Episode 12: Master Black Belt Insights with Maria Fry – Focusing on People and Leadership
In this episode of Quality Time With MoreSteam, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt Maria Fry shares her insights into the world of Master Black Belts. Curious about what a Master Black Belt does or considering earning your certification? Maria, an experienced teacher and consultant, discusses the impact Master Black Belts have on organizations, the skills required, and the journey to certification. Joined by MoreSteam’s Lindsay Van Dyne, Maria explores topics like stakeholder communication, mentoring, modern certification requirements, and even “Stealth Sigma.” Packed with practical advice and personal stories, this episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in continuous improvement and operational excellence.
In this episode, you will hear about:
3:24 - Maria’s start as a Master Black Belt
4:35 - Black Belt versus Master Black Belt
9:09 - How Maria describes her job outside the world of continuous improvement
10:25 - A Master Black Belt’s organizational impact
13:23 - The Master Black Belt as a consultant
15:55 - Communicating with stakeholders within an organization
18:05 - The modern certification requirements
19:53 - The Master Black Belt Curriculum
23:22 - A potential Master Black Belt’s preparations and considerations
26:40 - Conversations leading up to Master Black Belt certification
28:33 - People, process, and culture: know your audience!
33:07 - Advice for potential Master Black Belts
33:58 - Maria organically names the episode
Additional Resources:
MoreSteam's Master Black Belt Certification Program
Should I Become a Master Black Belt? - A Blog Piece
What is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt?
MoreSteam's 2024 Best Practices in Operational Excellence Conference
EngineRoom Data Analysis Software
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Host • MoreSteam
Dan Swartwout is the host of Quality Time with MoreSteam. A lifelong Central Ohio resident, Dan is a double Buckeye. He earned both a BA and a law degree from The Ohio State University. Before joining MoreSteam, Dan had a long career as a host, comedian, and master of ceremonies. For 17 years, Dan was the studio audience host for the Ohio Lottery game show Cash Explosion. Dan was also the host of CBuzz, which was a collaboration between the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, WWCD 92.9, and the Columbus Dispatch. On CBuzz, Dan interviewed some of the most prominent entrepreneurs in Central Ohio. From 2002-2020, Dan toured the country as a standup comedian. Tracks from his comedy CD have been played over 5,000 times on Sirius/XM satellite radio. Now, Dan brings his experience and enthusiasm to Quality Time with MoreSteam -- it's business and fun, together.
MoreSteam Client Services
Maria Fry has assisted organizations across a broad range of industries in developing and deploying Lean Six Sigma as a part of their Operational Excellence strategy for the last 25 years. She is currently a Principal/ Lean Six Sigma Master Blackbelt and Coach.
Vice President of Marketing • MoreSteam.com LLC
Lindsay Van Dyne joined the MoreSteam team in 2014. She is responsible for developing and executing the company's marketing strategy. Her marketing experience includes technical aspects of search engine optimization (SEO), digital content marketing strategies, lead generation, website development, event management, and partner relationships. Before switching to the marketing team, Lindsay spent several years as MoreSteam's eLearning product manager. During that time, she led the eLearning team through an entire UI transformation, developing a new user interface for training, expanding the language offerings significantly, and adding features like notes & highlighting and a user dashboard for training stats. Lindsay's drive and spicy personality bring a fresh perspective to the leadership and marketing teams, encouraging others to think creatively.
Lindsay received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and a B.S. in Computational Physics and Mathematics from Bethel College.
