Over the past 20 years, we have helped countless companies to train and deploy Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma. Without question, the delegates and companies who have obtained the quickest and best results have been those who have supplemented their learning with one to one coaching from a Master Black Belt.
For this reason, we see coaching sessions as essential to the success of any Lean, Six Sigma or Lean Six Sigma training. The coaching must be conducted by an experienced Master Black Belt either face to face or via the phone and web. The Master Black Belt can be a company resource or one of our process excellence specialist Master Black Belts – the key is that the delegates receive expert coaching.
Coaching is essential because it will enable you to:
- Successfully complete your projects
- Achieve certification quicker
- Ask for specific advice on how to make your project a success
- Ask for further clarification on parts of the training you didn’t understand the first time
- Help you understand what data to collect and how to collect it
- Show your data and ask for assistance in analysing it
- Gain practical assistance with the use of Minitab
- Discuss how to implement your solutions and influence key stakeholders so that your solution is embedded in your organisation
- Develop more robust and complete solutions, leading to greater success when you present to management
- Receive one to one coaching on your style, skills and personal development
- Focus you on your project as you will have a Master Black Belt asking you about progress
With a dedicated Master Black Belt you will complete your project quicker and with a greater chance of the solution being embedded in the organisation. On average, delegates who utilise coaching as part of their learning package are 60% more likely to certify and be successful.
These extensive benefits far outweigh the cost of coaching. We recommend that for each level of training you receive, you provide delegates with at least four one-hour coaching sessions.
How to make sure coaching is successful:
- Make sure that your coach is a Master Black Belt.
- Set a time and date for each session and don’t let it slip. It’s easy to let other things take precedence, but we find that the sooner you apply learning the more you will benefit. Also, coaching is linked to your personal development, which should be a key driver for you.
- Prior to any session, check that you’ve emailed your Master Black Belt with your up-to-date storyboard (presentation on your project), your objectives for the session and any questions you want to discuss. That way the session will be highly efficient as your Master Black Belt will be fully prepared.
- Your coach should run your session in a standardised way. Our coaches use the GROW model, so you know what to expect and the sessions will be more efficient.
- Be open and honest throughout the session. Ask your coach about areas of the methodologies that you didn’t fully understand, talk about data collection and analysis, talk about stakeholders and how to influence them, and anything else you need advice on.
- Remember that these sessions are perfect to obtain constructive feedback on your personal performance. Use them to support your personal development. People who are committed to personal development are always far more successful than those who aren’t. Ask about how you performed in the task and how you conducted yourself, among other things. That way you can discuss how to grow and develop.
Coaching is a powerful and essential part of any learning. It leads to successful projects and quicker and easier certification. Not only will you benefit from the coaching session personally, but your business will also see a return on investment far in excess of the cost.
Our recommendation for anyone undertaking Lean, Six Sigma or Lean Six Sigma Training at any level is to find your company’s Master Black Belt or Lean Practitioner and set up some coaching sessions today.
If you’re unlucky enough not to have Master Black Belt support in your business, we offer a virtual Master Black Belt training course. The course combines a mix of online study with intensive virtual classroom sessions and a strong focus on self-led personal development. Click the button below to find out more.
