Six Sigma Principles of Leadership

一　The Six Sigma Leadership Principles

1.1 OBJECTIVES:After completing this learning object, you will be able to describe the four principles of Six Sigma leadership and the management tools associated with each.


1.2 THE KEYS TO SIX SIGMA: 
One of the big improvements to the Six Sigma methodology is the focus on Leadership Principles. 
As indicated in this equation, Leadership Principles are one of the keys to achieving Six Sigma's objectives.

Leadership Principles
Integrated Approach to improvement
Engaged Teams
Analytic Tools
Hard-coded iimprovements
=====================================
Rapid Business improvement
Sustainable Results

1.3 THE FOUR LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES 
The Leadership Principles were not always recognized as a vital element of Six Sigma. Motorola learned the hard way that a set of guiding principles was required to help leadership identify the best way to drive results and support teams. This insight was captured in the four Six Sigma Leadership Principles:

Align: Leadership should ensure that all improvement projects are in line with the organization's strategic goals.
Mobilize: Leadership should enable teams to take action by providing clear direction, feasible scope, a definition of success, and rigorous reviews.
Accelerate: Leadership should drive a project to rapid results through tight clock management, training as needed, and shorter deadlines.
Govern: Leadership must visibly sponsor projects and conduct regular and rigorous reviews to make critical mid-course corrections.

1.4 FOCUS ON THE Y'S

Have you heard people refer to a "focus on the Ys"? Or perhaps you've listened to someone speak about Xs and Ys. What are they talking about?
Six Sigma uses shorthand, including the following letters:

Y: Y stands for the results that matter, or the measurement goal that you are trying to achieve. When people refer to the "Y," they’re referring to what they want to accomplish.

X: X represents variables that affect the Y, or the factors that determine whether you reach your goal. Xs drive the performance that leads to Y.

Every organization has a set of big Ys that must be met in order for the company to prosper and even survive. If leadership loses focus on these Ys, the organization will suffer and eventually fail. The four Leadership Principles ensure that leadership is focusing their efforts on getting results that really matter.

1.5 X AND Y
Being very clear on what you're trying to improve (Y) and which critical actions will get you there (Xs) is the key to simplifying business improvement. For example, say an organization is having a problem with cash flow.

Certain activities make it possible for enough cash to be on hand for an organization to conduct business. These activities, called Xs, enable the end result Y, enough cash on hand to conduct business.

Activities such as collecting accounts receivable, repaying company loans, or paying rent on the company building (Xs) affect how much cash the organization has on hand to conduct
business (Y).

Without sufficient cash flow, the organization will have problems meeting its financial obligations. The company may have money coming in on Monday, but if payday is Friday, Monday comes too late. Focusing on the cash flow big Y means adjusting the Xs until cash flow is optimal. 

   
1.6 PRINCIPLES AND METHODOLOGY
            |--------------------alignment---------------------------------|            
|Accelerate     training         six sigma project (Y)   project reviews      govern
            |---------------------mobilze----------------------------------|

二　　Principle 1: Align

2.1 THE SCORECARD
Alignment requires leadership to ensure all improvement projects are in line with the organization's strategic goals. This is easier said than done.
What are a company's strategic goals? How does leadership know if those goals are being met? What are the big Ys leadership should be aligning with?

Alignment begins with the leadership team developing a scorecard. This vital tool, the cornerstone of the Six Sigma business improvement campaign, translates strategy into tactical operating terms. 
The scorecard also defines metrics an organization can use to determine success. Just as a scoreboard at a sporting event tells you who is winning, the scorecard tells leadership how well the company is meeting its goals.

2.2 ALIGNMENT AND A SCORECARD
By looking at the scorecard, leadership can determine areas where the organization is weak and then identify opportunities for improvement within those areas. With this kind of alignment, leadership can ensure Six Sigma projects are strengthening the organization in its weakest areas.

When projects are not aligned to the big Ys, you waste valuable resources, time, and money on activities that don't improve the business, or you solve the wrong problem. For example, there is no need to spend time improving the taste of blueberry muffins in the cafeteria when critical customer needs are not being met.

2.3 SCORECARD EXAMPLE

Example:
Strategies&Objectives: Vision; Mission; Strategic Objectives;
current-year initiatives: 
Business Processes:
Business Results:

2.4 LEADERSHIP JUMPSTART

Motorola University created the Leadership Jumpstart workshop to identify business opportunities for improvement. During this two-day workshop, the leadership team uses the scorecard to clarify processes requiring improvement, identify targets, and provide understanding of the key performance drivers (Xs) required to achieve success (Y) on the project.

三　Principle 2: Mobilize

3.1 FOCUS
The second Leadership Principle is Mobilize. This principle focuses leadership on: 
Empowering teams 
Using a focused project management methodology 
Equipping the organization to enable people to take action

Mobilizing sets clear boundaries, lets people go to work, and trains them as required.

The key to mobilizing is focus -- lack of focused action was one of the downfalls of previous business improvement efforts. True focus means the project is correctly aligned with the organization’s scorecard.

Mobilized teams have a valid reason for engaging in improvement efforts -- they can see benefit for the customer. The project has strategic importance and they know it. They know exactly what must be done and the criteria they can use to determine success.

3.2 A TEAM CHARTER
Business Case;
Goal Statement;
Opportunity statement;
project scope;
project plan;
team selection;

四　Principle 3: Accelerate

4.1 COMPONENTS OF ACCELERATE 
More than 70 percent of all improvement initiatives fail to achieve desired results in time to make a difference. For projects to make an impact, they must achieve results quickly, and that is what acceleration is all about.

The third Leadership Principle is Accelerate. It involves three main components:
Action learning 
Clock management 
Effective planning


4.2 ACTION LEARNING
Accelerate employs “action learning” methodology to quickly bridge from “learning” to “doing.”

Action learning mixes traditional training with direct application. You receive training while working on a real-world project, allowing plenty of opportunity to apply your new knowledge. Your instructor is not simply a trainer, but a coach as well, able to help you with your real-world project.

Action learning accelerates improvement over traditional learning methods. Not only are you receiving training, but you are also completing a worthwhile project at the same time.

In addition, Accelerate requires expert support on a just-in-time basis. Coaching is available when teams need it.

4.3 What do you think? What is the optimal time frame for a successful Six Sigma project? 
Four to six months

4.4 DEADLINES
In addition to the four-to-six-month time frame, Accelerate requires teams to set deadlines that are reinforced through rigorous reviews.

Manageable deadlines add just enough pressure to produce results and ensure effective clock management.

Finally, Accelerate requires effective leadership planning to integrate improvement efforts. Far more gets done when teams are not duplicating or hampering each other's efforts. As long as leadership selects improvement opportunities that are aligned to the scorecard, results, r

五 Principle 4: Govern

5.1 REQUIREMENTS OF GOVERN

The fourth Leadership Principle is Govern. Once leadership selects an improvement opportunity, their work is not done. They must remain ultimately responsible for the success of that project. Govern requires leaders to drive for results.

When you govern a Six Sigma project, you:
Need a regular communications plan and a clear review process 
Actively sponsor teams and their projects 
Encourage proactive dialogue and knowledge-sharing on the team and throughout the organization 


5.2 REGULAR AND RIGOROUS REVIEWS
Conducting regular and rigorous reviews of projects allows teams to make critical mid-course corrections. Frequent reviews ensure projects are meeting their defined goals and that the results will be correctly aligned. Teams should be meeting with leadership on a weekly basis so problems can be caught early and solved quickly.

As projects across an organization are correctly governed, the results accumulate. Projects drive process improvements. Process improvements drive scorecard impact. The result is an organization that is effectively meeting its strategic goals. This is known as the Integrated Review Process, and it ensures alignment across an organization.

These successful results are sustainable only through continuous monitoring and reviewing. Initial execution is not enough. Govern requires more.

5.3 PRINCIPLES IN THE REAL WORLD

六 SUMMARY

the four principles of Six Sigma leadership

After completing this learning object, you will be able to describe the four principles of Six Sigma leadership and the management tools associated with each.

SUMMARY

The Six Sigma Leadership Principles are one of the keys for obtaining rapid business improvement and sustainable results. Leadership uses these principles as a guide while selecting improvement opportunities and driving results. In short, the principles guide every aspect of Six Sigma. They help maintain a focus on the big Ys (results required for an organization to reach its strategic goals), and provide a means for improvement team members to see the same. 

The principle of Align requires all improvement projects to be directly linked to an organization's strategic goals. This is accomplished with the use of a scorecard, a tool that translates strategy into tactical operating terms. The scorecard provides a line-of-sight alignment all the way from an organizational vision down to the goals of individual employees.


Mobilize requires that teams be provided with the focus they need to complete their projects and positively affect the organization's big Ys. This focus is provided in the form of a Team Charter that answers such important questions as what are we doing, why are we doing it, what needs to be done, how should it be done, and who will be doing it. The Team Charter also ensures the project is properly aligned. 

Accelerate involves focusing on the "rapid" part of "rapid business results." Shorter deadlines, tight clock management, and rigorous reviews are combined with the action learning methodology to quickly provide results. Action learning combines structured education with real-time project work and coaching to quickly bridge from "learning" to "doing." 

The principle of Govern reminds management that more is required than simply selecting improvement opportunities and assigning a team. Frequent and rigorous reviews must be conducted in order to provide all required support and to help the team make critical mid-course corrections. Through the Integrated Review Process, alignment can be ensured across an organization.