Is personality a key element of Six Sigma project success?

Many quality improvement techniques, including Six Sigma, rely on teamwork. Little of the research on personality and teams has been incorporated into quality management theory and practice. This paper summarises the pertinent personality literature with Six Sigma research and describes the results of a multiple‐case study. Two new personality variables relating to openness to new experiences and conscientiousness were found to have a potentially strong impact on project success. Also, a new variable that can be described as the overall level of creativity in the project team was determined to have significant potential. Finally, this work further confirms the critical nature of project complexity, project uncertainty, and team leadership to project success.