When a workplace problem keeps returning, the natural response is often to apply the familiar solution again. Another training session is scheduled, a process is revised, or a meeting is held. The issue fades temporarily and eventually resurfaces.
Is This a Problem or a Symptom?: Surface, Structural, Systemic: A Short Guide to Diagnosing What’s Really Wrong by Dr. Alma Susana Flores helps leaders understand why this cycle happens. Available in Kindle and paperback editions on Amazon, the book introduces an accessible diagnostic approach for identifying the true depth of organizational challenges.
When the Visible Issue Is Only the Beginning
A recurring complaint can look like a communication problem. A delayed project may appear to result from weak planning. Declining engagement might seem to call for another motivational event. Each situation creates pressure for an immediate response, especially when deadlines, performance, and morale are at stake.
Dr. Alma Susana Flores encourages leaders to slow the decision-making process long enough to understand the issue properly. Through the book’s central framework, workplace concerns are grouped into three categories: surface, structural, and systemic.
Surface concerns have a recognizable cause and a known remedy. The team may need clearer instructions, new information, additional training, or access to an appropriate resource.
Structural concerns develop through missing agreements, unclear ownership, or inconsistent follow-through. Leaders facing this type of issue may need to revisit expectations, accountability, workflows, and the commitments holding a team together.
Systemic concerns involve the beliefs influencing how people think and behave. These challenges may be connected to established assumptions about authority, trust, performance, communication, or organizational culture.
Identifying the correct layer allows leaders to make more informed choices. It also explains why a reasonable solution may produce only temporary improvement when the underlying cause remains active.
Four Questions That Create a Useful Pause
The book’s core tool is the 4-Question Depth Check, a straightforward method leaders can use before taking action. It creates room for observation and reflection during moments that might otherwise trigger a hurried response.
The chapters guide readers through the framework in a deliberate sequence. They explore the three types of problems, the reasons certain issues keep returning, and the four questions that support diagnosis. Additional chapters examine personal reactivity, the value of naming what’s really happening, and the process of gaining support when deeper work requires time.
Dr. Alma Susana Flores brings the method to life through eight case studies drawn from restaurants, manufacturing, healthcare, technology startups, nonprofits, insurance, banking, and logistics. These scenarios show that recurring organizational problems appear in many forms and across workplaces of every size.
Verbatim coaching dialogues give readers practical examples of how the Depth Check sounds in conversation. “When You Already Have What You Need,” “One Layer Deeper,” and “The First Honest Step” illustrate how thoughtful questions can move a discussion toward greater honesty and clarity.
The book also includes a one-page summary of the Depth Check, a 30-day reflection journal, recommended reading, foundational sources, and an extensive Depth Check-In section. A team and facilitator discussion guide supports leadership cohorts, professional development sessions, corporate training programs, and workplace book studies.
Readers can currently enter a 30-day Goodreads ebook giveaway running from October 8 through November 6. The campaign will provide 100 ebook copies, giving more leaders an opportunity to explore the framework and its practical resources.
About the Author
Dr. Alma Susana Flores is an educational professional, organizational coach, and mentor with more than thirty years of experience serving complex organizations. For over two decades, Dr. Alma Susana Flores has held executive-level responsibilities in professional development, instructional strategy, and team performance.
Currently serving as a senior district administrator of instruction in a large urban school district, Dr. Alma Susana Flores has built a career that includes work as a teacher, school principal, instructional director, and executive cabinet member.
Dr. Alma Susana Flores earned a Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership from Brandman University. Her doctoral research examined the intersections of mentorship, emotional intelligence, and reflective practice within leadership teams. Those areas of study inform the book’s emphasis on awareness, thoughtful questioning, and purposeful leadership.
Where Better Decisions Begin
Is This a Problem or a Symptom? offers leaders a practical way to understand challenges before committing to a solution. Its framework, case studies, conversations, and guided exercises turn diagnosis into a skill that can be practiced consistently.
For leaders managing five people or five hundred, the book provides a valuable starting question. Once the true layer becomes clear, the next step can become clearer too.
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