Is A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt The Right Choice For You?
The words “Black Belt” bring up images of calm and focused martial arts practitioners. They are quick and precise in their movements. They are mostly seen solving problems in the most effective manner. A black belt is also the highest level of training in martial arts. It takes years to get one. It is highly respected and powerful.
The movie, Spider-Man, has a popular saying – “With great power comes great responsibility”. All Black Belts wield a certain amount of responsibility. Naturally, this term got picked up in training beyond the realm of martial arts. Thus came the idea of Six Sigma Black Belt training. It is a training that teaches and inculcates data backed problem solving thinking.
Lean is a methodology that focusses on eliminating all kinds of waste. Lean methods aid problem solving with complete focus on improvement and value addition.
The combination of Lean and Six Sigma spells brilliant problem solving backed by robust data with least amount of waste. A combination that is wanted everywhere. This is how the training and certification process for Lean Six Sigma Black Belt came into existence.
What is Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification?
A simple answer to this question is that it’s a training that certifies you as a person who knows Lean and Six Sigma. A detailed answer is this. You become a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt after going through training and an exam that tests your learning from this training. This is the certification process.
The training itself covers a body of knowledge, lots of quizzes and exams. There is a hands on real life project that checks your ability to translate the principles learnt from the training in real world business instances. You can read up on the details of training components here.
What Does this Certification Mean?
A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification means that you are brilliant at all of the following.
DMAIC methodology
Six Sigma Principles
Project Management
Statistical Analysis
Change Leadership
Oh boy! That does sound like a lot of important stuff. Wait, it’s not over yet!
A certification of this nature also means that you are among the top few resources in an organization. The skills/qualities naturally attributed to you will be
Exemplary communication
Superior business acumen
Result oriented approach
Passion to drive plans and teams
Trust and integrity
Ability to handle and drive changes
Anybody who has all these skills, abilities and a certification that proves in black and white that you know all these is worth a billion dollars for an organization. The important question to answer is if the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt is the right choice for you.
Who Should Aim for Lean Six Sigma Black Belt?
All features of Lean Six Sigma Black Belt point towards grooming you to be a leader. If you are a person who has a life goal of seeing yourself in a leadership position, then Lean Six Sigma Black Belt is definitely for you.
Does that mean that only people who want to lead should take it up? No. A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt is a career development block. It applies to anyone and everyone who wants to better their problem solving ability and improve process excellence skills.
People from across industry segments can choose to take up the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. The only pre-requisites are statistical knowledge, communication and leadership skills.
It is your time now to do a self-assessment with respect to your long term career aspirations. This small effort will help you decide if you should go ahead with the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
What are the Next Steps?
If you are reading this section, it means that you have decided to go ahead with the Black Belt. Congratulations! It is a wise decision. Follow up this decision with identifying a training partner who can help you in your training, real life project and certification.
There are a lot of resources out there which can help with training and certification aspects for you. There are programs that are both instructor led and self-learning based.
At Grey Campus, we offer an instructor led program that competes with the best of the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training and Certification programs in the world.
What are the Benefits of a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt?
The very obvious benefit is great personal excellence. A Black Belt is a career advancing tool. It propels you into the league of leaders. It provides a platform to move from a managerial role to a leadership role. It equips you with the necessary process and people management knowledge.
A very good benefit of a Black Belt is a jump in your salary. According to a study by Indeed, a job portal, the average salary for a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt in the US alone is $85,604 per year. This is a benefit that cannot be viewed lightly.
Research has also established that the ROI on Black Belts is worth the investment. Many companies do encourage potential employees who are cut out for leadership roles to take up the training. Whether it is your personal choice or a company sponsored decision, a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt will propel your career at high speed!