At least not in the way many of my peers think about that term. Here's a high level synopsis of how I work:
I start by determining whether problems are actually problems in need of practical solutions or if they are in fact unaddressed opportunities.
What's the difference?
Problems hinder or outright prevent users from completing the jobs they want to get done, requiring pragmatic solutions to address, the result of which typically tends to be something of real value–a practical need.
Unaddressed opportunities are often conflated as problems when they are actually signals for wants. They're clues to the kind of future selves users want to become or put another way perceived value, evoking the feeling of becoming a better version of themselves–no matter how tiny or fleeting.
I spend more time on the unaddressed opportunities than the immediate problems. The former often solves for the latter. My job then is to envision a future where the opportunities are addressed while working backward to determine how solving the problems of today can also pave the way for that future state, working with folks from other functions to get their takes and learn about what's on their roadmaps or in their pipelines.
I'm using that data to inform how I go about designing, using my training and experience to shape the depth of that work.
If it's a problem, the solution can be delivered sooner within the confines of the system today.
If it's an unaddressed opportunity, I go deeper in figuring out the kinds of intrinsic motivations that drive extrinsic behaviours and craft solutions that reorient the lens by which users view the brand and experience–even if the real value is the same.
All this culminates to a fine mix of systems thinking, iteration, and creation. So much creation. Interactive prototypes and physical objects at high fidelity–all things that can be experienced and conversed about.
No whiteboards. No stickies. No brainstorming.
Just creating things and shaping narratives through them. That's the quintessential part of being an effective design professional.