The Root Cause Problem Solving Duo: Lean and Barometer XP

One of the most exciting developments from 2025 was discovering how well our reflective approach the facilitated play complements Lean thinking. 

• Both are based on the underlying assumption that there is always room for improvement to make work a more effective and efficient experience for everyone. 

• Both are focused on being proactive to solve incremental problems before they become major crises. 

• Both are grounded in the understanding that we are all works-in-progress.

Both Lean and Barometer XP’s methodologies are about addressing the root cause of problems, rather than merely fixing the symptoms. This requires a substantial mentality shift to how most leaders and teams operate, which is more like the carnival game Whack-a-Mole. 

Here’s an example of solving a symptom of a problem rather than the root cause. 

Imagine you are sitting in your living room and notice a fly buzzing around. Your first instinct is probably to grab the fly swatter and get rid of the pesky sucker. Then 5 minutes later another fly shows up. And another. 

Sure, you can continue to swat them one at a time. But what would happen if you figured out where they were coming from in the first place? Patching a hole in a window screen, sealing around a door, or taking out a particularly gross bag of garbage will prevent more flies from coming in (root cause). Swatting them just gets rid of the ones that are immediately visible (symptom).

So what does root cause problem solving look like at work?

Here is one example. 

Imagine your team manager doesn’t clearly communicate instructions and expectations. Every new deliverable results in the same series of events: 

1. A confusing kickoff meeting with no chance to ask clarifying questions. 

2. A tight timeline to complete the work. 

3. Once the manager reviews the work you only receive harsh criticism and no helpful feedback. 

4. A rush to redo the work to meet the (still vague) expectations.

This cycle is very frustrating for everyone involved, and overtime builds resentment and erodes trust between managers and their teams. 

A common solution to this problem would be to create a standard timeline for deliverables that built in more time for reviewing the draft and reworking the delivering, to reduce the rush and stress at the end. This is the fly-swatter approach.

A root-cause approach might be a facilitating team building session that explores the different communication styles on the team, accompanied by coaching to help the manager better understand how to communicate clear instructions and expectations in the first place. Or facilitating a conversation with the team that helps them establish trust and psychological safety so people feel more comfortable asking clarifying questions earlier in the process, and making sure the manager understands why these questions are critical to success.

This is where play-based learning comes in.

What’s the first thing you do when you play a game with friends? You make sure everyone knows how to play. One person explains the directions to everyone else, and then you play.

Sometimes those directions are clear and you can jump right into playing. Sometimes it takes a while to make sure people have enough of an understanding to start playing. It’s likely different people will need to learn the instructions in different ways. One person might want to read the instructions themselves. Someone else might want to hear the instructions verbally, and be able to ask questions. One person might want to play a practice round, or watch everyone else play first. 

Sound familiar? Wouldn’t it be helpful to play a game with your team?

Playing a game together allows your team to practice communicating, and to understand each person’s needs when it comes to performance expectations. By the end of the game, the team will likely have ideas for how to apply what was learned in the game to their real work. They are cocreating a new process that ensures the whole work process will be smoother and less tense, while producing a high-quality deliverable in a shorter amount of time.

Isn’t that a win for everyone?