Has this ever happened to you? An organization begins its journey towards performance improvement, and adopts internal standards for “belting” its associates. Typical targets that I have seen include 1% Black Belts, and 5% Green Belts. Within one year, this organization has achieved or exceeded its targets for “belting”, yet results that positively impact the top and/or bottom line are scarce. I believe that this is an example of abandoning deliberate action, and a disregard for the adaptation of the Japanese martial arts ranking system.

A “real” Black Belt or a Master Black Belt cannot be grown overnight. It takes experience (good and bad) and maturity to develop the depth and breadth of knowledge, skills, and abilities required to affect significant, lasting change across any organization regardless of size or complexity. If individuals in your organization are “shooting the tube”, progressing seamlessly from Green Belt to Black Belt training, consider it a red flag. The purpose of the belt rating is to encourage mentorship and application, not shotgun studies and testing. Allow belts to grow, providing additional training only when current capabilities have been mastered (as proven through continuous application) and as the need within your business becomes apparent. Training and shotgun certifications produce excess and low-quality inventory – pure waste.

And last but certainly not least, consider support from outside of your organization as a necessity. Within three years, a consultant who is worth their salt should be able to develop and deliver training that is tailored to your culture, mentor internal expertise, facilitate improvement efforts to establish an effective standard, and most importantly, provide an unbiased third-party perspective on the state-of-the-union. A good consultant will not hesitate to tell the emperor that he or she is naked.

So…if you can’t answer the “so-what” behind the certifications or belts in your organization – red flag. True transformation is achieved through deliberate evolution.