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6 Sigma Black Belt: A Few Key Traits

Does a Six Sigma Black Belt need to be an engineer?  Can you become one right out of college?  What personal traits are important for a 6 Sigma Black Belt to have or acquire? 

In no particular order, here are a few:

Enthusiasm.  Enthusiasm is infectious; to gain buy-in for his process improvements, the Black Belt must be passionate and enthusiastic about them himself. 

Perseverance.  6 Sigma Black Belts must be dedicated to the pursuit of excellence.  Not only to complete her Black Belt training and project, and attain her certification — although it will take dedication to do so.  But Perseverance is also key if the Black Belt is to take her achievement back to her employer and seek out that organization’s greatest good, despite whatever stumbling blocks she may encounter.

Passionate Advocate for the Customer.  The bottom line is — dependent on gaining, and keeping, the customer’s goodwill.  If the customers are not satisfied, then the rest of the company won’t be around very long to worry about it.  First, last, and always, the 6 Sigma Black Belt must be focused on what the customer wants and needs.

 

Effective Change Agent.  Driving change is what a Six Sigma Black Belt is expected to do.  Sometimes the proposed changes will be controversial; sometimes they’ll just be difficult.  At all times, most people prefer to stay in their comfort zone, and even beneficial change disrupts that zone, at least in the short term.  The 6 Sigma Black Belt must be able to gain buy-in from stakeholders at all levels. 

Analytical Insights.  The Six Sigma Black Belt need not hold a degree in engineering or statistics (although many do), but must be capable of learning and applying analytical tools from these fields. 

Good Team Player.  Because the Black Belt is leading teams and gaining buy-in for what may be controversial process changes, she must be adept at reading social cues and dynamics.  She must be likeable and by her actions, must clearly convey a devotion to the overall team’s success — not just her own. 

Business Acumen.  Improving business processes is the Six Sigma Black Belt’s professional goal.  He must first demonstrate familiarity and understanding of business processes, before he can hope to improve them. 

In short, to become a Black Belt, it isn’t enough to be able to “do the math” — although you do need to have that ability.  But you also need to have a lot of intangible skills that are equally important, if not more so.  The Six Sigma Black Belt is a change agent and a business leader; the most effective 6 Sigma Black Belts will have shown these traits even before achieving Six Sigma certification.

About the Author

To learn more about online Six Sigma Certification and get bonus statistical analysis software (value $199) included your tuition. Or to view a course demo, visit the Acuity Institute Review
page.

Monique Sno, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt

LeanSixSigmaSource.com

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