Leadership skills of a Six Sigma Black Belt

Strong leadership is important if you want to run a successful company. It’s equally important if you want to run a successful process improvement project using Six Sigma methods. You may have strong statistical knowledge and the certifications required to be a Six Sigma Black Belt, but if your leadership is lacking, your project is doomed to fail.

Green Belts need Black Belts who know how to lead, set priorities, and mentor all at the same time. Most people are not born with these leadership skills, they are learned through real-world experience and professional training programs.

Here is a list of leadership attributes that every Six Sigma Black Belt must have to be successful:

Personal Philosophies

  • Trust in employees
  • Uncompromising integrity
  • Active help in developing employee potential
  • Freedom for employees to pursue project goals
  • Small set of unchanging values
  • Vision to explore new ideas
  • Inspiring employees with passion


Enabling People to Reach Their Full Potential

  • Energizing the company with innovation
  • Driving out fear among employees
  • Stimulating creativity
  • Training for all employees in Six Sigma principles (belt levels & tools) and monitoring results
  • Enhancing quality of work life


Essential Disciplines
  • Corporate ethics and uncompromising integrity. It is practiced by company leadership and transmitted to all employees on the Six Sigma project team.
  • Leaders show trust in their employees, who reciprocate that trust and rise to fulfill that trust.
  • Leaders actively help their employees through counseling and guidance, not negativity.
  • Leaders give their employees freedom to follow their own pathways to stated goals.
  • Leaders have established a small set of values to guide the corporation to “true north.”
  • Leaders display vision to lead the company along unexplored paths. Leaders inspire their people with their enthusiasm and passion.
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