Six Sigma Strategy: Build Project Teams

Top management support is important in any successful Six Sigma initiative. While Six Sigma values strong leadership at every level of the organization, part of the strategy is to involve employees at all levels, too. One way to involve the employees is to build project teams. Involve people in team building, and then support what they are trying to accomplish.

A great bulk of work in Six Sigma is done in teams. A recommended number of members is between 5 and 8 people. Many of these project teams will require cross-functional teams to successfully handle the problem and be able to do process improvements. In many organizations, they have project sponsor and process owner to launch and support the projects.

A good Six Sigma infrastructure therefore comprises the following:

•Champions – fully trained business leaders promoting and leading the Six Sigma deployment in significant or critical areas of the business
• Master Black Belts (MBBs) – fully trained quality leaders responsible for Six Sigma strategy, training, mentoring, deployment and results.
• Black Belts (BBs) – fully trained experts leading improvement teams across the business
• Green Belts (GBs) – individuals trained in Six Sigma supporting Six Sigma projects
• Team members – individuals supporting specific projects in their areas

Joseph M. Juran also said, “All quality improvement occurs on a project-by-project basis.” This is to say that any endeavor to improve processes is best done by forming project teams.

In turn, Mikel Harry quipped, “In essence, Six Sigma is driven by a divide and conquer strategy. It begins by first dividing the quality pie into comprehensive compartments, or dimensions, that form a holistic focus at all levels of the business enterprise.” These compartments or dimensions are translated into teams, or project teams. This statement explains what top-level management supports to achieve an effective continuous improvement system.

The articles:
Six Sigma - the basics
Key Ingredients for a Successful Six Sigma Program
The Essential Six Sigma

A greater value is achieved by building an effective project team than simply having a group of people working on loosely related tasks. Team building plays a major role in project planning. The team helps clarify the goals of the project and the team leader can help align the team around those goals. The same team will then identify and logically sequence the deliverables needed to achieve the project goals.

In other words, breaking down your whole organization into projec teams gets things done.

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The Power of (Six Sigma) Teams

One Six Sigma learning topic at Motorola University touches on the power of process improvement teams. By its name alone, a process improvement team is any group of people that is formed to do a process improvement initiative. The topic was taken from The Six Sigma Black Belt Handbook.

According to the article, an organization has a multitude of things to do every day, especially when it is going through a process improvement. It has production to check, people to monitor, customers to please. The best way for the company to do all these is to create teams, which the book calls cross-functional multi-discipline teams. These teams provide an opportunity for people to take ownership of finding new ways to do work.

The article cited three types of process improvement teams as described by the book. They are Kaizen teams, Lean/Process Improvement teams, and Six Sigma teams. Check out the performance and process improvement continuum here.

Kaizen teams tend to address the physical processes that lend themselves to the use of visual analytical tools. If the team can observe what is being done to find improvement opportunities, this is a good team approach.

Lean/Process Improvement teams tend to focus on cross-functional projects, with requirements that are not clearly understood or agreed upon between the different functional players (departments), or by the people working the process. They take a horizontal focus across the process to understand requirements and eliminate waste. Waste is anything done that does not contribute to meeting requirements.

Six Sigma teams take a vertical approach to process analysis and go deep inside the process where the root cause of the problem is not easily understood. They are more analytical than a Lean team. Six Sigma teams use sophisticated tools to discover the “root cause” of problems, eliminate variation, stabilize processes, and sometimes even design a new process.

Source: Introduction to Process Improvement Teams

Obviously, teamwork gets a gargantuan task done. Every time you have a project, you get down to doing the work by forming committees.

As to these process improvement teams, each is definitely appropriate for a specific approach or you can have a combination of two. So if you are an organization that is using the Six Sigma Management System, it helps to know all three approaches for their strengths and weaknesses. Then you decide which works best for your organization, or which can be best aligned with your company goals.

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Project Team: One of the Keys to Six Sigma Success

Steven H. Jones, Senior Process Engineer with Siemens Business Services, has been working on Six Sigma project teams in different companies. He started with 3M Corporation, and then with Xerox Global Services where he completed his Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training from George Group. Since 1993, he has worked on quality improvement of Telecommunications and IT environments. He has also provided quality improvement and process engineering services domestically and internationally to clients such as BP Canada, Convergys, Intercontinental Hotels, and Microsoft.

Jones therefore knows what he’s talking about when he says that project team is one of the most challenging and underappreciated areas in building the framework for a successful project.

“Many projects either have too many, too few or the wrong mix of representation on the team. It is essential to have a good mix of skill sets, roles and personality types on the project. Personality evaluation tools are excellent aids to gauge the cohesiveness and synergy of a team. By using one of these tools, the prospective team members from the projects’ stake-holding teams can be evaluated in advance. The results can then be used to build the team with the best potential synergy. This will improve the success of the team and the project. The rank or position of the team members also plays a key part. I once led a project with six team members all at the Director and Associate VP level. While this sounded like a great mix of players to produce change, the team had little availability to participate in meetings let alone perform the project tasks. Due to the amount of responsibility held by the team our cycle time and meeting attendance were both severely hampered.”

Project Management Institute (PMI) and many other organizations echoed the same observation. They studied the best practices to ensure project success and published it in a Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK). According to them, what’s missing in Six Sigma projects is the failure to clearly define the roles and responsibilities, and deliverables. Project teams need to have descriptions of the tasks at their fingertips along with standardized templates and tools so that they can effectively complete their assignments.

The articles:
Strong Project Sponsorship and Chartering are Key to Successful Six Sigma Projects
Background on Six Sigma Methodologies

The value of team dynamics in Six Sigma projects is now clear. The previous posts all point to the fact that teamwork, team dynamics, and team development contribute to the success of every project.

Project team leaders and even top management need only to consider people skills as well as technical skills of each member of the team. If they are able to do that, there’s no reason for the team to fail at all.

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Managing Six Sigma Teams

In an article at Buzzle.com, President of SixSigma.us Peter Peterka talks about how to manage teams and Six Sigma.

Initially, there are two important aspects in managing Six Sigma teams. One is the role of top management and the other is the role of the team leader. Top management can provide the resources and the official responsibility to the teams’ activities. Also, they can make sure that Six Sigma projects are parallel with the company’s goals. The team leaders have a crucial role. Black Belts always take the role of team leaders. Peterka said,

A Six Sigma Black Belt is the team leader and the key change agent for the Six Sigma process. The role of the Black Belt is to facilitate the Six Sigma adoption as part of the culture. They lead, and manage Six Sigma teams to sustain significant bottom-line results. Black Belts ideally are people previously experienced in leading cross-functional process improvement action teams who have been trained in the Six Sigma methodology. The Six Sigma Black Belt should demonstrate team leadership, understand team dynamics, and assign team member roles and responsibilities.

Having selected a team leader, managing of the team involves two important aspects: leading and mentoring. To lead, a Black Belt must be willing to accept and manage occasional setbacks, including handling group conflict and “problem people” and minimizing out-of-control meetings and personal interactions. To mentor, he must give proper guidance to newly trained candidates and continually provide advice on team organization. This way, he can check disparity in knowledge and techniques of the team members, thereby boosting the members’ morale. In other words, “the Black Belt should always look at every circumstance as an opportunity to help instruct and improve the individual team members and the organization as a whole.”

The article: Managing Teams and Six Sigma

For some discussion on roles and Black Belts, read Thomas Pyzdek: What is a Black Belt? Who are they and what do they do?

This entry tells us that good leadership plays an important role in a team effort. If you remember, there’s the perennial question if leaders are born or created. I believe it can be both, especially in this time and age where trainings can be had anytime, anywhere.

Leading a Six Sigma team however is a little more complicated. The team leader does not only need to be good at dealing with people, he also needs to be good at the technical side of the Six Sigma methodology. Black Belts are a different breed, indeed!

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Creating Effective Six Sigma Teams

Michael Jordan once said, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” By now you may have heard this phrase repeated several times. And I’m sure many of you will agree with Jordan that teamwork can bring extraordinary results.

What is it that when individuals work as a team, they can accomplish more? Edoardo Monopoli, founding partner of Valeocon Management Consulting, said that teams generate a special energy that make them outpower individuals. There is a certain convergent psychology that holds a team and inspires the members to do excellent work together.

There are however crucial factors that we should consider in creating a team. Yesterday’s entry will tell us that not all team efforts can be fruitful. One reason is that each member of a team may prefer to perform a certain role, or a combination of roles, but is not given the opportunity to do so. The other day’s entry also cited that team members who do not feel needed and rewarded can also affect the overall performance of a team.

In other words, before we even get to satisfying members’ preferences and needs, we initially need to create a team carefully.

The classic Bruce W. Tuckman model (as cited at isixsigma) best describes the development stages of Six Sigma teams.

First is the Forming Stage. This is the stage where things are still uncertain and team members are trying to figure out each other. The Six Sigma team leader at this point will have to be patient and should not expect any results, rather he needs to guide the team in a getting-to-know activity.

Second is the Storming Stage. From its name, this is a rather difficult time for the team. The focus is still on self-oriented behaviors—behaviors that are dictated by the desire of each individual to place his own interest above that of the team. The key words for this stage are “conflict,” alliances,” and “positioning.” The Six Sigma team leader then needs to show support and listen, managing conflicts in the proper way. He needs to facilitate an open discussion of each member’s concern.

Third is the Norming Stage. This time, the focus shifts to maintenance-oriented behaviors—a move from an “I” to an “us” way of looking at team activities. Beginning to show are “stability,” “systematic approach,” and “accepted responsibility.” At this stage the team can make real progress toward the project goals. The Six Sigma team leader must show process leadership and emphasize actual progress and achievements.

Fourth is the Performing Stage. It is characterized by task-oriented behaviors—focused on achieving the targeted result of the Six Sigma team (e.g., generating and screening ideas and solutions, collecting information, making decisions, defining an implementation plan, assessing risks, etc.). There is now “alignment,” “shared leadership,” “high productivity,” “interdependence,” and “trust.” The Six Sigma team leader must coordinate, but also know how to rotate leadership among team members.

References:
Success in the Development Stages of Six Sigma Teams
Bruce Wayne Tuckman

These development stages are good for the team itself. Undergoing the four different stages will give the team members a sense of owning. They feel that they are part of the development process of the team. I believe there is value in that as opposed to just being put together in one group and being assigned roles to perform.

Moreover, the experience and the many challenges along the way will give the team an opportunity to bond. When finally, the team is formed, the members will value it. It is as if, creating the team is their first successful project. That alone will inspire them to do greater things together.

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Making Six Sigma Teams Effective

Forming teams for Six Sigma projects may not be that easy. For companies whose stakes are high, a solid team is highly desired as well.

Through his extensive research and experience, Dr. Meredith Belbin of Cambridge University (UK), found the answers. In an article at isixsigma titled Using ‘Preferred Roles’ to Assure Best Team Performance, Belbin identified nine “preferred roles,” which a team needs to balance to be highly effective.

Dr. Belbin and his group discovered these roles after studying management teams undergoing executive development. These teams were working in situations that simulated real world challenges. Every participant underwent detailed psychometric and mental ability testing prior to participating in the simulations. Dr. Belbin’s group gathered significant data on the relationship between team success, personality factors, mental capabilities and creativity.

The roles and their descriptions below.

1. Plant — Creative, imaginative, unorthodox. Solves difficult problems.
2. Resource Investigator — Extrovert, enthusiastic, communicative. Explores opportunities. Develops contacts.
3. Coordinator — Mature, confident, a good chairperson. Clarifies goals, promotes decision-making, delegates well.
4. Shaper — Challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. Has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles.
5. Monitor/Evaluator — Sober, strategic and discerning. Sees all options. Judges accurately.
6. Team Worker — Cooperative, mild, perceptive and diplomatic. Listens, builds, averts friction, and calms the waters.
7. Implementer — Disciplined, reliable, conservative and efficient. Turns ideas into practical actions.
8. Completer/Finisher — Painstaking, conscientious, anxious. Searches out errors and omissions. Delivers on time.
9. Specialist — Single-minded, self-starting, dedicated. Provides knowledge and skills in rare supply.

Furthermore, Dr. Belbin shared these two points: Seldom is anyone strong in all nine roles, and every person’s preferred role is a good role, if they are aware of it and play it on the team. Therefore, the key is to observe closely the teams performing their roles or a combination of roles, and then recognize and deal with imbalances carefully.

Read more…

This concept of preferred roles is very interesting. It’s true that when working in a team, you are given a role that you don’t like. Still you perform that role because you don’t want the team to fail. That is why I often thought of suggesting having a pre-team formation activitiy. The purpose of this is to find out in which role a member can perform best. This also saves time in deciding which should lead the team. Often people shy away from volunteering to lead a team for fear that others might think of him as high-handed.

Knowing each member’s strengths and weaknesses already goes halfway toward meeting team goals. Can success be far behind?

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Making Your Six Sigma Team Work to the Fullest

You may have learned from yesterday’s entry that team dynamics is critical in a Six Sigma project deployment. But I think that was giving away the concept of teamwork too soon. Let’s backtrack then and let me share with you some ideas on team development and how to optimize the team’s function.

Featured at isixsigma is this article on “Selecting the Right Team for your Project.” It talks about the team members, the characteristics of a good team member, and the critical size of the team.

Basically, your team must have a three-tiered structure: stakeholders, core team, and extended team. The stakeholders are key business leaders ultimately accountable for the success of the project. The core team is the group responsible for the design and implementation of the solution. The extended team includes other people in the organization contributing to the project on an as-needed basis. Your team should be composed of 3 to 12 members. Smaller teams (3 or 4 members) work faster and tend to produce results more quickly, while bigger teams (7 or more members) require additional facilitation. The composition of your team should be a good mix of technical and good team players. Read more…

Now that you have formed your team, your next step is to find out how to make it work effectively. Another article at isixsigma is a very useful guide.

In the article, the task of maximizing the team’s contribution to a Six Sigma project lies in the hand of a Black Belt. The author, Kim Niles applies Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to Six Sigma team performance. The focus this time is on the individual and not on the process. The key is to let each member of the team feel that he is needed, respected, and rewarded. Only then can he reach self actualization thereby function well.

In the member-level effectiveness, developing metrics can be important to address in maintaining and or optimizing team performance.

Jack Welch (Past GE CEO) outlines potential-and-performance metrics that separate employees into categories of A (top 20%), B (middle 70%), and C (bottom 10%) type employees. He uses a normal distribution curve to show how the B employees are the “vital 70%” that need to receive the most support. He warns that without comprehensive metrics, some employees will appear to fit into category A yet really be category C employees.

He also points out how variation is our enemy when it comes to process variation yet our friend when it comes to developing a work force. He distinguishes between the different types of people based on what he calls the four E’s and one P. They are:

*Energy level
*Ability to Energize others around common goals (opposing Enervation with C employees)
*Possess the Edge to make yes-and-no decisions
*Able to Execute and deliver on promises
*Having Passion in their work

The Article: Maximize Six Sigma Team Performance

Many observers of Six Sigma initiatives have feared that practitioners may focus their sights on the process, statistical methods, and other tools and forget altogether the human hands that rock the cradle so to speak. There are actually incidents that projects fail because the people working on it feel disgruntled.

Taking this into a higher level, even entire organizations fall, because people are neglected and relegated to the sidelines. Many CEOs only look at the end results, the profits. As a result, people have low moral, which often is the cause of low performance.

It’s interesting to note that many recent process improvement strategies have taken into consideration the human side of things. I also believe that team efforts bear fruition only when each member feels good about the work at hand and about himself.

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