Any project team made up of human beings is dysfunctional – even if only a bit.
Paraphrasing what Tolstoy said about families, each dysfunctional team is dysfunctional in its own way. And while you can’t make the flaws disappear, you can use the principles of Six Sigma to help tame them.
Six Sigma methodology offers more than fact-based statistical analysis. It also provides a structure that can alleviate the dysfunction that comes from both the top and the bottom.
Three Forms of Team Dysfunction
There are countless ways that a project team can go off the rails and fail to deliver its promised objectives. Consider a few of the most common forms of dysfunction and see how Six Sigma can address them.
Vague Goals — We’ve all taken part in teams that carried the conviction that something had to change, but nobody was quite sure what to change or who was responsible for changing it. Even project teams that possess strong leadership, create tight team cohesion and perform brilliant statistical analysis will produce dismal results if they are chasing poorly understood objectives.
The Six Sigma Solution: The rigorous Six Sigma model doesn’t let the project get off the ground until members can clearly state the problem and have a plan to solve it. In the Define phase of the DMAIC cycle, teams are required to create a charter that states their objectives and lists the project’s financial benefits.
Poor Communication — Your project team may do wonderful work and devise brilliantly creative solutions to serious problems, but if your team is working in splendid isolation and lacks a communication plan to share its improvements, the project will perish from neglect. Once the team is launched, it must communicate its objectives and the improvements it makes to the rest of the company.
The Six Sigma Solution: Six Sigma takes communication seriously. Many projects have a formal communication plan that helps management convey the vision to other stakeholders. Project teams can choose from several different methods for communicating their objectives, progress and improvements.
- Town halls
- CEO memos to employees
- Presentations at staff and management meetings
- Face-to-face meetings
- Brown bag lunches
No Delegation — Teams spin out of balance when leaders fail to delegate work and authority. Leaders who don’t reduce their own work load, by assigning tasks to others, have less time to plan, analyze and keep the project going. When team members don’t have work and authority delegated to them, they miss the chance to develop critical skills and abilities. Without delegation, team members lose enthusiasm for the project and eventually stop contributing.
The Six Sigma Solution: The backbone of Six Sigma is the belt system; this is a hierarchy that ensures that leaders delegate work and team members accept it. The belt system requires Black Belts to take responsibility for running the project and overseeing the entire plan. Green Belts work to support Black Belts and help the project move forward. Six Sigma doesn’t just encourage delegation, it structures project teams to require it.
Takeaway: Six Sigma not only gives project teams the tools to analyze and improve processes, but also provides these teams a structure to help prevent the most common forms of team dysfunction.
