Why the Future of Operational Excellence Depends on Capability, Not Firefighting
Every leader knows they must solve problems. It is one of the core responsibilities of anyone charged with delivering results, supporting teams, and stewarding an organization’s performance. But here’s the quiet truth that many organizations overlook:
Leaders are often solving the wrong problems.
Or more accurately, they’re solving the right problems in the wrong way—focusing on the immediate issue right in front of them instead of strengthening the capability of their people and systems to prevent that problem from recurring.
This distinction is profound. And it’s at the heart of whether an organization builds sustainable excellence or remains stuck in cycles of heroic effort, firefighting, and short-lived improvements.
In one of my recent LinkedIn “Question of the Day” posts, I wrote:
“If a problem is a gap between target and actual, then the real gap might not be in your process.
It might be in your people’s capability to solve problems.
Or in your leaders’ ability to coach others through them.”
In Lean terms, this shift in thinking marks the difference between leaders who react to outcomes and leaders who cultivate capability. And in today’s environment—marked by complexity, labor challenges, and rapid change—your competitive advantage is not how fast you solve problems; it’s how effectively you develop problem solvers at every level.
This article explores that distinction, why it matters, and how organizations can begin shifting from fixing issues to building capability.
The Myth: Leaders Are Expected to Have All the Answers
Across industries, from healthcare to manufacturing to professional services, I see the same dynamic play out:
- Leaders feel pressure to “step in and fix.”
- Teams come to leaders for answers instead of solving problems where they live.
- Improvement depends heavily on a few experts or heroes.
- Problems recur because the root cause was never addressed.
- Leaders spend more time reacting than coaching or developing people.
It’s understandable. Most leaders were promoted because they were great problem solvers. Organizations often celebrate the “rescuer” who jumps in to save the day.
But this hero model creates a dangerous illusion:
If leaders are always solving the problems, who is building the organization’s future capability?
In a Lean operating system, the role of the leader fundamentally shifts from:
Problem Solver → Capability Builder
Answer Provider → Coach
Hero → Teacher
This leadership transformation is not natural or automatic. It requires developing new habits, routines, and mindsets—and building systems that reinforce them.
The Real Problem: A Capability Gap
In Lean thinking, we define a problem as a simple concept:
A gap between target and actual.
But not every gap is caused by a broken process.
Sometimes the gap is created by:
- People not being trained in problem-solving methods
- Leaders not having routines to coach others
- A lack of standardization in how problems are identified
- Teams not learning from daily issues
- A culture where people feel unsafe or unsure about speaking up
When an organization sees variation, defects, delays, or missed expectations, the instinct is to adjust the process, add a workaround, or enforce compliance.
But what if the real gap is upstream?
What if the root cause is not a process failure—but a capability failure?
When capability is the constraint, no amount of tools, projects, or dashboards will create sustainable improvement. You need a system that helps people learn how to learn.
This is one of Toyota’s most powerful competitive advantages. They don't rely on a collection of Lean tools. Their strength is the ability of every person—and especially every leader—to identify problems, understand them deeply, and coach others through disciplined problem-solving.
Why Fixing Problems Isn’t Enough
Many organizations are addicted to speed. The instinct is to fix the issue quickly so operations can “get back to normal.”
But this rush to action creates shallow solutions and repeat problems. I often use a simple analogy:
Fixing the problem without building capability is like mopping the floor while the faucet is still running.
You can mop fast.
You can mop well.
You can schedule more people to mop.
But the water keeps coming.
Sustainable improvement requires shutting off the faucet. And the faucet is shut off not through firefighting, but through capability development—teaching people to identify the source, understand it, and fix it at the root.
The organizations that excel long-term focus their energy on:
✔ Building thinking capability
✔ Coaching leaders to coach others
✔ Creating systems where problems surface in real time
✔ Developing people to solve problems at the level closest to the work
✔ Learning every day instead of reacting every day
Tools can help. But tools without capability lead to frustration, flavor-of-the-month improvement efforts, and leaders who burn out from constant firefighting.
How to Shift from Problem Solving to Capability Building
Moving from a “fix the issue” mindset to a “develop the problem solver” mindset requires intention. It cannot rely on individual leadership preferences. It must be built into the management system.
Here are the essential components of that system.
1. Real-Time Visual Management
People cannot learn to solve problems they cannot see.
Organizations need simple, visual, daily mechanisms that create clarity around:
- What normal looks like
- What abnormal looks like
- What escalations should occur
- Where support is needed
Tiered huddles, production boards, safety metrics, and patient flow signals all help illuminate problems quickly. This is where capability development starts: by making problems visible.
2. Standard Work for Leaders
If you want leaders to coach rather than rescue, coaching must be built into the job—not an optional activity squeezed into free moments.
Leader standard work clarifies:
- When leaders go to the gemba
- How they observe
- What questions they ask
- How they support learning
- How they follow up
Without leader standard work, coaching becomes inconsistent and dependent on personality.
3. A Common Method for Problem Solving
Organizations need a consistent, teachable method for approaching problems. Whether it’s A3 thinking, PDSA, 5 Whys, or another structured method, consistency is critical.
Without a shared language and shared process:
- Teams cannot learn from each other
- Leaders cannot coach effectively
- Improvement becomes scattered
- Capability development becomes impossible
Toyota famously teaches the discipline of scientific thinking. They don’t just solve problems—they build learners.
4. Coaching Routines That Build Capability Over Time
Coaching is not checking.
Coaching is not telling.
Coaching is not auditing.
Coaching is a daily, disciplined, humble practice built around questions like:
- What is the target condition?
- What is the current condition?
- What is the gap?
- What have you learned so far?
- What is your next step?
- When can we check what you learned?
This cadence is what turns everyday work into everyday learning.
5. Psychological Safety and a Culture of Learning
People will not raise problems—let alone learn from them—if they feel judged, rushed, or punished.
Leaders must model behaviors such as:
- Curiosity instead of blame
- Reflection instead of reaction
- Teaching instead of directing
- Humility instead of expertise
- Support instead of judgment
Capability building is not a technical effort. It is a cultural transformation.
What Happens When Organizations Develop Problem Solvers
When organizations build a system that focuses on capability, the impact is dramatic.
1. Problems Surface Earlier
Teams catch small issues before they become major crises. Leaders see patterns sooner. The organization becomes more proactive and less reactive.
2. Leaders Spend Less Time Firefighting
Leaders no longer carry the burden of being the chief problem solver. They create other problem solvers.
3. Teams Become More Engaged
People feel ownership. They contribute ideas. They see progress. Engagement climbs not because of perks, but because people feel valued and capable.
4. Improvement Becomes Continuous, Not Occasional
Instead of relying on Kaizen events or large projects, learning happens every day. Small, daily improvements compound into transformational results.
5. Results Stay Improved
Because solutions are rooted in understanding, not speed, improvements sustain. Recurring problems decrease. Flow, quality, safety, and productivity all rise.
6. The Organization Becomes More Resilient
When markets shift, demand changes, or new challenges emerge, capable people adapt quickly. Capability becomes your strategic advantage.
The Most Important Question Every Leader Must Ask
At the end of every day, every leader should reflect on one simple question:
“Did I solve the problem—or did I develop a problem solver?”
Solving problems delivers performance.
Developing problem solvers delivers capability.
Performance without capability is fragile.
Capability without performance is incomplete.
Operational excellence requires both—but capability must lead.
Bringing It All Together
Organizations that chase results often struggle. Organizations that build capability achieve results.
This is the paradox of Lean leadership:
You go faster when you slow down the urge to fix, and instead coach people to understand and learn.
Your competitive advantage is not firefighting. It is not expertise. It is not heroic effort.
Your competitive advantage is the capability of your people and leaders to learn every day.
So the real question facing every organization is this:
Are you solving problems— or are you developing problem solvers?
If you want to explore what a capability-based operating system looks like, or how to build it in your organization, I’d be glad to help. This is the work I do every day with teams in manufacturing, healthcare, and service industries: building systems where people thrive, leaders coach, and organizations achieve sustainable excellence.
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