

This is the thirteenth edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter. 

Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.

Read time: less than 5 minutes

Our topic for today is learning from success.

You may have heard the saying that success is a bad teacher.

That’s not because success lacks value, it’s because most leaders don’t slow down long enough to understand why it happened.

Ego pushes us forward. Momentum keeps us moving. And we mistake outcomes for mastery.

Yes, hard work and skill matter.

But success is often influenced by factors we don’t fully control, such as timing, circumstances, and sometimes luck.

Our ego tends to downplay that reality.

Luck may open the door, but preparation and reflection determine whether you walk through it again.

That’s why learning from success takes courage.

It requires humility instead of ego, curiosity instead of certainty, and discipline instead of momentum.

Success doesn’t have to be a bad teacher, nor should it be.

Learning from success requires courage, because it also requires humility, curiosity, and discipline.

In law enforcement, I learned about this concept from our SWAT team members.

If you’re not familiar with what a SWAT team is, the acronym stands for special weapons and tactics.

This is the team that goes in when the situations are (or potentially) very dangerous.

No matter how well any operation went, they always debriefed it.

Every member of the team shares what went well, and most importantly – where the gaps were.

Each member is expected to be brutally honest with their own performance and the performance of their teammates.

Can you imagine telling a SWAT operator what they needed to do better?!

But, this is required for continued improvement, continued excellence in performance, and safe operations.

They referred to this debrief as an After-Action Review.

The failure to conduct an After-Action Review leads to a dangerous strategy of “hoping for the best”

Regardless of industry, leaders can use these key questions asked in an After-Action Review:

• What worked and why?

• What almost didn’t work (where luck may have come into play)?

• Who helped us succeed and how?

• What would we do again the next time?

• What would we do differently the next time?

You can expand on this list as necessary depending upon the industry or circumstances.

It takes courage to slow down after a success and conduct an After-Action Review.

First, it can be uncomfortable to be brutally honest with each other on performance – especially when the outcome was what you wanted.

Second, it can feel risky to admit potential failures, blind spots, or where luck played a part.

Most importantly, your future outcomes may depend on this debrief.

It is important to emphasize that brutal honesty should not be delivered brutally.

The purpose of this feedback is for continuous improvement – for individuals, teams, and the organization.

It should be framed as “I care about the success of you, this team, and this organization, and here are some observations to help us get even better.”

This week’s courageous choice:

Identify one recent success and conduct a brief After-Action Review.

Don’t just celebrate your success, learn from it.