Coaching

Green Belts for

Sustainable
Success

Also available from ASQ Quality Press:

The Certified Six Sigma Green Belt Handbook, Second Edition
Roderick A. Munro, Govindarajan Ramu, and Daniel J. Zrymiak
Process Improvement Using Six Sigma: A DMAIC Guide
Rama Shankar
Six Sigma Green Belt, Round 2: Making Your Next Project Better than
the Last One
Tracy L. Owens
Statistics for Six Sigma Black Belts
Matthew Barsalou
The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Handbook, Third Edition
T. M. Kubiak and Donald W. Benbow
The ASQ Pocket Guide to Statistics for Six Sigma Black Belts
Matthew Barsalou
The Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt Handbook
T. M. Kubiak
Practical Engineering, Process, and Reliability Statistics
Mark Allen Durivage
The ASQ Pocket Guide for the Certified Six Sigma Black Belt
T. M. Kubiak
The Certified Quality Engineer Handbook, Third Edition
Connie M. Borror, editor
The Quality Toolbox, Second Edition
Nancy R. Tague
Root Cause Analysis: Simplified Tools and Techniques, Second Edition
Bjrn Andersen and Tom Fagerhaug
The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Handbook,
Fourth Edition
Russell T. Westcott, editor
The ASQ Quality Improvement Pocket Guide: Basic History, Concepts, Tools,
and Relationships
Grace L. Duffy, editor
To request a complimentary catalog of ASQ Quality Press publications,
call 800-248-1946, or visit our website at www.asq.org/quality-press.

Coaching
Green Belts for
Sustainable
Success
Steve Pollock and Daro Mott

ASQ Quality Press

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

American Society for Quality, Quality Press, Milwaukee 53203

2015 by Steve Pollock
All rights reserved. Published 2015
Printed in the United States of America
21 20 19 18 17 16 15
5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pollock, Steve, 1957
Coaching green belts for sustainable success / Steve Pollock and Daro Mott.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-87389-904-8 (hard cover : alk. paper)
1. Six sigma (Quality control standard) 2. Supervision of employees. I. Mott, Daro.
II. Title.
TS156.17.S59P65 2015
658.4'013dc23

2015007108

ISBN 978-0-87389-904-8
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission
of the publisher.
Publisher: Lynelle Korte
Acquisitions Editor: Matt T. Meinholz
Managing Editor: Paul Daniel OMara
Production Administrator: Randall Benson
ASQ Mission: The American Society for Quality advances individual, organizational,
and community excellence worldwide through learning, quality improvement, and
knowledge exchange.
Attention Bookstores, Wholesalers, Schools, and Corporations: ASQ Quality Press
books, video, audio, and software are available at quantity discounts with bulk
purchases for business, educational, or instructional use. For information, please
contact ASQ Quality Press at 800-248-1946, or write to ASQ Quality Press,
P.O. Box 3005, Milwaukee, WI 53201-3005.
To place orders or to request ASQ membership information, call 800-248-1946. Visit our
website at http://www.asq.org/quality-press.
Printed on acid-free paper

To my wife Betsy, for encouraging me to tell the story of my

work, and to my parents, Dick and Sue Pollock, for raising me
to be captivated by ideas that become ways to help others.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi

Part I: Coaching Green Belts

Chapter 1: Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
The Sustainability Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Major Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Guidance from the Experience of Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
What Green Belts Want and Need to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Chapter 2: Green Belt Talent Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
What Green Belts Want to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Project SummaryTypical Front Page of the DMAIC
Project Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
What Green Belts Need to Know About the Project
SummaryInternal Coaching Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Leverage These Themes in Training, Projects, and
StandardsProject Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Chapter 3: Define Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
DefineTypical Page Two of the DMAIC Project Report . . . . 17
What Green Belts Want and Need to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
What Green Belts Need to Know About the Define Phase
Internal Coaching Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Coaching Tip: Do a Simple Puzzle Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . 21
How to Leverage These Themes in Training, Projects, and
StandardsDefine Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

vii

viii Table of Contents

Chapter 4: Measure Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

MeasureTypical Page Three of the DMAIC Project
Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
What Green Belts Want and Need to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
What Green Belts Need to Know About the Measure
PhaseInternal Coaching Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
How to Leverage These Themes in Training, Projects,
and StandardsMeasure Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chapter 5: Analyze Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
AnalyzeTypical Page Four of the DMAIC Project
Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
What Green Belts Want and Need to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
What Green Belts Need to Know About the Analyze
PhaseCoaching Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
How to Leverage These Themes in Training, Projects,
and StandardsAnalyze Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Chapter 6: Improve Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
ImproveTypical Page Five of the DMAIC Project
Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
What Green Belts Want and Need to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
What Green Belts Need to Know About the Improve
PhaseCoaching Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
How to Leverage These Themes in Training, Projects,
and StandardsImprove Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Chapter 7: Control Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
ControlTypical Page Six of the DMAIC Project
Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
What Green Belts Want and Need to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
What Green Belts Need to Know About the Control
PhaseCoaching Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
How to Leverage These Themes in Training, Projects,
and StandardsControl Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Chapter 8: SummaryDMAIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
SummaryKey Questions for Coaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Project Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Define Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Measure Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Analyze Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Improve Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Control Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Table of Contents ix

Chapter 9: Technical Resource Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Key Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Role Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Project Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Governance/Change Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Coach Reference Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Part II: Collaboration Approach

Chapter 10: Meeting the Team for the First Time . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Engagement Counts! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
What Is the Agenda for the First Meeting After
Training? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Example of a Completed First Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Self-Reflective Questions for the Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Planning Checklist for the Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Chapter 11: Now What? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
How About This? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
What Does This Mean in Terms of Green Belts? . . . . . . . . . . . 82
The Follow-Up Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Flyover Tour of the Follow-Up Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Why Is It Necessary to Use the Follow-Up Model? . . . . . . . . . 85
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Self-Reflective Questions for the Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Planning Checklist for the Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Chapter 12: Collaborative Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Facing Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Meeting Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Other Key Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Self-Reflective Questions for the Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Planning Checklist for the Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Chapter 13: Each Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Project Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Idea Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
File Accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Self-Reflective Questions for the Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Planning Checklist for the Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

x Table of Contents

Chapter 14: DMAIC Collaborative Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

The Easy Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
The More Difficult Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Kotter Model Demystified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Kotter Model Planning Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Example 1: Process Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Example 2: Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Example 3: Career Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Example 4: Member Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Self-Reflective Questions for the Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Planning Checklist for the Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Chapter 15: Lessons Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Role of the Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Another Simple Tip for Promoting Shared Learning . . . . . . . . 115
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Self-Reflective Questions for the Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Planning Checklist for the Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Part III: Field Case Study

Chapter 16: Louisville Metro Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Applying the Ideas from Parts I and II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
The Practical Application of Problem Solving in City
GovernmentBackground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Lean Start-UpPartnership with Humana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
First Six Sigma ProjectThe Partnership Continues . . . . . . . . 133
Creating a Quality Culture Through LouieStat . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
The Strategic Approach to Building a Reinforcement
Mechanism for a Quality Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Quantitative Reasoning Skills (Data Analysis,
Descriptive Statistics, and Inferential Statistics) . . . . . . 139
Systematic Critical Process Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
BuildMeasureLearn Feedback Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Commitment to Structured Problem SolvingPlan
DoCheckAct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Strategic Introduction to Lean and Six Sigma Process
Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Skill and Capability BuildingSustainability Is Part of the
Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Value of the Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Conclusion and Lessons Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Table of Contents xi

Part IV: Appendixes

Appendix A: Example Continuous Improvement Story . . . . . . . 159
Appendix B: Perceived Drivers of Green Belt Projects
Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

List of Figures and Tables

Figure I.1

The Green Belt learning curve. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix

Figure 1.1

The big three DMAIC adoption challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Figure 1.2 Most research is about Black Belts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Figure 1.3 Basic coaching process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Figure 1.4 Key coaching tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Figure 2.1 Key listening tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Figure 2.2 DMAIC ReportProject Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Figure 2.3 Filling out the Project Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Figure 2.4 Typical DMAIC Report Project Summary questions. . . . . . . . 12
Figure 2.5 Project Summarytop two questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Figure 2.6 Key coaching tipsProject Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Figure 2.7 Project Summary themes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Figure 3.1

The define phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Figure 3.2 Documenting the define phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Figure 3.3 Typical define phase questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Figure 3.4 Define phasetop two questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Figure 3.5 Key coaching tipsdefine phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Figure 3.6 Define phase themes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Figure 4.1 The measure phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Figure 4.2 Documenting the measure phase to communicate
the baseline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Figure 4.3 Typical measure phase questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Figure 4.4 Measure phasetop two questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Figure 4.5 Key coaching tipsmeasure phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Figure 4.6 Measure phase themes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

xiii

xiv List of Figures and Tables

Figure 5.1

The analyze phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Figure 5.2 Documenting the analyze phase to identify key

root causes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Figure 5.3 Typical analyze phase questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Figure 5.4 Analyze phasetop two questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Figure 5.5 Key coaching tipsanalyze phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Figure 5.6 Analyze phase themes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Figure 6.1 The improve phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Figure 6.2 Documenting the improve phase to identify the
action plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Figure 6.3 Typical improve phase questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Figure 6.4 Improve phasetop two questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Figure 6.5 Key coaching tipsimprove phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Figure 6.6 Improve phase themes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Figure 7.1

The control phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Figure 7.2

Documenting the control phase to close out the project. . . . . . 51

Figure 7.3

Typical control phase questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Figure 7.4

Control phasetop two questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Figure 7.5 Key coaching tipscontrol phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Figure 7.6

Control phase themes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Figure 8.1 DMAIC summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Figure 9.1

Technical resource guidekey roles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Figure 9.2 Technical resource guiderole definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Figure 9.3 Technical resource guideproject selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Figure 9.4 Technical resource guidechange management. . . . . . . . . . . 67
Figure 9.5 Technical resource guidecoach reference manual. . . . . . . . 69
Figure 10.1 Options for meeting with your team the first time. . . . . . . . . . 74
Table 10.1 First meeting agenda items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Figure 10.2 First meeting template. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Figure 10.3 Example of a completed first meeting session. . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Figure 11.1 KISS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Table 11.1

Sources of information on Green Belt coaching. . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Figure 11.2 The integrated follow-up model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Figure 12.1 Getting the meeting space right. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Table 12.1

Checklist of key principles for collaboration. . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Table 13.1

Three things. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

List of Figures and Tables xv

Figure 13.1

Project documentation elements for DMAIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Figure 14.1

The Kotter model for managing change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Figure 14.2

Simple Kotter planning template for process changes. . . . . . 103

Figure 14.3

Simple Kotter planning template for process

changesexample. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Figure 14.4

Simple Kotter planning template for innovation

example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Figure 14.5

Simple Kotter planning template for career growth

example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Figure 14.6

Simple Kotter planning template for member

learningexample. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Table 15.1

Shared learning examplesfrom small to large

learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Figure 16.1

Six Sigma Workshop discussing the DMAIC

framework. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Figure 16.2

Measure phase sponsor review with the Department

of Emergency Medical Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Figure 16.3

Brainstorming session in a team-based environment

involving staff from outside the department, frontline
staff, and management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Figure 16.4

Coaching a weekly Six Sigma workshop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Figure 16.5

Six Sigma workshop participants create a fishbone

diagram. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Figure 16.6

A lieutenant from the police d epartment creates a

failure mode and effects analysis chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Figure 16.7

Louisville Statistics Forum with the Department of Human

Resources, led by a Certified Six Sigma Green Belt. . . . . . . 123

Figure 16.8

Louisville Statistics (LouieStat) Forum with the

Department of Emergency Medical Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Figure 16.9

The authors working out details for applying the

collaboration model at Louisville Metro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Figure 16.10 The mayor recognizes an outstanding consultant who

taught Louisville Metro the enterprise model. . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Figure 16.11 The chief of performance improvement addresses the
crowd during the citys day of celebration of quality . . . . . . 127
Figure 16.12 Six Sigma workshop about the relationship of
histograms to control charts using data from
workshop participants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Figure 16.13 The authors interpret control charts in Minitab
software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

xvi List of Figures and Tables

Figure 16.14 Coauthor Pollocks research guided the collaboration

efforts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Table 16.1

LouieStat objectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Figure 16.15 Authors article describing the collaborative effort. . . . . . . . 144

Figure 16.16 Authors presented at the 2014 World Conference about
the collaboration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Figure 16.17 Mayor Fischer recognizes Humanas quality professionals
and Humanas president Bruce Broussard (immediately
left of the mayor), for support and guidance. . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Figure 16.18 Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer conducts a PDCA
workshop during the citys Day of Celebration. . . . . . . . . . . 146
Figure 16.19 The chief of performance and technology and the
Louisville Metro Police Department solve problems in
a LouieStat Forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Figure 16.20 Daro Mott facilitates a workshop during the citys Day
of Celebration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Figure 16.21 The chief of performance and technology facilitates a
workshop around identifying critical processes and key
performance indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Figure 16.22 Six Sigma Green Belt participants smile before taking
an internal certification exam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Figure 16.23 Mayor Greg Fischer presents an award to coauthor
Steve Pollock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Figure 16.24 Mayor Greg Fischer recognizes Mark Bolton, the
director of the Louisville Metro Department of
Corrections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Figure 16.25 PDCA squared. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Figure 16.26 Association of Internal Management Consultants
home page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Figure 16.27 Attend ASQ events to stay on the cutting edge of the
quality movement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Figure 16.28 The first Sustainability Statistics Forum with the
leadership team. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Figure 16.29 Six Sigma workshop with the Louisville Metro Police
Department and staff from other city departments. . . . . . . . 154
Figure 16.30 The Office of Performance Improvement celebrates
Mitchell Burmeisters professional development
journey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Figure 16.31 The Louisville leadership team discussing improvement
opportunities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

List of Figures and Tables xvii

Figure 16.32 Workshop participants review the interpretation of

specification limits plotted against a histogram. . . . . . . . . . . 155
Figure 16.33 The Department of Parks and Recreation prepares for
its Louisville Statistics Forum with the Parks and
Recreation leadership team. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Figure B.1

Hypothesized model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Figure B.2

Results of hypothesized model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Figure B.3

Team learning results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Figure B.4

Team knowledge creation results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Introduction

ix Sigma Green Belts need support in applying new skills after training, yet there is little research about how this works, and even less
advice about what support looks like in the field.
This book provides coaching tips for supporting Green Belt projects. Six Sigmabased problem solving uses a methodology called define
measureanalyzeimprovecontrol (DMAIC). More than accessibility
to a Black Belt is required for success. The quality of collaboration is
important to the outcomes of the project (Moosa and Sajid 2010). Success
encourages the sustainability of DMAIC. The reputation of the change initiative encourages others to jump on board. Green Belt learning is not an
accidental or informal process (see Figure I.1).
A writer should pursue a topic they are passionate about, and I am
passionate about helping Six Sigma be more sustainable. Through work
with organizational leaders and Black Belts, I continue to observe opportunities to strengthen the relationship between Black Belts and the Green
Belts they support. The orientation of the text is not toward technical information (the hard-skill side of Six Sigma) regarding methodology and tools;
there is already an abundant amount of technical information available

Being trained

First project

Additional projects

More coach

More Green Belt

Green Belt owns it

Less Green Belt

Less coach

Coach as needed

Coach teaches
Green Belt

Figure I.1

Green Belt
applies skills

The Green Belt learning curve.

xix

Green Belt and

coach are peers

xxIntroduction

from the American Society for Quality (ASQ) (www.asq.org). However,

there is less information available about the interpersonal side of DMAIC.
Accordingly, this text focuses on tips for effective collaboration practices
(the soft-skill side of the methodology). Desirable Green Belt project outcomes, research shows, are greatly influenced by the degree of collaboration between the coach and the Green Belt team members (Pollock 2014a).
The past chair of the ASQ Executive Council, Dr. John C. Timmerman
of Gallup, Inc., reviewed an early draft and provided encouragement for
this project. He said, Thank you for sharing the draft . . . and [I] especially
like how you placed a good focus on creating collaboration and establishing social/team norms during the first and critical meetingsfirst class!
Other reviewers of the early draft provided helpful constructive feedback
regarding DMAIC guidelines, the role of coaches, change management,
the coaching process, and greater use of visual teaching through diagrams.
Thank you for your feedback!
This book provides a comprehensive discussion about how to coach
Green Belts on their first project, and may be used in coaching additional
Green Belt projects. The discussion in Chapter 10 of Louisville Metros
application of the texts ideas, and an example of one of Metros projects
in Appendix A, demonstrate that these ideas work in the field for coaching
Green Belts.
Dr. Steve Pollock, ASQ Fellow
Louisville, Kentucky
November 2014

Acknowledgments

cknowledgment in the writing of this project is made to my friend

Mr. Daro Mott of Louisville Metro, for contributing Chapter 10,
and my employer, Humana Inc., for encouraging involvement with
community partners.

xxi

Part I
Coaching
Green Belts

1
Overview

The Sustainability Challenge

The Six Sigma methodology for quality improvement uses DMAIC, a
well-accepted industry practice in Fortune 500 firms (Zhang, Hill, and
Gilbreath 2011). However, DMAIC sustainability remains challenging
for many organizations. The American Productivity and Quality Center
(APQC) notes that numerous barriers to DMAIC project completion arise
from poor collaboration practices, and lack of access to a Black Belt (hereafter called coach) after training is a primary cause (Gunnarsdottir 2012).
Even when a coach is accessible to Green Belts, the quality of collaboration
is important to the outcomes of the project (Moosa and Sajid 2010). Why a
book on coaching the first Green Belt projects? There may be many barriers to DMAIC sustainability, but this text targets the collaborative approach
of the coach as a key opportunity (see Figure 1.1). Since people begin their
DMAIC journey at the foundational level called Green Belt, and Green
Belts seem to be faltering, it is of paramount importance to focus attention
here on their first project, and on subsequent projects as appropriate.
Green Belts need support in applying new skills, yet there is little
research about how this works. ASQ has a technical handbook for preparing to take its Green Belt certification exam, but coaching is not widely discussed. A book by Owens (2012) discusses tips for a Green Belts second
project. Most DMAIC research concentrates on Black Belt training, projects, or roles (see Figure 1.2). For example, DeRuntz (2005) and Hagen
(2008) discuss Black Belt training in their dissertation research. Some
research investigated Green Belt training using an apprenticeship model
(Gobeille 2006) or a coaching approach (Pollock 2013).

4Part I: Coaching Green Belts

Access to
coaching

Collaboration
know-how

Coaching
approach

Opportunity to
support Green Belts

figure 1.1

The big three DMAIC adoption challenges.

Technical
information

Black belt
training

Black Belt
roles

What does
Green Belt
coaching
look like?

figure 1.2

Black Belt
projects

Focus of
this book

Most research is about Black Belts.

Chapter 1: Overview 5

Major Ideas
The text will discuss the following ideas: Black Belts coach Green Belts,
helping them learn how to apply DMAIC skills to solving real-world challenges in the context of a project. Coaches are helpful in lowering barriers to learning, and when barriers are lowered, DMAIC adoption rises
(Moosa and Sajid 2010). Formal expectations promote the learning process
as ideas are exchanged (Choo, Linderman, and Schroeder 2007). Collaboration during a Green Belt project builds a foundation for future improvements since participants learn skills, gain confidence, build relationships,
and b etter understand how the organization works. The text will discuss
specific behaviors of coaches (see Figure 1.3) that facilitate better Green
Belt outcomes on the first project, including:
Adopting standards when working with Green Belts
Meeting before the project starts to set expectations
Following up on expectations throughout the DMAIC project

Guidance from the Experience

of Others
Bourg et al. (2010) published a peer-reviewed study about coaches and
Green Belts. The authors describe Agilents response to the challenge f acing
Six Sigma adoption in its United States and United Kingdom operations.

Adopting
standards

External and
internal best
practices

figure 1.3

Setting
expectations

Talk before
project starts

Basic coaching process.

Checking
progress

DMAIC phase
follow-up

6Part I: Coaching Green Belts

gilent created a coaching infrastructure to help 300 trained Green Belts

A
after their first projects stumbled. Agilents previous practice was to emphasize classroom training and informal support on an as-needed basis. There
were no formalized expectations or standards about the support process.
The case study cites standard practices for coaching as the key to facilitating higher levels of learning after training, resulting in more reliable
project performance. After regrouping following the initial project setbacks, the companys coaching support approach became formalized based
on a set of performance standards with performance feedback to coaches.
Overall, the case study points to the need for managing the coaching process. This text builds on the Agilent experience.

What Green Belts Want and

Need to Know
Certain themes have emerged about what Green Belts want to know and
need to know through many years of direct, personal experience supporting Green Belts and from networking with other coaches. Typically, many
questions arise about how to apply the ideas learned in class. Coaches
are better able to do their work when they understand three key tips (see
Figure 1.4):
Understand what Green Belts want to know about each
DMAIC phase
Recognize what Green Belts need to know about each
DMAIC phase
Balance Green Belt wants and needs during collaboration
on project work
Understanding what Green Belts want to know comes from asking questions and listening carefully. Understanding what Green Belts need to
know comes from knowing the Six Sigma body of knowledge and operating within the organizations goals for Six Sigma. Finally, balancing wants
and needs occurs in the context of the project work through the collaboration of the coach and Green Belts.
The next chapter discusses how the coach develops Green Belt talent
with these ideas in mind.

Chapter 1: Overview 7

Understand what Green Belts want to know

Recognize what Green Belts need to know

Balance wants and needs

Want to Know
Coach asks questions
Coach listens carefully
Need to Know
Coach grounded in body of knowledge
Coach understands organizations expectations
Balance Wants and Needs
Coach engages Green Belts in project work
using high collaboration skills

figure 1.4

Key coaching tips.

Index

case study, field, 11952

cause-and-effect diagram, 49
coach (Six Sigma Black Belt)
key tips for, 6
planning checklist for, 7980, 87,
9394, 99, 111, 116
role definition, 63
role in DMAIC, 5, 11315
self-reflective questions for,
7879, 8687, 93, 98, 110,
11516
value of listening, 910
coach reference manual, 6870
coaching, Green Belt, sources of
information on, 82
coaching tips
analyze phase, 3738
control phase, 5354
define phase, 2122
improve phase, 4445
measure phase, 2829
collaboration approach, to Green Belt
projects, 73116
collaborative culture, 8994
DMAIC, 10111
principles of, 8990
consulting skills, internal, in
LouieStat Program, 15152
continuous improvement (CI) story,
47

Agilent, 56
American Productivity and Quality
Center (APQC), 3
analyze phase, of DMAIC, 3340
coaching tips, 3738
key ideas, 3840
what Green Belts want and need to
know, 3336

B
baseline, in DMAIC measure phase,
25
Black Belt, Six Sigma, role definition,
64
See also coach
Bolton, Mark, 151
Broussard, Bruce, 145
buildmeasurelearn feedback loop,
in LouieStat Program, 14142,
14748

C
career growth, under Kotter model,
1068

173

174Index

example (Appendix A), 15964

control phase, of DMAIC, 4956
coaching tips, 5354
key ideas, 5556
what Green Belts want and need
to know, 4953
creativity, versus innovation, 1045
critical process identification, in
LouieStat Program, 14041
critical to quality (CTQ), 1718, 21
cultural change, reinforcement
mechanisms for, 147

D
define phase, of DMAIC, 1724
coaching tips, 2122
key ideas, 2324
what Green Belts want and need to
know, 1719
deployment leader, role definition,
63
DMAIC (define, measure, analyze,
improve, control)
methodology
key roles in, 6163
projects
collaboration in, xixxx
documentation, 96
follow-up process, 8386
role definitions in, 6365
summary, key questions for
coaches, 5759
sustainability of, 3
DMAIC collaboration, 10111
DMAIC Project Report
front page, 10
page two (define), 1719
page three (measure), 2527
page four (analyze), 3336
page five (improve), 4143
page six (control), 4953
DMAIC Project Summary, 10
key ideas, 1416
what Green Belts need to know
about, 1114

E
effort versus impact matrix, 41
elevator speech, 1114
engagement, of workers, 7374, 82
Enterprise Consulting Group,
Humana, 130

F
field case study, 11952
file accessibility, 97
Fischer, Greg, 12830, 138, 146, 150,
151
fishbone diagram, 49
follow-up process, for Green Belt
projects, 8386

G
Gallup, Inc., 73, 82
Green Belt, Six Sigma
coaching, 370
overview, 36
learning curve, xix
projects
change management, 6768
data, perceived drivers of
(Appendix B), 16566
documentation, 96
follow-up process, 8286
governance, 6768
selecting, 6566
supporting, xixxx
role definition, 64
and sustainability of DMAIC, 3
talent development, 916
what they want and need to
know, 6

H
handoff checklist, 49, 55, 56
Humana Inc.

Index175

Enterprise Consulting Group, 130

partnership with Lousville Metro
OPI, 13233
value of, 14346

I
idea generation, in meetings, 96
improve phase, of DMAIC, 4148
coaching tips, 4445
key ideas, 4648
what Green Belts want and need
to know, 4143
influence model, 129
innovation
versus creativity, 1045
under Kotter model, 1045
integrated follow-up model, 8386
internal consulting skills, in LouieStat
Program, 15152

K
key performance indicators (KPIs),
135, 139
KISS (acronym), 8182, 95, 102
Kotter model, 102, 111
planning template, 1039

L
lean, in LouieStat Program, 14243
lean start-up, in Louisville Metro
OPIHumana partnership,
13233
lessons learned, 11316
listening, value for coaches, 910
LouieStat chart, 140
LouieStat Forum, 132, 134, 135
Louisville Metro Government
field case study, 11952
Green Belt program, 124
Master Black Belt, role in
deployment, 12426, 132

problem solving, application in,

12830
PDCA in, 130
Six Sigma program, 11923, 126
first Six Sigma project,
13336
process steps in, 13336
Louisville Metro Office of
Performance Improvement
(OPI), 119, 130, 13236,
13839
partnership with Humana,
13233
value of, 14346
Louisville Statistics (LouieStat)
maturity model, 136, 14647
Louisville Statistics (LouieStat)
Program, 128, 12930,
13336, 14041, 142
creating quality culture through,
13643
lessons learned, 14652

M
Master Black Belt, role definition,
63
McKinsey Center for Government,
129
measure phase, of DMAIC, 2531
internal coaching tips, 2829
key ideas, 2931
what Green Belts want and need
to know, 2527
meetings
project team, first, 7380
requirements, 9599
space requirements, 9091
member learning, under Kotter
model, 1089
Microsoft Excel, 68, 135
Microsoft OneNote, 68
Microsoft PowerPoint, 96, 108
Microsoft SharePoint, 66
Minitab, 68
Mott, Daro, 124, 148

176Index

N
NCIS, 81

P
Pareto chart, 139
PDCA2, 150
performance manager, role in
LouieStat Program, 138
performance maturity model, in
LouieStat Program, 139
plandocheckact (PDCA), in
LouieStat Program, 142
Pollock, Steve, 124, 132, 150
process changes, under Kotter model,
1034
project champion/sponsor, role
definition, 63
project documentation, 96
project goal, 101
project information, accessibility of,
97
Project Report, DMAIC. See DMAIC
Project Report
project selection, 6566
project team, first meeting, 7380
agenda for, 7476
record, example, 7678
project updates, 1012
project Y, 33
projects
for analyze phase, 39
for control phase, 5556
for define phase, 2324
for improve phase, 47
for measure phase, 2931
for Project Summary, 1516
projects, Green Belt
change management, 6768
data, perceived drivers of,
16566
documentation, 96
follow-up process, 8386
governance, 6768
selecting, 6566
supporting, xixxx

puzzle exercise, 2122

Q
quality culture, building
reinforcement mechanism for,
13839
quantitative reasoning skills, in
LouieStat Program, 13940

R
reference manual, coach, 6870
Reno-Weber, Theresa, 12930

S
sampling, 27, 30, 31
sampling plan, 2829
shared learning, 113
tip for promoting, 115
SIPOC (suppliers, inputs, process,
outputs, customers) diagram,
1719, 2122
Six Sigma, in LouieStat Program,
14243
Six Sigma leader, role definition, 63
sponsor reviews, 6768
standards
for analyze phase, 39
for control phase, 56
for define phase, 23
for improve phase, 47
for measure phase, 3031
for Project Summary, 1516
statement of work, 124
steering group, role definition, 63
sustainability
of DMAIC, 3
in LouieStat Program, 143

T
team stages, 78

teamwork, and worker engagement,

7374
technical resource guide, for coach,
6170
three things (for meetings), 9596
training
for analyze phase, 39
for control phase, 5556
for define phase, 2324
for improve phase, 4647
for measure phase, 2931

Index177

for Project Summary, 1516

transition plan, 55

W
worker engagement, 7374, 82

X
X factors, 33