Tool Box Talk: Psychology of Safety

Psychology of Safety

Here are six qualities that distinguished the leadership of the good-to-great organizations from the leadership of the comparison companies. I’m convinced they define attributes of the best safety leaders.

1) Personal humility. “Good-to-great leaders never wanted to become larger-than-life heroes”; rather they “were seemingly ordinary people quietly producing extraordinary results” (Jim Collins; Good to Great; p. 28).

2) Acknowledge contributions. Good-to-great leaders attribute company success to factors other than themselves. As systems thinkers, they see the big picture and realize their success is contingent on the daily small-win accomplishments of many individuals and they acknowledge the synergistic contributions of many others who enable remarkable results.

3) Accept responsibility for failure. Good-to-great leaders face the brutal facts of less-than-desired outcomes, and hold themselves accountable without blaming other people or just “bad luck.” Leaders of the comparison companies too often blame others for lackluster performance, while taking personal credit for extraordinary results. Social psychologists call this the “self-serving bias.”

4) Promote a learning culture. Humble leaders are always learning, with impassioned belief in never-ending improvement. They lead with questions rather than answers, and promote frank and open dialogue and debate. The result: People are not satisfied with the status quo, but are engaged in finding ways to improve company performance.

5) Work to achieve, not to avoid failure. Good-to-great leaders never waver in their resolve for greatness. Failure is not an option; it is not even considered. With an optimistic stance, these leaders focus on achieving exemplary success.

6) Encourage self-motivation. Self-motivation is key to long-term productivity and is gained through intrinsic consequences. In other words, people are self-motivated when their behaviors provide natural ongoing consequences that are rewarding. When does behavior on the job become intrinsically rewarding and self  motivating?

Answer: When people believe their work is meaningful. When does this happen? Answer: Sometimes the special value of the work is obvious, as when people are engaged in activities that prevent injuries. But even in these cases, it’s critical to give the kind of interpersonal attention that reassures people they are accomplishing meaningful work.

Great leaders know how to do this, and do it often.

And a bonus quote from Mother Teresa:

“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”

To download this tool box talk, click here.

Thanks for the share, TO!