On November 19, we wrapped up our Agile Kitchen year with a session about leading with Obeya. Outside, the weather had fully committed to autumn: grey skies, cold wind, and a steady drizzle. But inside, at Spoor 18, the atmosphere was warm, food was good, and the session was both insightful and practical.
For this final edition of 2025, we welcomed Mark Uijen de Kleijn for a hands-on session on Leading with Obeya. With around 30 participants gathered around tables, the evening kicked off with a simple but powerful question:
“What’s holding us back from truly executing, monitoring, and adjusting our goals?”
The answers came quickly. Lack of clarity. Siloed teams. Shifting priorities. No buy-in. Too many goals. Too little focus. Familiar struggles.
That’s where Obeya comes in.
More than a room
Obeya means “big room” in Japanese, but it is not just a space or a set of visual boards. It’s a structured way of working that helps teams and leaders:
- Define what success looks like
- Make progress visible
- Stay connected to shared goals
- Adjust course based on real insights
Obeya is not a war room for crisis response. It is a place to prevent a crisis in the first place. It supports the leadership function by building a rhythm, creating transparency, and helping teams act and learn together. In Mark’s words: “Create the painting together, for shared understanding.”
Practical, not theoretical
Throughout the session, Mark kept things grounded with a practical approach. We explored how to:
- Connect OKRs and strategic capabilities
- Link outcomes to lagging and leading indicators
- Visualize goals across teams, not silos
- Create cadence and co-ownership around progress
- Shift from planning in isolation to shared learning
The message was clear: if you want a strategy to lead to real impact, it needs to stay visible and alive. Obeya offers a method to integrate this practice into your daily workflow, not just quarterly.
What people took away
Many participants walked away with a renewed sense of how clarity and rhythm can improve collaboration. The idea of making strategy visible resonated deeply. Attendees appreciated the balance of structure and flexibility in the Obeya method and how it encourages mutual ownership rather than top-down control. For some, it was the first time they saw a clear path from OKRs to real, day-to-day action. Others were inspired by the potential of co-created spaces that bridge departments and foster meaningful dialogue.
A strong finish to a full year
As the session wrapped up, Mark gave away a few copies of the Leading with Obeya book. The evening ended with good conversations over the last few drinks.
This was our last Agile Kitchen of 2025. Over the past year, we have explored topics such as consent decision-making, feedback cultures, storytelling, and now Obeya. Each session brought a different angle on better ways of working, leading, and learning together.
Thank you to everyone who joined us, contributed, asked questions, and shared their stories. We’ll be back in 2026. Until then, keep creating clarity, acting with intention, and learning together.
Missed out? Revisit the pictures below
