Impacts of change management on Six Sigma team leadership style

Abstract

This study analysed the impact of change management on leadership in Six Sigma teams. The research concentrated on identifying the effects that change management has on shared leadership throughout each phase of the Six Sigma Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, and Control (DMAIC) process. The study used a longitudinal approach to study how change management impacted eight Six Sigma teams during the DMAIC structure. At each phase, change management and team performance data were collected and analysed to identify relationships. Non-parametric statistical tests were used at each phase to understand how change management and team performance changed over time. The degree of change management impacts the type of leadership that a team can select. As a result, as the degree of complexity for change management increases, a quality improvement team relies more on shared leadership. The obtained results led to two implications. The first revolved around the need for internal members and external coaches to be able to identify and understand the relationship between change management and leadership. The second was that a Six Sigma training program needs to include training and educational modules about change management and leadership. This study contributes to current knowledge since practitioners can use it to evolve Six Sigma models and maximize future quality improvement teams' ability to achieve optimal performance and effectiveness.