Toolbox Talk: Safety

“Safety”—- “Be The Leader”

Stick to our values. Companies that perform well on safety measures are more likely to be high performers in other areas too. This suggests that having an overall operational strategy for high performance can extend to safety issues, and possibly too that safety performance has a positive impact on general operational performance. Knowing that this link exists then raises the pivotal question, “How do WE continue to make safety part of our overall operational strategy for high performance?”

Part of this answer may lay in our culture, values and ways of operating that we already employ. The clear advantage of a values-based approach is that it may identify particular risks to an industry or a particular role in a way that having an entirely separate program cannot do. It also avoids the ‘flavor of the month’ mentality to safety, where messages, banners and goals come and go. We are already accustomed to translating what the company values mean to us and how they apply to our roles, therefore it makes sense for safety to become an extension of this rather than a short-term ideal.

A values-based approach also clearly places safety in line with the overall cultural goals of the company without having to add it as a new value to the list. Looking at safety through the lens of company values allows safety messages and initiatives to align neatly with what we are already doing, thinking and feeling. Watch what we say when we’re not talking. We must consider the mixed messages that can often come through different levels of management, particularly regarding safety issues.

For most employees, their relationship with their direct manager or supervisor is the defining factor in how they feel about their work, their role and the company as a whole. In fact, for most people, their immediate manager is the company. Therefore, it makes sense for these leaders to be integral in the way safety is managed, promoted and perceived across the organization. But it’s important for senior leaders to remember that even safety initiatives and practices that are employ-driven will be better received if they have active leadership support, or that they might fail without it.

While line managers are busy delivering explicit directives to staff, senior leaders are often communicating in an implied fashion through the actual running and conditions of the workplace. An awful lot can be ‘said’ through the overarching conditions of the workplace. In fact, these things speak volumes about how serious we are about safety. Regardless of the level of the leader and what they do, it’s important that they have credibility to the audience.

Every leader will need to ensure they take into account their ability to:
• Be specific about what ‘safety’ looks like
• Be credible to who they’re speaking to
• Be open, honest and positive in providing feedback
• Be accountable for outcomes

Never say we didn’t know. The uncomfortable truth about safety at work is that every bad decision and every injury and every error has a root cause. Sometimes it will be the poor judgment of an individual employee. But when systemic failures arise and big mistakes happen, the leadership team has to step up and take responsibility, even if they weren’t there when the mistake was made.

And the bigger the error, the more critical it is that someone important takes the wrap. This is not because they are necessarily ‘to blame’, but rather that leadership is what people need most in times of crisis. Yet, so often we see decades of investment in safety ‘talk’ come to nothing when things go wrong. Leadership, and employees’ perceptions of their leaders, is one of the most important factors in the formation of a positive safety culture.

Decision-making tends to snowball in organizations and one small comment or change to policy can have far reaching effects. If organizations are to preach self- regulation, personal responsibility and self -monitoring, it must extend to the most senior levels if it’s to work. Last, but not least, statements such as “I don’t recall” or “I wasn’t present at the time” when asked to explain the origins of these errors have a negative impact on share price. The value of the company is damaged on every level, sometimes never to be fully recovered.

Perhaps one of the most powerful things we can do to promote safety is to stop asking “how safe are we as an organization” and instead ask, “How trustworthy are we?” After all, it’s not really about safety, it’s about trust. If we change the question we’re asking, often we’ll get a very different outcome. Even though we have different roles and responsibilities we are all leaders in some way and in any event a great leader does not create followers, he/she creates more leaders.

Be a leader for safety’s sake!

Ref: 2011; Devadoss, A.R.; “Follow the Leader-Avoiding Mixed Messages in Safety Management (White Paper)”

“Leaders tell but never teach until they practice what they preach.” Featherstone

Thanks for the share TO!