Leadership – a critical success factor for the effective implementation of Lean Six Sigma

The objective of this paper is to offer further insights into Lean Six Sigma deployment, highlighting the more important critical success factors (CSFs) and particularly the role of leadership in successful deployment. Identification of CSFs for Lean Six Sigma is important as it allows organisations to focus their efforts on these factors to ensure success. The study is in two parts: the first part reviews the literature on leadership, Lean Six Sigma and CSFs for continuous improvement programmes. The second part illustrates the results of a longitudinal study through the administration of a survey questionnaire and exploratory factor analysis of the answers. The results suggest that the most important and significant factors for the effective implementation of Lean Six Sigma are project management, leadership, selection of top talented people and financial accountability. Although they highlight the importance of leadership as a CSF for effective deployment of Lean Six Sigma, more research is needed to determine what type of leadership is appropriate at different stages of Lean Six Sigma programme maturity.