Principles of an Undercover Solution Focused Warrior
Using SF in problem focused environments
Jun 19, 2026
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Introduction by John Brooker
This session is titled “Principles of an Undercover Solution Focused Warrior”. Drawing on the Seven Virtues of Bushido, the traditional code of the samurai, Miklós György explores what it means to use Solution Focus in problem-focused environments. But what drew me in were the stories he tells. Stories of using a Solution Focus approach while living rough on the streets and in tough schools, environments that are naturally problem focused.
As I listened, I found myself thinking about the lessons for leaders in organisations. Many of us work in organisations that aspire to innovation and collaboration, yet instinctively return to blame, analysis and deficit thinking.
While not stating them directly, Miklós invites us to reflect on leadership lessons such as:
- Lead with curiosity, not certainty. The quality of our questions may matter more than the quality of our answers.
- View leadership as mutual learning. In uncertain environments, nobody has the whole picture. Leaders learn with people rather than simply directing them.
- Believe in people’s unrealised capacities. Leaders sometimes see strengths and possibilities in people before they can see them themselves.
You may not agree with every conclusion Miklós draws, and some listeners may find aspects of his story surprising. Yet there is something important here for Solution Focus practitioners and organisational leaders alike.
In problem-focused environments, perhaps the real challenge for leaders and SF practitioners is not knowing the techniques of SF, but having the courage to relate to people differently: to stay curious rather than certain, to learn alongside others, and to hold onto a belief in their capacities when the surrounding culture pulls us towards deficits and blame.
Perhaps to be an “undercover solution-focused warrior” is simply to continue to practise these principles when the world around us points in another direction.