I Can to We Can - A Big Part of Safety Advancement

Dan, a safety leader with a major utility company on the west coast was preparing to introduce me. I was about to speak to one of his groups regarding the need for everyone to step up and be a leader — a safety coach. Suddenly, I realized that Dan was talking about something very important. No, it wasn’t my background as a consultant, coach, or speaker. Dan was talking about teamwork, community, and the belief that alone, no one individual could help the group reach higher levels of safety achievement. But together, if they believed in each other, looked after each other as a unit and family, and took the correct steps toward building the right kind of culture, they could embrace their vision for success!

In psychology, “self-efficacy” is the individual belief that influences a person’s ability to reach a certain goal. It’s important, but current research suggests that “collective efficacy” — the belief that “we can do it” — is more important than the belief, “I can do it.”

Recent Experiences

Albert Bandura and others have done significant work in this arena and it’s relevant to your safety performance. Bandura is best known for his work regarding the ways in which people learn by observation, personality development, and the whole “cognitive revolution” in psychology during the 1960s. However, additional research regarding "collective efficacy" is relevant
to improving your safety culture. Here are a few key components that will help you and your organization move forward.

1) Where’s Your Plan?  You need to have a plan that will enable you and others to walk-the-talk about specific safety goals. Everyone needs to believe your safety-related goals are achievable and you have a plan to reach them. This is especially true within today’s team-oriented organizations that are working toward ongoing success in safety and leading indicators that highlight the path forward.

2) Hold people accountable.  Managers and supervisors need to be held accountable to do what’s necessary to create the right team spirit and safety culture. You need good proactive safety performance metrics for your leaders. And if you don’t have them, make a business case, an ethical case, or a company values-related case — do whatever you must. Performance objectives must hold key people accountable to conduct physical inspections, coaching and feedback sessions, accident investigations, and everyday safety communications that involve good listening.  All of these activities will move your EHS needle in the right direction.

3) Build Upon Your Past.  Be sure to discuss, recognize, and even celebrate the kinds of actions that are being mastered and those that are improving. I’m not simply talking about compliance issues like lockout-tagout or PPE use. I’m talking about positive communications, teamwork, and actions by those who go the extra mile to help others through a difficult task with complex safety issues. In many regards I'm talking about measures that go beyond the leading indicators you utilize.  Create a sense of winning to build momentum for where you want to go.

4) Model the way.  From housekeeping to the most risky operations — people learn by watching, and your actions and the actions of others may be the only procedures someone will ever “read.” Your leader's actions speak louder than words and leave an indelible impression that can’t be easily erased.

5) Communication is Critical.  Feedback and coaching sessions about specific safety actions and goals need to take place regularly. Good safety communications cannot occur only when formal observations are taking place within your behavior-based or other safety related processes. Good safety-related communications from trustworthy peers and supervisors help to connect the heads and hearts of others. This leads to long-lasting changes that eventually move people to work safely even when nobody’s around.

As part of your communications, don’t forget to share stories regarding close calls or serious incidents. People get emotionally stirred by the past and sometimes it takes an undesirable event to drive leaders to take actions that will vastly improve your safety cultures.

Keep The End in Mind

Take some time and think about these five keys and some of today’s most successful sports teams and organizations. Each has a game plan for success; they hold people accountable for a given job; they build on and celebrate successes; they communicate well and at times, they’re emotionally charged — they get pumped-up to meet special challenges!

Oh, back to Dan. His organization and others I work with are realizing the importance of developing a sense of team, community and family - all of which is paying off in big dividends and the realization that reaching much higher levels of safety achievement is possible.  They’re moving closer to extreme levels of success — they’ve gone from “I can” to “We can” — they believe it, plan for it, and act upon it! Do you and your people believe it?

Beware of The Golden Boy Effect and Safety

“Oh – he’s Lou’s 'golden boy.'  You better stay away and pick your battles.” 

I was 25 years old and working for one of the largest airlines in the world when I first heard the term golden boy.  I quickly understood and experienced what it meant.  Today I see the harmful effects of the “golden boy glow” in clearer ways especially when it comes to improving safety performance.

A golden boy is someone, often a senior leader, or favored individual who is protected from closer organizational scrutiny because of their education, knowledge, position, or special relationship to others in positions of authority.  I have seen first-hand the harmful glow of the golden boy that blinds people, pushes individuals away, limits important communications, and insulates them from others.

The flow of information through and from the golden boy is limited and protected often for personal reasons.  In turn, others work in guarded ways around the golden boy where openness and candor are damaged. 

Openness, candor, trust, and collaboration are critical to the health of any organization, especially when it comes to safety.   And the damaging effects of leaders who exhibit the “golden boy glow” are best resolved by other leaders who ask for multiple forms of input from other trusted organizational members.  In this way, the golden boy’s opinion becomes one of many.  Specialists in safety or other areas who have particular forms of expertise must also be aware of the golden boy effect and ensure that their expertise is open to scrutiny and evaluation. 

Wise and purposeful leaders understand the favored and harmful glow of the golden boy.  They know it isn’t healthy for the organization and causes division and detachment rather than engagement and alignment with the vision for safety.

When it comes to protecting people and their lives nobody should be "hands-off" regardless of title, position or role.  Everyone needs to be engaged and involved with improving safety.  And everyone should be on the same page - humanity amongst humanity! 

Beware of the golden boy effect and look for multiple forms of safety-related input.  Keep asking questions, and allow the golden boy glow to highlight, not harm your safety-related communications and ongoing performance improvements.  

Safety Consistency Is Critical and Takes Support

Since I've been on a bit of a baseball theme I need to re-visit my thoughts on one of baseball's finest.  Stan "The Man" Musial is considered one of baseball's greatest players ever. He's from my hometown of Donora, Pa. We both attended Donora High School and Stan was a good boyhood friend of my father. Stan's the pride of Donora, Pennsylvania! 

Stan was elected to Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame in 1969 and is recognized as one of baseball's finest gentlemen.  He's also one of the most consistent players ever to step on a baseball field. 

Several years ago, I had the honor and pleasure of having lunch with Mr. Stan Musial after delivering an opening keynote speech for a regional Voluntary Protection Program Participants' Association (VPPPA) meeting in St. Louis. Throughout lunch, he again showed his consistency, graciously handling interruptions for autographs and posing for photos from nearby admirers.  A wonderful privilege to spend time with baseball's "perfect knight" as he's been aptly named. 

Let's take a look at a few of his career batting statistics.  He had a .331 career batting average which ranks 30th; he hit .336 at home and .326 on the road. He batted .340 in day games and .320 at night. Stan Musial had exactly 1,815 career hits at home, and 1,815 hits on the road. When he retired, Musial had the most career home runs for a player who never won a single-season home run title. According to Wikipedia, "In his September 1941 debut, Musial had two hits; after he got two hits in his final game, 22 years later, a sportswriter jokingly wrote, 'He hasn't improved at all'."

Consistency and Expectations

Great numbers and great consistency - but what's it have to do with safety? 

A lot, especially when it comes to your middle managers and supervisors who have to affect continual change in both attitudes and actions. They must set consistent expectations and establish positive norms for your safety culture.

Think about the ways in which your managers and supervisors need to establish and maintain consistency:

1. Do they schedule time for regular observations and coaching sessions?

2. Are they regularly involved in physical inspections?

3. Do they set ongoing expectations for exceptional housekeeping?

4. Do they hold regular safety meetings which are well prepared and well delivered?

5.  Is safety established as the highest priority value on any given agenda? Or is safety an afterthought, just about any day of the week?

6. Are these same leaders held accountable for the kinds of consistencies that will make a difference as part of your leading indicators?

7. Do you support these leaders and recognize their accomplishments?

A Requirement - Not an Option

I continue to think about the kinds of consistencies required of supervisors, managers, teams, and organizations in order to establish and maintain world-class safety performance. I also continue to think about the consistencies that Stan Musial was known for consistency on and off the field.  And over the long haul it takes support.

In an age marred by fads, fickleness and fantasies, Stan Musial remained married to his high school sweetheart since the age of 19 up until his death at age 92.

Twenty-two years of outstanding performance in major league baseball is a lot to comprehend. In a similar way, it takes focus, persistence, teamwork and support to evolve your safety culture. Your managers and supervisors need your support and recognition to get there. They need your help to ignite a part of the safety vision and keep it alive. 

After lunch in St. Louis, I was helping Mr. Musial down a short set of steps when he stated:  "I don't get around too good anymore."

I said, "Oh no, you get around pretty well!"

"Ah no,"  he responded in jest.  "I think I hit too many triples!"

I had to laugh, 177 triples and an incredible amount of consistency over two decades requires a good bit of running and a bunch of ongoing support. More consistency and more support than most any "one man" can muster all alone.