2. Steps to Keep Lean Six Sigma Operational
Within the Organization
Communication of the new process and results to the
Senior Management and all staff within the company.
Capture Lessons Learned
Monitor Performance of the New Process
Recognize, Reward and Celebrate both Success and Effort
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6. o small rather than large;
o noticeable and important to the people on the team and
the team as a whole;
o described in specific, concrete work (task) and behavioral
terms;
o achievable within the practical context of the teams time
and work-days;
o perceived by the people on the team and the team as a
whole as involving their “hard work”;
o described as “the start of something” and not as “the end
of something”;
o treated as involving new work task(s) and behavior(s)
rather than the absence or stopping of existing work
task(s) and behavior(s).
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7. Team Roles & Responsibilities
Many responsibilities need to be carried out and
continued within the organization for Lean Six Sigma
to be sustained. These tasks are divided among Team
Members, Team Leader, Coach and Team Sponsor.
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8. Team Member: People, appointed by the Sponsor and Team Leader,
who share their knowledge, experience, and expertise while
working to accomplish the team’s work.
Team Leaders: People who orchestrate team activities, maintain
team records, and serve as a communication link with the rest of
the organization.
Coaches: People with data-analysis and team-building skills who
teach and support Team Leaders and Team Members in using
selected tools and methods to help facilitate the team’s work.
Sponsor: Individual managers who identify needed improvements,
and review and support the work of teams.
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9. Six Sigma Terminology
Team Members are usually called Green Belts
Team Leaders are usually called Black Belts
Coaches are usually called Master Black Belts
Sponsors are usually called Champions
Improvement teams are usually called DMAIC teams.
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10. Roles and Accountabilities Flow Chart
Contact Mike at mike@create-learning.com call
+1.716.629.3678 … to discuss this workshop and consulting
with your company and team.
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12. Select and Define the Project
To improve a project’s chances for success, select a project that:
Is important to the organization and its customers.
Is not already undergoing major changes or being studied by
another group (unless the project is to study how to make the
change).
Is relatively simple, with clearly defined starting and ending
points. Even if you would rather target a large complex system –
such as accounting – for most teams it is best to break it down to
smaller components.
Completes a cycle once a day or so, rather than once a month or
once a year. For example, collecting data on a process that
produces outputs (products, reports, services) many times a day
allows you to rapidly see what is actually happening and quickly
figure out whether your solution actually improves things.
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14. Sponsor’s Responsibilities after the Project
Celebrate the project’s conclusion. Hold a final project
review.
Communicate the team’s results and ensure that any
changes made by the team are integrated into daily
work methods in that area.
Monitor changes made by the team and implement
changes the team in not authorized to make.
Review information collected during the project about
systems issues or barriers encountered and address
these barriers for the success of future projects.
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15. Team Leader’s Responsibilities after the Project
Make sure the project documentation is
complete and available for others in the
organization.
See that the process owner receives the
necessary documentation for ongoing monitoring
of the solution.
Identify, document, and communicate lessons
learned.
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16. The process owner’s job is to:
Maintain the project’s gains.
Monitor the processes and key
measures in his or her area of
responsibility.
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17. Leadership Team Reviews
If there are several improvement efforts under way, the leadership
team in the organization should meet periodically to track how the
projects are progressing and what the results will be. These reviews
allow the leadership team to:
Continually assess the project mix with regard to organizational
priorities.
Check synergies across projects.
Manage the “pipeline” of projects.
Reinforce a consistent message about the importance of the
projects for the organization.
Gather lessons learned about factors contributing to success and
common problems across projects to improve how you improve.
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18. The input for leadership reviews is the
data gathered across all efforts in order
to assess patterns.
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19. o What percentages of teams provide adequate data to back up
claims?
o Are the data displayed graphically so that the patterns are clear?
o Are the conclusions drawn warranted by the data analysis?
o What percentage of teams report problems getting access to data?
o What percentages of teams try solutions out on a small scale
before going into full implementation?
o What percentages of improvements “hold the gains” six months
after completion of the effort? One year after completion?
o What percentages of teams have attendance problems at
meetings?
o How often have the lessons learned been shared and adopted
across the enterprise?
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21. “If you have been trained to think in a certain way and
are a member of a group that thinks the same way, how
can you imagine changing to a new way of thinking?”
- Edgar Schein
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22. 3 Stages of Change
Lewin/Schein
Stage 1 – becoming motivated to change (unfreezing)
Multiple forces established by past observational learning and cultural
influences tend to maintain the current behavior. Change requires adding
new forces of change or the removal of some of the existing factors that
are at play in perpetuating the behavior.
• Denial
• Scapegoating, passing the buck, dodging
• Maneuvering & Bargaining
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23. Stage 2 – change what needs to be changed (unfrozen and moving
to a new state)
Once there is sufficient dissatisfaction with the current conditions and a
real desire to make some change exists, it is necessary to identify exactly
what needs to be changed, if not already articulated in the first stage.
• Words take on new and expanded meaning
• A concept is interpreted within a broader context
• There is an adjustment in the scale used in evaluating new input relative
to what had previously been learned and accepted as factual.
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24. Stage 3 - making the change permanent (refreezing)
Refreezing is the final stage where the action becomes habitual. This
requires behavior that is consistent with other behaviors and the values
and beliefs held by the individual.
• Develop a new self-concept and identity
• Establishing the new behavior in interpersonal relationships.
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25. Roles and Accountabilities Flow Chart
Contact Mike at mike@create-learning.com call
+1.716.629.3678 … to discuss this workshop and consulting
with your company and team.
www.create-learning.com
26. 10 Pitfalls to Avoid in
Creating Lean Six Sigma Teams
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27. 1. Failure of the Sponsor/Champion to be involved in
each step of the team’s work.
o Sponsors/Champions must recognize the pre-work
necessary to enhance the team’s chances of success.
o They must be skilled at Project Management keeping
the team on track through the team’s weekly meetings
and updates. Strategic Interventions removing
roadblocks and providing resources. Management of
Team Dynamics & Team Members
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29. 2. Failure to Write it Down
o What gets written down gets done.
o Teams and leaders that develop a written plan for work
that is to take place between meetings are far more
likely to complete the work and achieve Project Charter
Milestones than those that don’t.
o Teams must keep detailed, documented, and
reviewable action plans.
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30. 3. Failure to Formalize and Communicate Rewards and
Recognition for the Six Sigma Teams
o First-Wave projects must bear fruit to showcase the
application of Six Sigma principles within the
organization.
o Establish and formalize a reward and recognition plan for
first-wave project participants before or shortly after the
project starts. Recommendations are vacation time and
awards banquet.
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31. 4. Ignoring the Potential of
“Converted” Resistors
o People have legitimate reasons for
resistance.
o Almost 80% of resistors become
supporters when the source of their
resistance is taken seriously.
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32. 5. Failure to Assign Your Best and Brightest
o For this project and Six Sigma to be taken seriously your
best people must be on the team.
o Improving the team dynamics of your high performers will
increase overall organizational effectiveness.
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34. 6. Failure to Utilize Ground Rules in Six Sigma
Meetings
o Having and reinforcing shared ground rules will make
your meeting shorter and more effective.
o This is not a hollow exercise team culture is created
through the discussions and reinforcement of ‘what
works’ … The team needs to know the acceptable
rules and feel comfortable enforcing them
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36. 7. Using Facilitative Leadership to Eliminate
Personality Differences
o A key component of Six Sigma implementation is
dealing with maladaptive behavior.
o In marriage and Six Sigma Teams an appreciation for
individual differences contributes to compatibility of
values and beliefs.
o You are not a psychologist
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37. 8. Jumping to “Divorce” too Early
o We can learn a great deal from resistance to Six Sigma
Projects.
o The odds are good that the resistance is normal and if
treated respectfully they will turn into a valuable team
member.
o Once we de-select a person from the team OR we
choose to stop a project due to excessive resistance, it
is visible to everyone and a win-win is no longer
achievable.
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38. 9. Expecting Six Sigma Teams to Solve All
Organizational Issues
o Be careful not to diagnose poor Six Sigma Management
as poor Team Dynamics.
o Six Sigma Projects need to have a high impact and be
measurable
o Without proper knowledge when and where to apply
DMAIC, teams that are formed may have difficulty with
their team dynamics for one major reason – they never
should have been formed in the first place.
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39. 10. Intervening Too Much
o At times it is more important to know
when not to intervene with a team.
o If you are working harder than the
person to solve a problem, you are
enlarging the problem itself.
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42. Steps to Keep Lean Six Sigma Operational
Within the Organization
Communication of the new process and results to the
Senior Management and all staff within the company.
Capture Lessons Learned
Monitor Performance of the New Process
Recognize, Reward and Celebrate both Success and Effort
www.create-learning.com
44. Roles and Accountabilities Flow Chart
Contact Mike at mike@create-learning.com call
+1.716.629.3678 … to discuss this workshop and consulting
with your company and team.
www.create-learning.com