Champions :
Senior management leaders--either heads of different businesses or their direct reports--who are responsible for the success of Six Sigma efforts, head the initiatives, and act as the bridge with the company's strategic needs. Champions approve projects, bankroll them, and smoothen out the policy- and infrastructural-roadblocks in the path of Six Sigma implementation. Up to them too is the task of monitoring the application of Six Sigma, and asking questions continuously to ensure that it is being used to best effect.
This form of leadership is important because of 2 reasons. First, applying Six Sigma often needs additional resources and management support, which may not have been anticipated up-front, requiring the Champions to make those resources available. And second, all too often, the demands of Six Sigma can confuse people about their operational priorities. That's when the Champions need to step, in and sort out the conflicts.
This form of leadership is important because of 2 reasons. First, applying Six Sigma often needs additional resources and management support, which may not have been anticipated up-front, requiring the Champions to make those resources available. And second, all too often, the demands of Six Sigma can confuse people about their operational priorities. That's when the Champions need to step, in and sort out the conflicts.
Master Black Belts :
Primarily teachers of the intricacies of Six Sigma and its techniques, they're drawn from the ranks of the early adepts who've gone on to acquire enough expertise to be able to mentor Black Belts, and conduct Six Sigma training-sessions for anyone in the company. Assigned full-time to Six Sigma, Master Black Belts provide all the technical and quantitative skills-building required by your people to apply the technique.
Black Belts:
These are the key people in the implementation process who lead the teams that measure, analyse, improve, and control the key processes that influence customer satisfaction. Assigned full-time to Six Sigma, they are the ones who guide other employees in the process of applying the technique, troubleshooting, problem-solving, and achieving breakthroughs.
Team Members (Green and/or Orange Belts):
The workers and managers who combine the application of Six Sigma with their regular responsibilities, these are the people who do the bread-and-butter tasks of process-mapping, analysing, planning and implementing improvements, and then, translating them into systems. Their Six Sigma work is fused with their everyday responsibilities since that is the only way in which the tool can become part of the fabric of all operations.
