Lately, I’ve noticed something recurring in teams, conversations, and projects: an excessive focus on what’s missing. This 20% that’s pending, imperfect, or could be improved is analyzed under a microscope, while the 80% that sustains the work goes almost unnoticed. And when what works becomes invisible, the quality of relationships, and of the work itself, suffers.
In our families, on teams, with friends, even with ourselves. Without realizing it, we become experts at detecting flaws: that email that didn’t come out perfectly, the detail that was missing, the gesture we expected but didn’t arrive.
In our sharp focus on what’s missing, we fail to see something enormous: what is present. People give their all every day. They support, care for, and move forward. That good 80%, the one that enables everything else, and which we often take for granted.
What if we shift our focus? What if we sharpen our gaze in another direction? I’m not talking about simply saying, “You did a great job.” I mean truly observing: noticing, appreciating, and appreciating. Seeing the intention behind the action, the real effort behind the final result.
People grow when they feel someone sees their full potential. When you’re recognized, you expand; when you’re ignored, you shrink. In teams, this can change everything.
Look, this isn’t about denying the missing 20%. It’s about balancing the scales. Because if we only operate from that perspective, we become harsh, scarce, demanding, and soulless .
Transformation occurs when we adjust our perspective. Correcting what needs correcting, yes, but without ceasing to honor what is already good.
Recognition builds relationships, brings people closer, and humanizes them. And that, in any relationship, always comes back multiplied.
What if you start looking at (and recognizing) the 80% that holds more than you think?