An investigation of the development of shared leadership on the six Sigma project life cycle

The purpose of this study is to map out the relationship between shared leadership (SL) and Six Sigma (6S) project lifecycle. More specifically, the impact of SL and team members’ perceived challenges in each of the five phases of the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) 6S methodology is studied. Furthermore, general organizational issues that affect both SL development and the 6S model are identified. The results demonstrate that several factors, namely, change management, communication, phase deliverables, coaching style, and decision-making methods, affect usage performance of SL throughout the phases. This study helps managers to look at the 6S projects from an SL perspective and shows how to manage the 6S project lifecycle more efficiently.