What You Choose to See

If you ask someone how many red cars they passed on the way to work, most won’t be able to answer. They weren’t looking for red cars, so their mind quietly filtered them out. Yet give that same person a reason to notice them, even something as small as a challenge, a reward, or a conscious intention, and their experience of the same journey changes entirely. The traffic hasn’t shifted. The roads are the same. But suddenly red cars seem to be everywhere.

This happens because of the way the brain handles information. We are exposed to far more sensory data than we can possibly process, so the mind makes choices. It uses selective attention to decide which details matter and which can fade into the background. As soon as something becomes relevant, the filter adjusts and the world reorganises itself around that new point of focus.

From there, confirmation bias begins to play a role. Once the brain starts noticing something, it reinforces the pattern. Each red car strengthens the sense that they are now appearing more frequently, even though the reality hasn’t changed. What alters is the lens through which the day is interpreted.

This has a direct parallel in leadership.

Schools are complex, high-information environments. Every day presents a mixture of progress, pressure, routine, and unexpected events. Without realising it, leaders can find their attention pulled toward the areas that are loudest or most urgent. A concern raised at the wrong moment, a single challenge, a miscommunication, a difficult interaction, these can occupy far more mental space than they deserve, not because they are more important, but because they are more emotionally immediate.

Left unchecked, this can create an imbalance. The mind begins to collect evidence that aligns with the most recent concerns, and before long it becomes easy to believe that the challenges define the whole picture. But, just like with the red cars, the rest of the landscape hasn’t disappeared. It has simply been overshadowed by what the brain has decided to prioritise.

Deliberate attention helps restore balance. When leaders intentionally look for what is going well; strong practice, thoughtful decisions, positive interactions, staff who quietly excel, the cognitive filter shifts. The picture becomes fuller and more representative of the real organisation, not just the noisy parts of it. This isn’t an attempt to gloss over difficulty or avoid challenge. It is about holding the whole truth, not just the most immediate truth.

This shift has a cultural effect too. What leaders notice consistently tends to grow. When strengths are acknowledged people lean into them. Teams feel seen, valued, and grounded. The organisation gradually aligns around what is working rather than being shaped solely by what is not.

In the pace of school life, this matters more than it might seem. Staff work with intensity, carry emotional load, and often move from one task to the next without time to reflect on what went well. Leaders who notice the positives help counteract that pace. They make the strengths of the school visible again, not because they weren’t there, but because someone chose to bring them into focus.

The red cars were always on the road. The difference came from the decision to pay attention.

Leadership is much the same. The strengths of a school, the commitment, the professionalism, the small daily successes, are present every day. Choosing to see them doesn’t ignore reality; it completes it. And over time, that choice shapes the tone, the confidence, and the culture of the entire organisation.