“If you can’t describe what you’re doing as a process, you don’t know what you are doing.”

– Dr. W. Edwards Deming

Most of us have experienced the sensation of being “in the zone”—executing a task with ease, barely thinking about it. This is the stage of unconscious competence: you’ve done something so often that it feels automatic. But there’s a trap here. When we operate purely on muscle memory, we often lose visibility into how (or why) we do what we do.

And if you can’t teach it, improve it, or explain it—can you really own it?

That’s where Lean and Six Sigma can guide the journey from unconscious competence to conscious competence. It’s a journey of awareness, clarity, and growth—both personally and organizationally.

Here follows how Lean & Six Sigma principles can make you a more intentional leader.

Step 1: Go and See – From Doing to Observing

In Lean, one of the most fundamental practices is “Go to Gemba“—which means “go to the real place” where the work happens. But this doesn’t mean doing the work. It means observing it. Without bias. Without assumption. Just watching.

When you observe a process—even one you think you’ve mastered—you start to see things differently. You notice steps that aren’t needed. Hand-offs that create delay. Or small habits that create inconsistencies.

✅ Try this: Watch someone else perform a task that you’re an expert in. Take notes. Ask yourself, “What are they doing that I don’t do—or vice versa?”

Step 2: Map the Process – Make the Invisible Visible

The next step is process mapping—one of the most powerful tools in both Lean and Six Sigma.

Whether it’s a swimlane map, value stream map, or SIPOC, the goal is the same: turn an unconscious routine into a conscious, documented flow.

When you map a process, you:

  • Break it into discrete steps
  • Highlight delays, rework, or unclear roles
  • Create shared understanding

This step often reveals how much of our work is not repeatable—and not understood across the team.

📌 Pro Tip: Invite frontline workers and managers to map the process together. The dialogue is often more valuable than the diagram itself.

Step 3: Recognize That Skills Are Built – Not Born

One of the most overlooked truths in performance improvement is this:

Understanding the thing that you are doing is a skill.

In Lean and Six Sigma, we emphasize standard work—the documented best-known method of performing a task. This doesn’t restrict creativity. It provides a foundation for improvement.

When people believe their performance is based solely on instinct or talent, they can’t see opportunities for growth. But when they see every action as a skill, they become open to feedback, measurement, and change.

💬 Ask your team: “What’s your current method for doing this?”
 If the answer is vague or inconsistent, it’s an opportunity for learning.

Step 4: Build a Culture of Conscious Competence

Moving from “I just do it” to “I can explain, teach, and improve it” is a hallmark of leadership maturity. It’s also a key component of any continuous improvement culture.

Leaders who build consciously competent teams:

  • Create clarity around process
  • Encourage documentation and reflection
  • Use data and observation, not assumption
  • Empower others to replicate excellence

Deming’s quote reminds us: If it’s not a process, it’s not manageable. And if it’s not manageable, it’s not scalable—or improvable.

Final Thought: Awareness Is the First Step to Mastery

Being unconsciously competent might feel good—but it’s a ceiling.

Being consciously competent is the launchpad for growth, improvement, and teaching others. It’s how high-performing individuals become high-impact leaders.

Use Lean and Six Sigma not just to improve processes—but to improve the way you see them.