ICLL Body of Knowledge (BOK)

A common belief is that the ICLL is a Six Sigma belt with a Lean label on it. It is not. IASSC calls the Certified Lean Leader an intermediate-level Lean credential, and its exam is 90 closed-book questions in 120 minutes, with a 70% pass mark and a voucher price of USD $250. DMAIC appears as just one of its topics, and the rest of the paper is about waste, flow, pull and the habits of a Lean workplace.

Is the Lean Leader a Six Sigma belt, or something else?

The confusion is understandable. IASSC is best known for its Yellow, Green and Black Belt exams, and its own Lean Leader page says that Lean Leaders are also called Lean Green Belts or Lean Silver. The name suggests a belt, but the content does not. A Six Sigma Green Belt paper leans on hypothesis tests, control charts and capability, while the Lean Leader paper is built around the shop floor and the office floor: where work waits, where it is overloaded, and what stops it flowing at the pace customers want.

IASSC describes a Lean Leader as someone who drives and leads Lean improvement efforts across an organisation or within their own field, area or operation. It lists the working skills as leading and managing Lean improvement teams and projects, applying Lean principles and techniques to remove wasteful practice, setting the key metrics that show progress, and starting and sustaining a Lean change in the organisation. It also expects a Leader to train and coach Lean Practitioners and to guide Lean Experts on the opportunities they manage. The three Lean levels therefore sit one above another: Practitioner, Leader, Expert.