A complete reference to the structure and mindset behind the Leading with Obeya method — what each board is for, what goes on it, how often it's reviewed, and the principles that make the whole system work in practice.
Five interconnected boards, each with a distinct purpose and cadence. Together they form one integrated system — from long-term strategic direction to the issues that arise today.
Where are we headed — and what do we need to get there?
This is where the team lays the fundamental framework for everything else in the Obeya. The team's goal or purpose is the starting point; from there the team determines the capabilities needed to achieve it and sets a strategic course. The result is a complete overview of everything that matters and the objectives the team chooses to work on.
How well are we doing in terms of what's important?
Here the team identifies and tracks progress and performance toward the strategic direction. Indicators show how well the team is performing; ambition levels make clear what's going well and what challenges remain — helping the team prioritize the right things and surface problems early.
What tough problems must we work on?
When an indicator shows the team consistently fails to reach its ambition levels, the team has hit the edge of its knowledge — a problem without a clear solution. A structured problem-solving method is used to tackle the root cause, free from bias and assumptions. This board makes that work visible and systematic.
What's our plan to deliver value to our organization and customers?
The plan shows the steps the team needs to take to reach its goals, and how scarce people and resources are best deployed to create value — both externally for customers and internally for developing the organization and team. Value becomes visible through milestones and the smooth flow of work through the team's value streams.
How do we address issues that arise when doing the work?
Plans are good, but tomorrow is uncertain — so a flexible, adaptive way of working is key. This is where the team addresses problems, requests, and new developments arising from across the organization. The outcomes are problem resolutions, new policy decisions, or actions that support the teams doing the valuable work.
Plans only get the team so far. This board makes it possible to absorb new problems, requests, and developments flexibly — and turn them into resolutions, decisions, or actions.
The 5 boards aren't independent — they're designed as an integrated system where each board feeds into the next.
Together, the boards become the place where the team can see, learn, and act together — turning strategy into a daily operating rhythm, and daily reality into learning that feeds back up.
The boards are the structure. The 7 principles describe how the team thinks and acts at and around the Obeya — together they make the method work in practice, not just on paper.
Everything the team needs to govern is made transparent on the Obeya. That gives peace of mind: everything that matters to the team is in one place. The team also learns how the system it governs works and how it responds to decisions. Every aspect on the Obeya is assigned to an owner, so the team always knows who it belongs to — and accountability is built in, not bolted on.
By visually displaying all key steering information with clear frameworks and tools for arriving at decisions and actions, the team makes the best use of its strongest sense: sight. This promotes effective alignment and mutual understanding, and helps avoid assumptions and thinking errors. By visualizing problems, the team sees them coming early, puts them in perspective, and arrives at better insights.
Respect for people means recognizing that we are constantly developing ourselves, individually and as a team. This requires trust and room to make mistakes. We work on our development consciously by taking the Obeya sessions, structured problem solving, and the methods set up here to the teams we manage ourselves. Leadership development happens through the work, not away from it.
We make sure we have the right meeting at the right time so we can keep our responsiveness high, while staying focused on the bigger picture. Meetings are effective because we discuss the right topics at the right time — not everything all at once. Disciplined, well-prepared meetings make working with the Obeya increasingly effective. Important issues can move from the shop floor to senior management within a day if needed.
We are always on the lookout for ways to improve the way we work and the outcomes of our work. Continuous improvement isn't something we just talk about — it is visible on the walls, in the way we think and act during our meetings, and in our interaction with the teams we lead. The Obeya itself evolves alongside the team.
To learn from daily reality, we go and see where it all happens. This way we immediately see the impact of our policies — and avoid discussion and bad decision-making based only on assumptions. Gemba — the actual place — is where understanding lives. Going there isn't optional; it's how the Obeya stays connected to reality.
All teams are interconnected — top-down, bottom-up, throughout the whole organization and its core processes. Following this chain of teams clearly outlines the red thread of organizational strategy. Every Obeya carries a representation of the parent strategy, and all teams are connected by well-timed dialogues, so important cases can easily be carried from the workplace to the board table — and back.