“So, what is it that you do?” This is a classic cliché we’ve all heard a zillion times in business social settings. I find it interesting to watch the reactions of people and listen to their responses, particularly those less familiar with Lean and Six Sigma, when I tell them I am a Master Black Belt.
“Oh, which martial art form do you practice? You need to be prepared with a solid, easy to understand answer before you walk into those situations.
So, what does a Master Black Belt do?
Perhaps you are considering your pursuit of the ultimate achievement in continuous improvement certification, which is to become a Master Black Belt . What is it that you will be doing? How does it differ from your work as a Black Belt? Aside from earning more money, which is always a good thing, here are a few things you can expect to do with your Master Black Belt, MBB certification.
1. Sit at the Project Selection Table
As a Master Black Belt, you will oversee almost all projects and, as such, you’ll be engaging with company leadership at the strategic level as well as the operational level. You have a chance to make a name for yourself! You’ll have responsibilities to report directly to executive management and stakeholders, when necessary. Some projects may merely require your leadership skill in an oversight role while others may require you to exercise your technical skills directly on a project. The diversity of challenge can be both appealing and rewarding, either way, you can expect a higher profile within your organization, as you’re viewed as an expert.
2. Train and Coach Others
Your Master Black Belt certification and expertise naturally puts you in a position to train others at all levels of the organization. That may look like coaching sessions, either one-on-one or in small groups, working as a trainer in a classroom, or some other variation. Training others provides you with a great way to sharpen your technical and leadership skills and if you do it well you’ll enhance your reputation. There’s a multiplicative effect for the organization as you build CI disciples working toward delivering greater efficiencies and better customer outcomes.
3. Sharpen Your Tools
Learning is a lifelong mission. Master Black Belts are constantly learning and often that means “sharpening your saw” to develop some skills you need to strengthen. It could be a technical skill such as regression analysis or various hypothesis testing, or it could be a soft skill like customer empathy or project planning. Despite the numerous subjects and countless hours of training you’ve already accumulated, you should always strive to refine your skills.
4. Professional Options
While there are lots of advantages that Master Black Belt certification provides within the organization, some MBBs find they have outgrown the corporate framework in which they operate and choose to either move to other organizations or even become independent contractors, working for themselves. If that is your situation, your Master Black Belt certification, training, skills, and experience position you well to seize myriads of opportunities and sets you a step above other Six Sigma practitioners.
Are you ready to earn your Master Black Belt?
A certified Master Black Belt from Acuity Institute has both technical expertise and is adept at leading people, coaching, and driving continuous strategic performance improvement through the effective management of a portfolio of high-profile projects.
Start on your path to Master Black Belt certification. The first step is to complete your application.
