At first glance, asking an organization to invest thousands of dollars into a Master Black Belt program for one individual may seem like a stretch, unless you know how to get a return on investment for your Master Black Belt training and certification.
New Continuous Improvement Programs typically have a staggered launch which begins with training a handful of people in project leadership roles such as Lean Six Sigma Black Belts, Lean Six Sigma Green Belts or Lean Leaders to begin running projects. The next step is to train other employees at various levels to serve as additional support for existing projects and become new project leaders. The final stage in a Continuous Improvement program is to have the first round of Lean Six Sigma Black Belts support these additional project leaders. As you can see the focus begins with a few and flows down to many others, but what differentiates good Lean Six Sigma programs from great ones is how well your organization adequately supports the needs of the first Lean Six Sigma project leaders.
It is essential for a successful Continuous Improvement program to ensure they are providing the necessary skills and resources to those whom they are asking to become coaches and mentors to others because they are the foundation to your program. This is where the inclusion of a Master Black Belt can help take your Continuous Improvement program to the next level, and Acuity Institute has a very cost effective program that provides a broad set of vital skills for those who have been asked to take this on.
Take a recent example where one of Acuity’s Lean Six Sigma Black Belts expressed interest in becoming a Master Black Belt. This individual propositioned her organization to support her Master Black Belt endeavor and in return she agreed to coach the next group of Lean Six Sigma Black Belts and Lean Six Sigma Green Belts, essentially providing mentoring during their training, and coaching when they began their own projects. This support enabled their next wave of candidates to be stronger and have more successful projects than if they were working on their own, essentially increasing the organization’s return on investment for not only Black Belt and Green Belt training, but also for the Master Black Belt candidate.
In working with hundreds of organizations, I have found that the most successful Continuous Improvement programs are ones that not only ensure they acquire high quality training for new candidates, but also provide the necessary training and support, like the Master Black Belt, for those who will be leading the Lean Six Sigma program. Investing in this important element will help to ensure your organization can realize the greatest ROI possible for the entire Continuous Improvement program.
