Coaching Green Belts for Sustainable Success

8/20/2019 Coaching Green Belts for Sustainable Success

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CoachingGreen Belts for

SustainableSuccess


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Also available from ASQ Quality Press:

The Certified Six Sigma Green Belt Handbook , Second EditionRoderick A. Munro, Govindarajan Ramu, and Daniel J. Zrymiak

Process Improvement Using Six Sigma: A DMAIC GuideRama Shankar

Six Sigma Green Belt, Round 2: Making Your Next Project Better thanthe Last OneTracy L. Owens

Statistics for Six Sigma Black BeltsMatthew Barsalou

The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Handbook , Third EditionT. M. Kubiak and Donald W. Benbow

The ASQ Pocket Guide to Statistics for Six Sigma Black BeltsMatthew Barsalou

The Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt Handbook T. M. Kubiak

Practical Engineering, Process, and Reliability StatisticsMark Allen Durivage

The ASQ Pocket Guide for the Certified Six Sigma Black Belt

T. M. Kubiak The Certified Quality Engineer Handbook , Third EditionConnie M. Borror, editor

The Quality Toolbox , Second EditionNancy R. Tague

Root Cause Analysis: Simplified Tools and Techniques, Second EditionBjørn Andersen and Tom Fagerhaug

The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Handbook ,Fourth Edition

Russell T. Westcott, editor

The ASQ Quality Improvement Pocket Guide: Basic History, Concepts, Tools,and RelationshipsGrace L. Duffy, editor

To request a complimentary catalog of ASQ Quality Press publications,call 800-248-1946, or visit our website at www.asq.org/quality-press.


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ASQ Quality Press

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

CoachingGreen Belts for

SustainableSuccess

Steve Pollock and Daro Mott


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American Society for Quality, Quality Press, Milwaukee 53203© 2015 by Steve Pollock All rights reserved. Published 2015Printed in the United States of America21 20 19 18 17 16 15 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pollock, Steve, 1957– Coaching green belts for sustainable success / Steve Pollock and Daro Mott.

pages cmIncludes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 978-0-87389-904-8 (hard cover : alk. paper)1. Six sigma (Quality control standard) 2. Supervision of employees. I. Mott, Daro.

II. Title.

TS156.17.S59P65 2015 658.4'013—dc23 2015007108

ISBN 978-0-87389-904-8

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permissionof the publisher.

Publisher: Lynelle KorteAcquisitions Editor: Matt T. Meinholz

Managing Editor: Paul Daniel O’MaraProduction Administrator: Randall Benson

ASQ Mission: The American Society for Quality advances individual, organizational,and community excellence worldwide through learning, quality improvement, andknowledge exchange.

Attention Bookstores, Wholesalers, Schools, and Corporations: ASQ Quality Pressbooks, video, audio, and software are available at quantity discounts with bulkpurchases for business, educational, or instructional use. For information, pleasecontact ASQ Quality Press at 800-248-1946, or write to ASQ Quality Press,P.O. Box 3005, Milwaukee, WI 53201-3005.

To place orders or to request ASQ membership information, call 800-248-1946. Visit ourwebsite at http://www.asq.org/quality-press.

Printed on acid-free paper


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To my wife Betsy, for encouraging me to tell the story of my

work, and to my parents, Dick and Sue Pollock, for raising me

to be captivated by ideas that become ways to help others.


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vii

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi

Part I: Coaching Green Belts

Chapter 1: Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

The Sustainability Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Major Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Guidance from the Experience of Others. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

What Green Belts Want and Need to Know. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Chapter 2: Green Belt Talent Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

What Green Belts Want to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Project Summary—Typical Front Page of the DMAIC

Project Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

What Green Belts Need to Know About the Project

Summary—Internal Coaching Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Leverage These Themes in Training, Projects, and

Standards—Project Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Chapter 3: Define Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Define—Typical Page Two of the DMAIC Project Report . . . . 17

What Green Belts Want and Need to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

What Green Belts Need to Know About the Define Phase—

Internal Coaching Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Coaching Tip: Do a Simple Puzzle Exercise. . . . . . . . . . . . 21

How to Leverage These Themes in Training, Projects, and

Standards— Define Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23


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viii Table of Contents

Chapter 4: Measure Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Measure—Typical Page Three of the DMAIC Project

Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25What Green Belts Want and Need to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

What Green Belts Need to Know About the Measure

Phase—Internal Coaching Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

How to Leverage These Themes in Training, Projects,

and Standards— Measure Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Chapter 5: Analyze Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Analyze—Typical Page Four of the DMAIC Project

Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33


What Green Belts Need to Know About the Analyze

Phase—Coaching Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37


and Standards— Analyze Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Chapter 6: Improve Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Improve—Typical Page Five of the DMAIC Project

Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

What Green Belts Want and Need to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . 41What Green Belts Need to Know About the Improve



and Standards— Improve Phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Chapter 7: Control Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Control—Typical Page Six of the DMAIC Project

Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49


What Green Belts Need to Know About the Control



and Standards—Control Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Chapter 8: Summary—DMAIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Summary—Key Questions for Coaches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Project Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Define Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Measure Phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Analyze Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Improve Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Control Phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59


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Table of Contents ix

Chapter 9: Technical Resource Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Key Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Role Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Project Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Governance/Change Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Coach Reference Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Part II: Collaboration Approach

Chapter 10: Meeting the Team for the First Time . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Engagement Counts!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

What Is the Agenda for the First Meeting After

Training? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Example of a Completed First Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Self-Reflective Questions for the Coach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Planning Checklist for the Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Chapter 11: Now What? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

How About This? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

What Does This Mean in Terms of Green Belts?. . . . . . . . . . . . 82The Follow-Up Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Flyover Tour of the Follow-Up Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Why Is It Necessary to Use the Follow-Up Model? . . . . . . . . . . 85

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86



Chapter 12: Collaborative Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Facing Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Meeting Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Other Key Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91



Chapter 13: Each Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Project Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Idea Generation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

File Accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98




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x Table of Contents

Chapter 14: DMAIC Collaborative Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

The Easy Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

The More Difficult Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102Kotter Model Demystified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Kotter Model Planning Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Example 1: Process Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Example 2: Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Example 3: Career Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Example 4: Member Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109


Planning Checklist for the Coach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111Chapter 15: Lessons Learned. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Role of the Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Another Simple Tip for Promoting Shared Learning. . . . . . . . . 115

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115


Planning Checklist for the Coach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Part III: Field Case Study

Chapter 16: Louisville Metro Government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Applying the Ideas from Parts I and II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

The Practical Application of Problem Solving in City

Government—Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Lean Start-Up—Partnership with Humana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

First Six Sigma Project—The Partnership Continues . . . . . . . . 133

Creating a Quality Culture Through LouieStat . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

The Strategic Approach to Building a Reinforcement

Mechanism for a Quality Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138Quantitative Reasoning Skills (Data Analysis,

Descriptive Statistics, and Inferential Statistics) . . . . . . 139

Systematic Critical Process Identification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Build–Measure–Learn Feedback Loop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Commitment to Structured Problem Solving—Plan–

Do–Check–Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Strategic Introduction to Lean and Six Sigma Process

Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Skill and Capability Building—Sustainability Is Part of thePartnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Value of the Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Conclusion and Lessons Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146


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Part IV: Appendixes

Appendix A: Example Continuous Improvement Story . . . . . . . 159

Appendix B: Perceived Drivers of Green Belt Projects

“Data” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173


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xiii

Figure I.1 The Green Belt learning curve. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix

Figure 1.1 The big three DMAIC adoption challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Figure 1.2 Most research is about Black Belts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Figure 1.3 Basic coaching process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Figure 1.4 Key coaching tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Figure 2.1 Key listening tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Figure 2.2 DMAIC Report—Project Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Figure 2.3 Filling out the Project Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Figure 2.4 Typical DMAIC Report Project Summary questions. . . . . . . 12

Figure 2.5 Project Summary—top two questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Figure 2.6 Key coaching tips—Project Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Figure 2.7 Project Summary themes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Figure 3.1 The define phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Figure 3.2 Documenting the define phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Figure 3.3 Typical define phase questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Figure 3.4 Define phase—top two questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Figure 3.5 Key coaching tips—define phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Figure 3.6 Define phase themes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Figure 4.1 The measure phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Figure 4.2 Documenting the measure phase to communicate

the baseline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Figure 4.3 Typical measure phase questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Figure 4.4 Measure phase—top two questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Figure 4.5 Key coaching tips—measure phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Figure 4.6 Measure phase themes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

List of Figures and Tables


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xiv List of Figures and Tables

Figure 5.1 The analyze phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Figure 5.2 Documenting the analyze phase to identify key

root causes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Figure 5.3 Typical analyze phase questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Figure 5.4 Analyze phase—top two questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Figure 5.5 Key coaching tips—analyze phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Figure 5.6 Analyze phase themes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Figure 6.1 The improve phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Figure 6.2 Documenting the improve phase to identify the

action plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Figure 6.3 Typical improve phase questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Figure 6.4 Improve phase—top two questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Figure 6.5 Key coaching tips—improve phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Figure 6.6 Improve phase themes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Figure 7.1 The control phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Figure 7.2 Documenting the control phase to close out the project. . . . . 51

Figure 7.3 Typical control phase questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Figure 7.4 Control phase—top two questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Figure 7.5 Key coaching tips—control phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Figure 7.6 Control phase themes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Figure 8.1 DMAIC summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Figure 9.1 Technical resource guide—key roles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Figure 9.2 Technical resource guide—role definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Figure 9.3 Technical resource guide— project selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Figure 9.4 Technical resource guide—change management . . . . . . . . . . 67

Figure 9.5 Technical resource guide—coach reference manual. . . . . . . 69

Figure 10.1 Options for meeting with your team the first time. . . . . . . . . 74

Table 10.1 First meeting agenda items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Figure 10.2 First meeting template. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Figure 10.3 Example of a completed first meeting session. . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Figure 11.1 KISS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Table 11.1 Sources of information on Green Belt coaching. . . . . . . . . . . 83

Figure 11.2 The integrated follow-up model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Figure 12.1 Getting the meeting space right. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90Table 12.1 Checklist of key principles for collaboration. . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Table 13.1 Three things. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96


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List of Figures and Tables xv

Figure 13.1 Project documentation elements for DMAIC. . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Figure 14.1 The Kotter model for managing change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Figure 14.2 Simple Kotter planning template for process changes. . . . . 103

Figure 14.3 Simple Kotter planning template for process

changes—example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Figure 14.4 Simple Kotter planning template for innovation—

example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Figure 14.5 Simple Kotter planning template for career growth—

example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Figure 14.6 Simple Kotter planning template for member

learning—example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Table 15.1 Shared learning examples—from small to large

learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Figure 16.1 Six Sigma Workshop discussing the DMAIC

framework. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Figure 16.2 Measure phase sponsor review with the Department

of Emergency Medical Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Figure 16.3 Brainstorming session in a team-based environment

involving staff from outside the department, frontline

staff, and management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121Figure 16.4 Coaching a weekly Six Sigma workshop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Figure 16.5 Six Sigma workshop participants create a fishbone

diagram. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Figure 16.6 A lieutenant from the police department creates a

failure mode and effects analysis chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Figure 16.7 Louisville Statistics Forum with the Department of Human

Resources, led by a Certified Six Sigma Green Belt. . . . . . 123

Figure 16.8 Louisville Statistics (LouieStat) Forum with the

Department of Emergency Medical Services. . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Figure 16.9 The authors working out details for applying the

collaboration model at Louisville Metro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Figure 16.10 The mayor recognizes an outstanding consultant who

taught Louisville Metro the enterprise model. . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Figure 16.11 The chief of performance improvement addresses the

crowd during the city’s day of celebration of quality . . . . . 127

Figure 16.12 Six Sigma workshop about the relationship of

histograms to control charts using data from

workshop participants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Figure 16.13 The authors interpret control charts in Minitab

software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131


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xvi List of Figures and Tables

Figure 16.14 Coauthor Pollock’s research guided the collaboration

efforts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Table 16.1 LouieStat objectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137Figure 16.15 Authors’ article describing the collaborative effort. . . . . . . 144

Figure 16.16 Authors presented at the 2014 World Conference about

the collaboration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Figure 16.17 Mayor Fischer recognizes Humana’s quality professionals

and Humana’s president Bruce Broussard (immediately

left of the mayor), for support and guidance. . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Figure 16.18 Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer conducts a PDCA

workshop during the city’s Day of Celebration. . . . . . . . . . 146

Figure 16.19 The chief of performance and technology and the

Louisville Metro Police Department solve problems in

a LouieStat Forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Figure 16.20 Daro Mott facilitates a workshop during the city’s Day

of Celebration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Figure 16.21 The chief of performance and technology facilitates a

workshop around identifying critical processes and key

performance indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Figure 16.22 Six Sigma Green Belt participants smile before taking

an internal certification exam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Figure 16.23 Mayor Greg Fischer presents an award to coauthor

Steve Pollock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Figure 16.24 Mayor Greg Fischer recognizes Mark Bolton, the

director of the Louisville Metro Department of

Corrections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Figure 16.25 PDCA squared. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Figure 16.26 Association of Internal Management Consultants

home page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152Figure 16.27 Attend ASQ events to stay on the cutting edge of the

quality movement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Figure 16.28 The first Sustainability Statistics Forum with the

leadership team. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Figure 16.29 Six Sigma workshop with the Louisville Metro Police

Department and staff from other city departments. . . . . . . . 154

Figure 16.30 The Office of Performance Improvement celebrates

Mitchell Burmeister’s professional development

journey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Figure 16.31 The Louisville leadership team discussing improvement

opportunities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155


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List of Figures and Tables xvii

Figure 16.32 Workshop participants review the interpretation of

specification limits plotted against a histogram. . . . . . . . . . 155

Figure 16.33 The Department of Parks and Recreation prepares forits Louisville Statistics Forum with the Parks and

Recreation leadership team. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Figure B.1 Hypothesized model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Figure B.2 Results of hypothesized model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Figure B.3 Team learning results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Figure B.4 Team knowledge creation results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166


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xix

Six Sigma Green Belts need support in applying new skills after train-

ing, yet there is little research about how this works, and even less

advice about what support looks like in the field.

This book provides coaching tips for supporting Green Belt proj-

ects. Six Sigma–based problem solving uses a methodology called define–

measure–analyze–improve–control (DMAIC). More than accessibility

to a Black Belt is required for success. The quality of collaboration is

important to the outcomes of the project (Moosa and Sajid 2010). Successencourages the sustainability of DMAIC. The reputation of the change ini-

tiative encourages others to jump on board. Green Belt learning is not an

accidental or informal process (see Figure I.1).

A writer should pursue a topic they are passionate about, and I am

passionate about helping Six Sigma be more sustainable. Through work

with organizational leaders and Black Belts, I continue to observe oppor-

tunities to strengthen the relationship between Black Belts and the Green

Belts they support. The orientation of the text is not toward technical infor-

mation (the hard-skill side of Six Sigma) regarding methodology and tools;there is already an abundant amount of technical information available

Introduction

Figure I.1 The Green Belt learning curve.

Being trained

• More coach

• Less Green Belt

Coach teaches Green Belt

Additional projects

• Green Belt owns it

• Coach as needed

Green Belt and coach are peers

First project

• More Green Belt

• Less coach

Green Belt applies skills


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xx Introduction

from the American Society for Quality (ASQ) (www.asq.org). However,

there is less information available about the interpersonal side of DMAIC.

Accordingly, this text focuses on tips for effective collaboration practices(the soft-skill side of the methodology). Desirable Green Belt project out-

comes, research shows, are greatly influenced by the degree of collabora-

tion between the coach and the Green Belt team members (Pollock 2014a).

The past chair of the ASQ Executive Council, Dr. John C. Timmerman

of Gallup, Inc., reviewed an early draft and provided encouragement for

this project. He said, “Thank you for sharing the draft . . . and [I] especially

like how you placed a good focus on creating collaboration and establish-

ing social/team norms during the first and critical meetings— first class!”

Other reviewers of the early draft provided helpful constructive feedbackregarding DMAIC guidelines, the role of coaches, change management,

the coaching process, and greater use of visual teaching through diagrams.

Thank you for your feedback!

This book provides a comprehensive discussion about how to coach

Green Belts on their first project, and may be used in coaching additional

Green Belt projects. The discussion in Chapter 10 of Louisville Metro’s

application of the text’s ideas, and an example of one of Metro’s projects

in Appendix A, demonstrate that these ideas work in the field for coaching

Green Belts.Dr. Steve Pollock, ASQ Fellow

Louisville, Kentucky

November 2014


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xxi

Acknowledgment in the writing of this project is made to my friend

Mr. Daro Mott of Louisville Metro, for contributing Chapter 10,

and my employer, Humana Inc., for encouraging involvement with

community partners.

Acknowledgments


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Part I

CoachingGreen Belts


24/35


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3

THE SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE

The Six Sigma methodology for quality improvement uses DMAIC, a

well-accepted industry practice in Fortune 500 firms (Zhang, Hill, and

Gilbreath 2011). However, DMAIC sustainability remains challenging

for many organizations. The American Productivity and Quality Center

(APQC) notes that numerous barriers to DMAIC project completion arise

from poor collaboration practices, and lack of access to a Black Belt (here-after called coach) after training is a primary cause (Gunnarsdottir 2012).

Even when a coach is accessible to Green Belts, the quality of collaboration

is important to the outcomes of the project (Moosa and Sajid 2010). Why a

book on coaching the first Green Belt projects? There may be many barri-

ers to DMAIC sustainability, but this text targets the collaborative approach

of the coach as a key opportunity (see Figure 1.1). Since people begin their

DMAIC journey at the foundational level called Green Belt , and Green

Belts seem to be faltering, it is of paramount importance to focus attention

here on their first project, and on subsequent projects as appropriate.Green Belts need support in applying new skills, yet there is little

research about how this works. ASQ has a technical handbook for prepar-

ing to take its Green Belt certification exam, but coaching is not widely dis-

cussed. A book by Owens (2012) discusses tips for a Green Belt’s second

project. Most DMAIC research concentrates on Black Belt training, proj-

ects, or roles (see Figure 1.2). For example, DeRuntz (2005) and Hagen

(2008) discuss Black Belt training in their dissertation research. Some

research investigated Green Belt training using an apprenticeship model

(Gobeille 2006) or a coaching approach (Pollock 2013).

1

Overview


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4 Part I: Coaching Green Belts

Figure 1.2 Most research is about Black Belts.

Technicalinformation

Black belttraining

What doesGreen Beltcoachinglook like?

Focus ofthis book

Black Beltroles

Black Beltprojects

Figure 1.1 The big three DMAIC adoption challenges.

Collaborationknow-howAccess to

coaching

Coachingapproach

Opportunity tosupport Green Belts


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Chapter 1: Overview 5

MAJOR IDEAS

The text will discuss the following ideas: Black Belts coach Green Belts,helping them learn how to apply DMAIC skills to solving real-world chal-

lenges in the context of a project. Coaches are helpful in lowering barri-

ers to learning, and when barriers are lowered, DMAIC adoption rises

(Moosa and Sajid 2010). Formal expectations promote the learning process

as ideas are exchanged (Choo, Linderman, and Schroeder 2007). Collabo-

ration during a Green Belt project builds a foundation for future improve-

ments since participants learn skills, gain confidence, build relationships,

and better understand how the organization works. The text will discuss

specific behaviors of coaches (see Figure 1.3) that facilitate better GreenBelt outcomes on the first project, including:

• Adopting standards when working with Green Belts

• Meeting before the project starts to set expectations

• Following up on expectations throughout the DMAIC project

GUIDANCE FROM THE EXPERIENCEOF OTHERS

Bourg et al. (2010) published a peer-reviewed study about coaches and

Green Belts. The authors describe Agilent’s response to the challenge facing

Six Sigma adoption in its United States and United Kingdom operations.

Figure 1.3 Basic coaching process.

Adoptingstandards

External andinternal best

practices

Settingexpectations

Talk beforeproject starts

Checkingprogress

DMAIC phasefollow-up


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6 Part I: Coaching Green Belts

Agilent created a coaching infrastructure to help 300 trained Green Belts

after their first projects stumbled. Agilent’s previous practice was to empha-

size classroom training and informal support on an as-needed basis. Therewere no formalized expectations or standards about the support process.

The case study cites standard practices for coaching as the key to facil-

itating higher levels of learning after training, resulting in more reliable

project performance. After regrouping following the initial project set-

backs, the company’s coaching support approach became formalized based

on a set of performance standards with performance feedback to coaches.

Overall, the case study points to the need for managing the coaching pro-

cess. This text builds on the Agilent experience.

WHAT GREEN BELTS WANT ANDNEED TO KNOW

Certain themes have emerged about what Green Belts want to know and

need to know through many years of direct, personal experience support-

ing Green Belts and from networking with other coaches. Typically, many

questions arise about how to apply the ideas learned in class. Coaches

are better able to do their work when they understand three key tips (seeFigure 1.4):

• Understand what Green Belts want to know about each

DMAIC phase

• Recognize what Green Belts need to know about each

DMAIC phase

• Balance Green Belt wants and needs during collaboration

on project work

Understanding what Green Belts want to know comes from asking ques-

tions and listening carefully. Understanding what Green Belts need to

know comes from knowing the Six Sigma body of knowledge and operat-

ing within the organization’s goals for Six Sigma. Finally, balancing wants

and needs occurs in the context of the project work through the collabora-

tion of the coach and Green Belts.

The next chapter discusses how the coach develops Green Belt talent

with these ideas in mind.


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Chapter 1: Overview 7

Figure 1.4 Key coaching tips.

• Understand what Green Belts want to know

• Recognize what Green Belts need to know

• Balance wants and needs

Want to Know

Coach asks questions

Coach listens carefully

Need to Know

Coach grounded in body of knowledge

Coach understands organization’s expectations

Balance Wants and Needs

Coach engages Green Belts in project workusing high collaboration skills


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173

Index

A

Agilent, 5–6American Productivity and Quality

Center (APQC), 3

analyze phase, of DMAIC, 33–40coaching tips, 37–38key ideas, 38–40what Green Belts want and need to

know, 33–36

B

baseline, in DMAIC measure phase,25

Black Belt, Six Sigma, role definition,64

See also coachBolton, Mark, 151Broussard, Bruce, 145build–measure–learn feedback loop,

in LouieStat Program, 141–42,147–48

C

career growth, under Kotter model,106–8

case study, field, 119–52cause-and-effect diagram, 49coach (Six Sigma Black Belt)

key tips for, 6planning checklist for, 79–80, 87,

93–94, 99, 111, 116role definition, 63role in DMAIC, 5, 113–15self-reflective questions for,

78–79, 86–87, 93, 98, 110,115–16

value of listening, 9–10coach reference manual, 68–70coaching, Green Belt, sources of

information on, 82coaching tips

analyze phase, 37–38control phase, 53–54define phase, 21–22improve phase, 44–45measure phase, 28–29

collaboration approach, to Green Beltprojects, 73–116

collaborative culture, 89–94DMAIC, 101–11principles of, 89–90

consulting skills, internal, inLouieStat Program, 151–52

continuous improvement (CI) story,47


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174 Index

example (Appendix A), 159–64control phase, of DMAIC, 49–56

coaching tips, 53–54key ideas, 55–56what Green Belts want and need

to know, 49–53creativity, versus innovation, 104–5critical process identification, in

LouieStat Program, 140–41critical to quality (CTQ), 17–18, 21cultural change, reinforcement

mechanisms for, 147

D

define phase, of DMAIC, 17–24coaching tips, 21–22key ideas, 23–24what Green Belts want and need to

know, 17–19deployment leader, role definition,

63DMAIC (define, measure, analyze,

improve, control)methodology

key roles in, 61–63projects

collaboration in, xix–xxdocumentation, 96follow-up process, 83–86

role definitions in, 63–65summary, key questions for

coaches, 57–59sustainability of, 3

DMAIC collaboration, 101–11DMAIC Project Report

front page, 10page two (define), 17–19page three (measure), 25–27page four (analyze), 33–36page five (improve), 41–43page six (control), 49–53

DMAIC Project Summary, 10key ideas, 14–16what Green Belts need to know

about, 11–14

E

effort versus impact matrix, 41elevator speech, 11–14engagement, of workers, 73–74, 82Enterprise Consulting Group,

Humana, 130

F

field case study, 119–52file accessibility, 97

Fischer, Greg, 128–30, 138, 146, 150,151fishbone diagram, 49follow-up process, for Green Belt

projects, 83–86

G

Gallup, Inc., 73, 82Green Belt, Six Sigma

coaching, 3–70overview, 3–6

learning curve, xixprojects

change management, 67–68data, perceived drivers of

(Appendix B), 165–66documentation, 96follow-up process, 82–86governance, 67–68selecting, 65–66

supporting, xix–xxrole definition, 64and sustainability of DMAIC, 3talent development, 9–16what they want and need to

know, 6

H

handoff checklist, 49, 55, 56

Humana Inc.


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Index 175

Enterprise Consulting Group, 130partnership with Lousville Metro

OPI, 132–33value of, 143–46

I

idea generation, in meetings, 96improve phase, of DMAIC, 41–48

coaching tips, 44–45key ideas, 46–48what Green Belts want and need

to know, 41–43influence model, 129innovation

versus creativity, 104–5under Kotter model, 104–5

integrated follow-up model, 83–86internal consulting skills, in LouieStat

Program, 151–52

K

key performance indicators (KPIs),135, 139

KISS (acronym), 81–82, 95, 102Kotter model, 102, 111

planning template, 103–9

L

lean, in LouieStat Program, 142–43

lean start-up, in Louisville MetroOPI–Humana partnership,132–33

lessons learned, 113–16listening, value for coaches, 9–10LouieStat chart, 140LouieStat Forum, 132, 134, 135Louisville Metro Government

field case study, 119–52Green Belt program, 124Master Black Belt, role in

deployment, 124–26, 132

problem solving, application in,128–30

PDCA in, 130Six Sigma program, 119–23, 126

first Six Sigma project,133–36

process steps in, 133–36Louisville Metro Office of

Performance Improvement(OPI), 119, 130, 132–36,138–39

partnership with Humana,132–33

value of, 143–46Louisville Statistics (LouieStat)maturity model, 136, 146–47

Louisville Statistics (LouieStat)Program, 128, 129–30,133–36, 140–41, 142

creating quality culture through,136–43

lessons learned, 146–52

MMaster Black Belt, role definition,

63McKinsey Center for Government,

129measure phase, of DMAIC, 25–31

internal coaching tips, 28–29key ideas, 29–31what Green Belts want and need

to know, 25–27

meetingsproject team, first, 73–80requirements, 95–99space requirements, 90–91

member learning, under Kottermodel, 108–9

Microsoft Excel, 68, 135Microsoft OneNote, 68Microsoft PowerPoint, 96, 108Microsoft SharePoint, 66Minitab, 68

Mott, Daro, 124, 148


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176 Index

N

NCIS , 81

P

Pareto chart, 139PDCA2, 150performance manager, role in

LouieStat Program, 138performance maturity model, in

LouieStat Program, 139

plan–do–check–act (PDCA), inLouieStat Program, 142Pollock, Steve, 124, 132, 150process changes, under Kotter model,

103–4project champion/sponsor, role

definition, 63project documentation, 96project goal, 101project information, accessibility of,

97

Project Report, DMAIC. See DMAICProject Report

project selection, 65–66project team, first meeting, 73–80

agenda for, 74–76record, example, 76–78

project updates, 101–2project Y , 33projects

for analyze phase, 39for control phase, 55–56

for define phase, 23–24for improve phase, 47for measure phase, 29–31for Project Summary, 15–16

projects, Green Beltchange management, 67–68data, perceived drivers of,

165–66documentation, 96follow-up process, 83–86governance, 67–68

selecting, 65–66supporting, xix–xx

puzzle exercise, 21–22

Q

quality culture, buildingreinforcement mechanism for,138–39

quantitative reasoning skills, inLouieStat Program, 139–40

R

reference manual, coach, 68–70Reno-Weber, Theresa, 129–30

S

sampling, 27, 30, 31sampling plan, 28–29shared learning, 113

tip for promoting, 115

SIPOC (suppliers, inputs, process,outputs, customers) diagram,17–19, 21–22

Six Sigma, in LouieStat Program,142–43

Six Sigma leader, role definition, 63sponsor reviews, 67–68standards

for analyze phase, 39for control phase, 56for define phase, 23

for improve phase, 47for measure phase, 30–31for Project Summary, 15–16

statement of work, 124steering group, role definition, 63sustainability

of DMAIC, 3in LouieStat Program, 143

T

team stages, 78


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Index 177

teamwork, and worker engagement,73–74

technical resource guide, for coach,61–70

three things (for meetings), 95–96training

for analyze phase, 39for control phase, 55–56for define phase, 23–24for improve phase, 46–47for measure phase, 29–31

for Project Summary, 15–16transition plan, 55

W

worker engagement, 73–74, 82

X

X factors, 33

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