Sigma This! |

A friend of mine was talking to me about her current work situation where her new leader is requesting her to use the old Six Sigma process to evaluate their business processes. Regardless, if the plan works or not it is frustrating because the it is being forced upon her as the only solution to her department problems.

Instead of the leader working with her to develop the best effective approach, the leader decided this was it and doesn’t care if the results are not effective or the learning curve that it takes to learn this process.

Leaders sometimes forget that they do not know all the answers. They need to work their teams to figure out what is the most effective way to get the results required. Just because a system works for you or with another job doesn’t mean it will work with the new department.

Leadership is about people. It is about helping people achieve the greatest results not about dictating to them what your wishes are. That is the difference between a Boss and a leader.

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Pete Pande on 07 Feb 2008 at 11:57 am #

I agree that Six Sigma approaches can be misapplied and/or oversold. At the same time, you seem to assume that Six Sigma is a “solution” when in fact it’s a process for diagnosing a situation using facts and common sense. It may be that this boss is trying to help your friend learn some skills she may lack. The fact that she’s resisting it may mean she’s not flexible or open to new things as well.
Finally, a leader or boss may sometimes have to “dictate” in order to meet the needs of the business. That’s a principle of situational leadership that most experienced leaders figure out, or fail. (Just because a nurturing approach works in some situations and with some people doesn’t mean it will work all the time.)

Kelly on 07 Feb 2008 at 1:39 pm #