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Posts Tagged ‘leadership development’

Seven Habits … – Habit 3: Drive Continuous Improvement

16 Sep 2012
by Uwe.
3 comments

Habit 3: Drive Continuous Improvement and Innovation

Working with management teams of our clients often takes them away from their business for a few days. They frequently get in touch with their teams at home. Sometimes I involuntarily eavesdrop their part of the conversation. “How is it going? Is everything ok?” is a very common question they ask their teams. When they get some kind of “yes” they feel much better.

My old professor at the university, we called him Ho, had the habit of having tea with the whole team of his assistants in the morning whenever he was around. I cannot say that these sessions were my favourite pastime. Yet, I have to say that these sessions had been a great learning experience. Ho would never ask a question like “Is everything ok?” Instead, his preferred question was “What are your issues? What is new?” Continue reading →

Protected: Singapore Cooperation Programme June/July 2012

11 Jul 2012
by Admin.
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Why Should I Become a Black Belt?

04 Jan 2011
by Uwe.
1 comment

Becoming a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt – and to a certain degree a Green Belt – is a major career move and should be considered carefully. There are not only the Pros; there are plenty of Cons. Continue reading →

People Complexity Can Require a Special Roadmap

06 May 2010
by Uwe.
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The DMAIC toolkit is excellent for solving technical complexity problems. However, Lean Six Sigma tools are not as adept at helping solve problems of high ‘people complexity.’ The solution is an integrated DMIAC/change management roadmap.
Despite the growing awareness that the standard Six Sigma DMAIC toolkit can be applied to process problems in so-called transactional environments – as well as manufacturing – improvements to existing processes do not always involve just tweaking of “settings” in the process. This is because processes in transactional environments contain lots of what have come to be called “people complexity,” as opposed to manufacturing problems which often have a high technical complexity.
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Why Six Sigma Black Belts Make Better Leaders

25 Apr 2010
by Uwe.
4 comments

Besides business and functional know-how, a successful leader must have competencies in leading change and improving, designing and managing processes. A Six Sigma program helps prepare leaders by providing on-the-job training through project work.
A recent survey by iSixSigma Magazine of more than 1,300 business professionals whose companies are using Six Sigma revealed that leadership development programs which involve Six Sigma training are six times more likely to be called “highly successful” than those without. Many of these leadership development programs involve a Black Belt track for future leaders. Thus, the obvious question is, What skills and know-how do Six Sigma professionals acquire that gives them an edge as leaders?
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A Lesson of Leadership

22 Jan 2010
by Uwe.
1 comment

A couple of months ago, I was having lunch with the Chairman of a medium-sized contract manufacturing company in Singapore. When we made the appointment, we agreed to meet at a posh club in the centre of the city-state. After arriving there I found myself in the middle of his management team. He brought MD and CFO along.
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Take Care of Your Talent – Develop your Belt

02 Mar 2009
by Amy.
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Against the common belief, statistical knowledge is not a criterion for selecting your Belts. However, the capability to acquire new technical skills, to apply these skills successfully is an important prerequisite. More important is the aptitude to involve, motivate, coach and train people, to lead and manage teams towards delivering results and to communicate effectively with different levels in the organisation.
A study by iSixSigma Magazine about the importance of different skills and characteristics for a successful Black Belt (“The Hard Truth About Soft Skills,” January/February 2008) was showing that Communication Skills is by far the most important requirement. Leadership Skills came in second and Technical Skills third. The question for the importance of Soft Skills for different roles in the Six Sigma deployment was answered by 72% for Green Belts and 99% for Black Belts with important or very important (5-point scale). Soft Skills include Communication, Collaboration, Team Leadership, Change Management, Time Management as most important to the success of the Belt.   Continue reading →

Leadership Development Case Study

02 Jan 2009
by Amy.
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Our client, a leading world authority in microelectronics development and research, appointed a senior research fellow to head its entire research and development division. Could the company’s top scientist and academic researcher, who had never managed a staff of more than twenty, make the transition to effectively manage hundreds of people in his division?
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Team Effectiveness Development Case Study

02 Jan 2009
by Amy.
2 comments

Our client, a US-based IT manufacturing MNC, needed to align the efforts of its seven separate IT divisions and help division leaders think of themselves as part of one culture – one body – one department. Until this point, each leader and unit had been functioning as a separate department. The firm called on COE to help with team effectiveness development.
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People Development – The Smart Way

02 Jan 2009
by Uwe.
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A couple of years ago, I was meeting the President of an Asian multi-national mid-sized service company for a Six Sigma Training on Saipan, a nice sunny pacific island south-east of Japan. Together with a colleague we were sitting at the beach, wearing swimming suits and preparing the next days session whilst getting sun-tanned. When the President arrived – he was in shorts and ugly slippers! – we had a casual briefing for the Leadership Team session and the Staff Awareness Sessions we were about to run during that week.
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