Seeing vs Looking – Why Most Teams Miss What’s Right in Front of Them

Most teams think they know what they’re working on. The backlog is there, tasks are moving, and everything seems under control.

Then, you put all the work in front of them – every feature, every fix, every half-finished task, every ad hoc request – and suddenly:

• “We’re doing way too much.”

• “Why are we working on these things instead of finishing what matters?”

That’s the difference between seeing work and actually looking at it properly.

Seeing Work vs Understanding It

Anyone can throw tasks on a board and call it “visibility.” But real visualisation goes deeper:

• Where is work piling up?

• What’s constantly getting started but never finished?

• How much work is actually flowing vs. just sitting there, waiting?

• Are we balancing different types of work, or just reacting to whatever lands next? (If not, you might be falling into the Prioritisation Trap)

It’s like looking at a messy room – at first glance, you just see clutter. But when you take a closer look, you start spotting the patterns:

• Half-finished projects you forgot about

• Work that isn’t actually urgent but keeps getting pushed forward

• Tasks you thought were important but, in hindsight, add no real value

Visualisation isn’t just about putting work on display. It forces teams to confront the reality of what’s actually happening.

The Hard Truth About Work in Progress

The biggest shock for most teams? Realising they’re drowning in work that isn’t actually moving the needle.

At first, this feels negative – teams don’t like seeing just how much effort is getting wasted. But that’s the point. You can’t fix what you don’t see. (This is what I call Positive Negativity – seeing the problems so you can fix them.)

• Too much work in progress means slower delivery

• Starting everything means finishing nothing

• Juggling too many tasks means constant firefighting

Seeing the problem is uncomfortable. Fixing it is liberating.

Making Work Flow – Start Finishing, Stop Starting

The best teams don’t just track work better – they manage it better:

• They finish what they start before picking up more

• They balance different work types, so fixes, features, and unplanned work don’t compete in the same queue

• They challenge unnecessary work rather than blindly doing it because it’s on a backlog somewhere

When teams stop overloading themselves and focus on finishing, everything starts to move.

The Bottom Line

Just because work is visible doesn’t mean it’s under control.

If your backlog looks fine on the surface, but your team is still drowning in unfinished work, stop and take a proper look.

• What’s piling up?

• What’s constantly started but never finished?

• What’s taking up effort but adding no value?

Once you see the problem, the fix is obvious – stop overloading, start finishing, and make work flow.