LEAN AGILITY Blog

Practical methods and leadership strategies for government and public sector leaders working to reduce waste, clear backlogs, and build stronger teams.

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Lean Yellow Belt

A man in a shirt and tie stands resigned in a vintage 1970s government office, ankle-deep in an inflatable pool overflowing with papers and files. A pipe above the pool with a sign reading 'New Requests' pours in a steady stream of water, while a 'Capacity' label sits on the pool's side, surrounded by filing cabinets, a rotary phone, and stacks of paperwork..

1 min read

How Backlogs Are Born and How to Make Sure They Never Come Back

Craig Szelestowski: Feb 12, 2026, 9:30:00 AM

The backlog is the great shame of the public service. It fills staff with dread, leaders with pressure and clients with frustration. Every team that...

Photograph of a woman in business attire spraying a fire extinguisher at a small fire on a folder on her desk, while two more small fires burn unattended on stacks of paper on desks behind her, in a cluttered vintage office. A whiteboard on the wall tallies four categories:

2 min read

Failure Demand: The Work That Should Never Exist

Craig Szelestowski: Feb 4, 2026, 11:45:00 AM

If you asked most managers where their team's capacity is going, they'd tell you: answering emails, processing requests, attending meetings,...

Lean White Belt Introduction to Lean Lean Yellow Belt

Close-up photograph of a row of dominoes on a wooden conference table. The first domino lies flat, already fallen, while the second domino, painted bright orange, leans mid-tip against the next grey domino, setting off a chain reaction down the row into a softly blurred office background with window blinds and leather chairs.

1 min read

Building Your Team the Smart Way - First Followers and the Art of Creating a Movement

Craig Szelestowski: Jan 26, 2026, 9:15:00 AM

One of the most common mistakes Lean practitioners make is spending enormous entry trying to convince every skeptic in the room. They host...

Lean White Belt Introduction to Lean Lean Yellow Belt Change management

Five yellow sticky notes cascading diagonally down a wooden desk, each handwritten with 'Why?' in increasingly urgent handwriting, landing on a torn calendar page with 'no shared calendar' scrawled on it.

3 min read

Root Cause Analysis - The 5 Whys Technique

Craig Szelestowski: Oct 30, 2025, 10:00:00 AM

Over a series of previous posts, we've learned todefine problems, understandcustomer value,map processes, identifywaste,measureperformance,...

Lean Yellow Belt

Close-up, low-angle view of a person's legs and worn leather boots mid-stride, walking through an open office doorway away from a printed chart on the floor in the foreground. In the hallway beyond, three colleagues stand talking near a Canadian flag.

3 min read

Gemba Walks - Going to See for Yourself

Craig Szelestowski: Oct 28, 2025, 10:45:00 AM

We've learned tomap processes,spot waste, andmeasure what matters. One problem with all those tools? They can keep you at your desk, staring at data...

Lean Yellow Belt

An absurdly oversized nail rests on a wooden workbench beside a small pile of ordinary nails, a vintage balance scale, and a measuring tape. A sign propped nearby reads 'Quota: Met.'

2 min read

Metrics That Matter

Craig Szelestowski: Oct 26, 2025, 10:45:00 AM

We mapped our process and we’ve found waste everywhere, maybe we even have some ideas about what to do about it. Now we need to decide how we will...

Lean Yellow Belt

Overhead view of a cluttered office desk seen through a pair of glasses. Outside the lenses, papers and folders look ordinary; through them, red dots flag hidden waste on an unread report and an overflowing folder rack. A note reads 'Warning: Once seen, cannot be unseen.'

3 min read

The 8 Wastes of Lean - Learning to See What's Hidden

Craig Szelestowski: Oct 21, 2025, 11:00:00 AM

Here's a startling fact: studies suggest that only 5-10% of process time adds value1 from the customer's perspective. The other 90-95%? Pure waste.

Lean Yellow Belt

Security trays overflowing with shoes, belts, a laptop, phone, and keys pile up at an airport checkpoint while the X-ray scanner behind them sits idle with a 'no bags in queue' message. A sign reads 'New scanner. Same line.

3 min read

Value Stream Mapping - Seeing the Whole Picture

Craig Szelestowski: Oct 20, 2025, 4:45:00 PM

Now that we've learned to define problems clearly and understand what customers truly value (Voice of the Customer), here comes the game changer:...

Lean Yellow Belt Lean Green Belt Exploratory

A squeegee and bucket rest unused on a windowsill beside a spotless window overlooking a city skyline at golden hour. A sign propped nearby reads 'Nothing to clean.'

3 min read

Voice of the Customer - What Does Value Really Mean?

Craig Szelestowski: Oct 16, 2025, 2:30:00 PM

In the previous article we explored how to craft a strong problem statement. But here's another critical question: how do you know which problems are...

Lean Yellow Belt Lean Green Belt Exploratory

Two identical dartboards mounted side by side. The left board has a tight cluster of darts in the bullseye, while the right board is completely untouched. A sign below reads 'Bullseye. Wrong board.'

2 min read

What Makes a Good Problem Statement?

Craig Szelestowski: Oct 9, 2025, 6:30:00 AM

Are you solving the right problem? Here's an uncomfortable truth: many improvement projects fail not because of poor execution, but because they...

Lean White Belt Lean Yellow Belt Exploratory