From strategy to execution, board by board
Obeya is a way of steering together: goals, work and problems are in one place, and there you steer together in a fixed rhythm. With Wendbaarsturen you translate the strategy into goals for departments and teams. Teams come back with what is feasible. Problems go to the level that can solve them. And every board shows how far the work has got.
All boards in the organisation work together
Every team, every department and the management team has its own Obeya board. Together those boards form one network. The organisation chart shows how they belong together: Obeya boards sit below each other, as many levels deep as the organisation has, and a Kanban board belongs to the Obeya its work is for. Work moves in every direction: down, up and sideways.
The example below is a municipality. In a hospital, a school or a company it works the same way. New to Obeya? Then first read what Obeya is.
An example of the boards below each other
This is an example. Every organisation decides for itself which boards there are and how they sit below each other.
| Level | Board | What happens there |
|---|---|---|
| Management team | Obeya board of the management team | Chooses the direction and the goals for the year. Takes decisions on what a department cannot solve itself. |
| Department | Obeya board of the department, below the management team's board | Translates the goals into the department's work. Solves problems from teams, or passes them on to the management team. |
| Team | Obeya board of the team, below the department's board | Chooses what the team does this month to reach the goal. Reports back what is feasible and what it needs. |
| Daily work | Kanban board attached to the team's Obeya | This is where the everyday work runs. Every card stays linked to the goal it belongs to. |
A goal goes down, the team comes back with what is feasible
Translating strategy to teams starts with the vision. Every board starts with its own Why we do it, in line with the board above, or with the direction of the organisation if there is no board above yet. Only then come the goals. That keeps it visible at every level why the work matters.
The management team puts a goal on its board. With Send to board it sends the goal to a department's board. The card arrives there in the inbox. The department places it on the board itself, in the row where it belongs. The period, the dates, the checklist and the metric stay linked to it.
Then the conversation starts. The department translates the goal into what it can do and passes part of it on to the teams. The team looks at what is feasible and what it needs for that, and reports back. So a goal does not only go down; an answer also comes back. This is also called translating goals or cascading goals. In hoshin kanri, this back and forth of a goal is called catchball.
A problem goes up until someone can solve it
Sometimes a team cannot solve a problem itself. There is too little capacity, a decision is needed, or it is about budget or a rule. Then the team sends the card to the board above. In the Send to board window, that board is already there, with the text escalate here.
The board above places the problem under What is holding us back and the Navigator puts it on the agenda of the next meeting. If it cannot be solved there either, it goes up another level. Once there is a decision, it goes back down to the team that reported the problem.
Departments and teams see where they are waiting for each other
Work often depends on another department or another team. Then you link the cards to each other across the boards. Both teams see the link and know what they are waiting for.
When a meeting takes a decision that also affects another team, the Navigator passes the decision on to that team's board. It arrives there in the inbox, and that team places it on the board itself.
Progress follows along by itself
When all the work under a goal is done, the goal on the board above ticks itself off. That carries on level by level, up to the management team's board. Along the way the board above sees how far the work has got, for example 3/5 done. Nobody has to write a report for that.
Metrics do not add up by themselves across the boards. Every board keeps its own metrics, and the meeting discusses what they mean.
What helps: management steers along
The network of boards gets stronger when management takes part in the rhythm of the boards. That can grow; it does not have to happen on day one. This helps:
- Red is a request for help. A red card is welcome. It shows where help is needed, not who is to blame.
- Difficult problems first. The meeting starts with what is stuck, not with what is going well.
- Help or a decision. Management responds to an escalation with help or a decision, not with a request for a report.
- Reporting back. The decision goes back to the board the question came from.
- Steering in the meeting at the board. Not through reports, but together, on what the board shows.
- Going to see. Managers now and then join the meeting of a board below. They look at what is going on and ask how they can help, not to check up.
Where you can start is explained on Implementing Obeya.
Training and software belong together
Frequently asked questions about strategy and execution
What does this have to do with hoshin kanri?
Hoshin kanri is a method for translating a strategy into goals at every level. The goal goes down, and every level comes back with what is feasible. Wendbaarsturen works with the same idea, on boards that are connected to each other. You do not need to know the method to work with it.
What happens if a team does not think a goal is feasible?
Then the team reports that back, with what it can do and what it needs for that. The board above discusses it in its own meeting. It adjusts the goal, or arranges what is needed.
Does the whole organisation have to take part at once?
No. You start where it fits: with management, with a single department or domain and its teams, or with a team that wants to. The network grows along. Read more on Implementing Obeya.
Can we also link boards of partner organisations?
No, the boards work together within your own organisation. Work that sits with a partner organisation goes on your own board as a card, with an owner who keeps in touch.
Who can see what is on the boards?
You set permissions per board. A private board stays closed to anyone who is not a member, including a connected AI.
Curious how your strategy gets onto the boards?
In a meeting we look together at your goals and at how the boards could belong together.