"Don't just tell me something’s wrong with the process, come up with a solution!"
Does this sound like a familiar refrain in your organisation? While it might seem like sound advice on the surface (a call for proactive thinking), leaders and managers who lean on this phrase too quickly can overlook real opportunities for process improvement, team development, and sustainable growth. In the world of business processes, problems aren't just hurdles; they're leaks in your bucket, draining efficiency, quality, and profitability.
So What Then?
Enter LSS (Lean Six Sigma), a practical, team-based method for improving processes by reducing waste and variation using data and structured problem-solving. Lean focuses on removing waste and improving flow. Six Sigma focuses on reducing variation and defects. LSS combines both by using a disciplined approach to fix the right problem in the right way.
People and Processes
Not all processes, or people, are created equal. Processes can vary wildly in complexity, from simple workflows to intricate systems intertwined with technology, people, and external factors. Similarly, individuals differ in their wiring: some excel at spotting issues but struggle with root cause analysis, while others thrive in data-driven environments but need guidance on creative problem solving or solution implementation. When a leader defaults to "come up with a solution," they're assuming the person raising the problem has the full toolkit at their disposal to navigate from issue identification through to a viable fix: skills in data collection, analysis, solution design, and risk assessment. But that's rarely the case in any one individual, especially in dynamic, cross-functional teams.
Knowing What We are Really Solving For!
At a minimum, effective problem-solving in LSS requires accurately defining the problem, measuring performance with real in-situ data, analysing root causes, validating root causes, crafting improvements through targeted solutions, and then controlling outcomes for long-term stability (sustainability). This is the heart of the DMAIC framework: Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control - a structured roadmap for solving process problems using data. It is a disciplined, data-backed structure that doesn't rely on guesswork or solo heroics. It's a lot to expect from any single employee without support to “come up with the solution”.
A Quick Example
Imagine a customer onboarding process that “feels slow.” A manager asks for a solution. The team suggests “add more staff.” But DMAIC would first define the exact start/end of onboarding, measure cycle time and rework, analyse where delays actually occur (handoffs, approvals, missing info, governance, etc.), improve with targeted fixes (clear inputs, fewer handoffs, standard work), and control the gains (checks, dashboards, ownership). Often, the outcome is faster onboarding with less effort, not more headcount (at greater expense).
The People Dynamics
LSS recognizes that some people thrive in solo analysis phases, others in collaborative brainstorming, and many benefit from a blend, often incorporating research or pilot testing and leveraging individual skills and experience within a team context. By advocating "come up with a solution," a leader's expectation hinges on unverified assumptions about the individual's skills, resources, and environment. It ignores development needs, team dynamics, and capabilities, and the coaching role inherent in modern management. Worse, it can lead to quick fixes that mask symptoms rather than addressing root causes, perpetuating 'Muda' (a Lean term for waste and non-value-adding work) and Variability (a major driver of defects and inconsistency). This pressure-to-fix-fast approach risks demotivating teams, eroding confidence, and missing chances to build a culture of continuous improvement, none of which fosters high-performing processes or engaged employees and teams.
World Class Thinking
Instead, embrace LSS as the best-practice antidote for impaired, inefficient, wasteful, unstable, and underperforming processes. It provides the discipline and structure to systematically plug and repair those holes in your business, supported by powerful tools when and where they are needed, for example: 5S (Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardise, Sustain - a workplace-organisation method); or Value Stream Mapping (VSM) - a way to visualise end-to-end flow and identify delays and waste.
Opportunity Gateways
When an employee flags a process issue, be it bottlenecks, defects, inefficiencies, or any other issue, view it as a gateway to the following opportunities (among others):
1. What do we truly understand about the problem's scope? Using DMAIC's Define phase, map where it begins and ends, identify upstream/downstream interdependencies, quantify business impacts (e.g., cost of poor quality), assess effects on people, technologies, processes, and systems, and evaluate risks to governance, compliance, and customer satisfaction. Optional (when useful): SIPOC - Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers - a high-level view of a process; and VOC - Voice of the Customer - what “good” looks like to the customer.2. Who should participate in problem definition and solution generation? Involve stakeholders via RACI - Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed - to clarify roles; or Kaizen - a continuous improvement workshop - to generate and test ideas quickly to strengthen interdepartmental relationships, tap subject matter experts, and ensure buy-in and collaboration for sustainable changes.3. How can the team collectively learn by collaborating on this resolution? LSS promotes cross-functional teams in the Analyse and Improve phases, enhancing organisational memory through knowledge management.4. How can we boost our problem-solving capabilities? Employ LSS techniques like CTQ (Critical to Quality): what must be true for the customer to be satisfied for prioritization, creative tools like brainstorming and other ideation techniques, and select the most fitting methods based on data and process type.5. What low-cost, low-risk trials can test our hypotheses? Use Improve phase pilots, such as PDSA - Plan, Do, Study, Act - a rapid test-and-learn cycle or small-scale experiments, to validate solutions without major investments.
While this list isn't exhaustive, it scales with the issue's complexity. LSS isn't about temporarily fixing holes; it's about redesigning the bucket for durability. There’s no need to see Lean Six Sigma as a complex methodology that’s beyond your reach. Instead, view it as a clear, logical approach to problem-solving supported by the DMAIC framework, practical, powerful tools, and guided every step of the way by a knowledgeable LSS expert (whether in-house or external). They’ll lead you and your team through the DMAIC process in an approachable yet stimulating way, empowering everyone involved while delivering meaningful improvements to key business processes.
Leader Perspectives
For leaders and managers, the shift is simple: don’t demand a fully formed solution upfront, sponsor a structured path to crafting a sustainable one. When someone raises a problem, try these three questions before jumping to fixes:
- What does “good” look like, and how will we measure it?
- Where exactly in the process is the delay, defect, or rework happening?
- What is the smallest safe test we can run to learn fast?
Next time you hear "Don't just tell me what the problem is, come up with a solution!", pivot to the wealth of opportunities LSS unlocks: individual learning through tool mastery, team learning via collaboration, leadership learning in project sponsorship, and organisational learning for sustainable process excellence! And importantly, better outcomes: faster flow, fewer defects, lower cost, and a calmer, more capable organisation.