Black Belt Coaching and Project Outcomes: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of coaching expertise on project management outcomes within Six Sigma programs. Survey data were collected from 140 Black Belts and 176 team members at six organizations. In this research, the relationships between the independent variables (project characteristics, coaching expertise, employee focus, years of experience, number of projects completed, education level, and number of projects in a team) and the dependent variables (project management outcomes) were tested using linear regression. The data were analyzed for two groups—Black Belts and team members—using descriptive statistics, principle component factor analysis, correlation, and regression analysis.

The results of the regression analyses showed that the independent variable coaching expertise explained most of the variance in project management for Black Belts and team members. Implications for this research include the implementation of coaching training into quality management system training initiatives.

• manager as coach
• managerial coaching
• project management
• project success
• quality management system
• Six Sigma

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marcia Hagen

Marcia Hagen is a lecturer at the University of Minnesota and Metropolitan State University in Minneapolis. She recently received her doctorate in human resource development from the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include the organizational culture and employee retention and the effects of culture change upon deployment and implementation of Six Sigma, lean manufacturing, and quality management systems. She can be reached at [email protected].