Leadership characteristics for Lean Six Sigma

In this paper, we explore the relation between Leadership and Lean Six Sigma deployment in organisations: as leadership has been identified as a critical success factor for Lean Six Sigma deployment in organisations, this paper sets out to determine the characteristics of leadership that are more conducive to a successful implementation. Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews provided insights into participants’ experiences and views concerning the relationship between leadership and success levels in Lean Six Sigma deployments, allowing the identification of 10 leadership characteristics more conducive to success in Lean Six Sigma deployments: visible, communicative, inspirational, consistent, targeted, leading by example, flexible, perceive Lean Six Sigma as a philosophy, clearly define roles and responsibilities, and able to build. A leadership dependency model, connecting leadership to company size and industry sector, was also developed: the more people centred and service centred the sector, and the smaller the company, the greater the need for strong leadership to successfully implement Lean Six Sigma in participating organisations.