S4E80: The Positive Project Manager, Lean & Six Sigma with Kasper Dixon

This episode is proudly brought to you by PlanAcademy.com, JustDo.com, and InEight.com.

In this week’s pod, we were supposed to speak to Dr. Dan Patterson but unfortunately, he is unwell. In his place, we welcomed Kasper Dixon to talk about positive Project Management, Lean and Six Sigma

Kasper is a Programme Delivery Manager working for the Major Projects Directorate within Transport for London on the £5.6 billion Four Lines Modernisation Project. He is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt trainer and is passionate about leading through example with positivity and encouragement.

The main topics discussed:

· There are many high performing projects that do not get the same level of management focus or recognition as failing projects

· Positivity is something to focus on in personal lives not just in the workplace

· Empathy is critical for leaders. Always try to understand the frustrations of stakeholders who are not onside immediately

· Turn the saboteurs into advocates by being authentic and working tirelessly to reach the desired goals

· Leadership perception has fundamentally changed over the last 30-40 years. Less stick, more carrot!

· People simply do not respond to the stick. They want encouragement to achieve their goals

· Leaders need to stop, look back and celebrate success when critical milestones are achieved

· Tips for difficult conversations:

• Having the conversation is often the answer. Never avoid issues
• Identify why there is an issue
• Don’t be overly optimistic, talk about the issues and reflect on it

· Six Sigma provides a structure for people to see a task from start to finish. It provides a structure for people

· Unfortunately, there are no actual belts for achieving Six Sigma!

· Six Sigma is applicable to every project and every function.

· Construction industry is slow to embrace this, does not gain the right level of focus

· Six Sigma training is available online. It is not essential to undertake in-person training. It does help to talk and work through the concepts with other collaborators

· It will make you a more marketable employee

· VANVA – Value Add / Non-Value Add

· Always ask the 5 Why’s when reviewing a process. (it really is five why’s!)

· Post-it notes are the best process mapping tool!

· Always challenge words that begin with “re” – they are more likely to be processes that are wasteful

Some of the topics that were discussed:

5 Laws of Lean Six Sigma - https://www.shmula.com/understanding-the-5-laws-of-lean-six-sigma/26626/

Minitab – Statistical process tool - https://www.minitab.com/en-us/

Miro – Online whiteboard - https://miro.com/

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Join us next week where we’re joined by Tim Creasey for a deep dive into Change Management & Project Management.

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