Les Miserables, Your Leadership, Your Culture for Safety

Have you seen the movie version of Les Miserables?  I’m not crazy about musicals but I loved this one!  In fact, I encourage you to get to the movies, buy a supersized popcorn, bed wetter sized soft drink, and enjoy!  Like me, you might make it through the entire movie without incident!

Well, there’s a great plot within this wonderful show.  Jean ValJean is the star, played by Hugh Jackman.  Valjean was arrested for a minor offense and is imprisoned for nearly 20 years of hard labor.  Shortly after his release, Valjean again finds trouble but soon discoveries forgiveness and redemption.  He goes on to become a very successful businessman and mayor of a small town.  Valjean is a new man and gives back to society through his kindness and generosity.  However, even as a free man, his past haunts him and is chased by Javert (Russell Crowe) a former prison guard and law enforcement officer.  Javert wants to hold Valjean accountable to the letter of the law and send him back to prison.  Javert is relentless, calculating, and unforgiving.  In contrast, Valjean is caring, kind, and generous.  He is a man of integrity and a leader in many ways. 

Both of these primary characters help to draw distinct associations for me and hopefully for you as well.  I’m talking about associations regarding the way we manage and lead others in hopes of getting better safety results.  Some leaders have great character, they're positive, kind, forgiving, but know how to hold people accountable and raise the bar for safety excellence.  These leaders are your Jean Valjeans and their impact is often far reaching.  There are still others who attempt to lead through force or coercion.  Their influence is largely based on fear, punishment, and intimidation.  Sadly, these are your Javerts, who feel they have to closely manage and control nearly everything and everyone they’re able to observe.  At best, Javerts bring about superficial compliance, resistance, and leave a destructive path behind them.  The Valjeans bring about much more that is mostly positive. 

Old Lessons Repackaged

Aren’t these simply old lessons rehashed with different packaging?  Isn’t Valjean the Theory Y Manager who believes in people and their potential for good?  And how about Javert as the Theory X Manager who feels that workers can’t be trusted and have to be continually observed, pushed, and prodded?  The Theory Y folks believe they’re a big part of getting the culture right and performance will simply follow.  The Theory X individuals only believe in what they’re able to see, observe, and control through the force of their will.   They simply don’t believe people want to perform at a higher level unless they are forced.  Wow – that’s a lot of work and anxiety, isn’t it?

And The Culture

For every leadership action there is a corresponding reaction within
the culture. A ripple affect if you will.  In time, consistent actions from leadership will create a particular set of predictable actions and outcomes from managers, supervisors, and the workforce.  All of these actions and activities help to characterize and form your culture. 

The Valjean Affect and The High Performance Safety Culture

When our leaders create mostly Valjean management styles (Theory Y) we can create a high performance culture for safety.  In this type of organization, you’ll come to expect a high degree of individual accountability, a high degree of open communications, a great deal of collaboration, and leaders of all sorts who behave as coaches rather than cops.  The cops are your Javerts (Theory X Managers) who chase, spy, and have a desire to catch people doing things wrong rather than right.  What a mess Javert helped to create for all those who remained in his sphere of influence.  And what a mess the Javerts bring about in our organizations!

What kinds of management styles and culture are your leaders working to create?  Are there more Javerts or Valjeans in your organizations? 

If you want or need help in making your leaders and your culture better, please give us a call.  And take a moment to read about some of our clients and their results:  Click Here for Some of Our Results.

No part of this article can be reused or transmitted in any form without prior written permission.

David J. Sarkus, MS, CSP is president and founder of David Sarkus International, Inc.  He has over 28 years of experience as a speaker, consultant, and leadership coach who works with some of the biggest and best run organizations in the world.  David wants to work with you to turns your Javerts into Valjeans.  For more information regarding his services please visit www.DavidSarkus.com. 

Safety Success is Scary

Did you watch Monday night’s post-game interview with Nick Saban, head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide?  Nick certainly doesn’t rest on his laurels.  He knows that enjoying success for too long is dangerous, especially in the high stakes game of college football. When asked if he will enjoy the victory, his response was something like, “we’ll give ourselves 48 hours to enjoy it.”   I’m sure that much of his audience was thinking, “all the hard work of your staff, players, coaches, and you’re only going to enjoy it for 48 hours?!”  

I knew coach Saban as a young, driven position coach at West Virginia University, nearly 30 years ago.  And as most great coaches soon realize, success can ruin a leader, a team, and even a culture.  And when it comes to safety performance, the same is very true.

Four Reasons Why Success in Safety is Scary

1.  Lagging indicators such as recordable and lost-time rates can make some leaders too comfortable and allow their front-line leaders and their workers to slip into a danger zone, both mentally and physically.  As a small component within any culture for safety, lagging indicators should not be the primary metric within an organization that allows us to feel good for any length of time.  Use proactive safety metrics such as audit scores, BBS rates, near miss data, and safety climate measures to set your path forward and plan accordingly.

2.  Success brings about a false sense of security and pride for some supervisors and workers and they lose their daily focus, especially when it comes to the basics, the “little things,” such as using the right PPE, materials, tools, equipment, procedures, and people for the task.  Great companies ensure that their workers come to play every day – that means paying attention to “the little things” which are really the “BIG Things,” when it’s all added up.

     3.  Workers don’t take their typical timeouts and communicate with each other in order to adjust to changes in the environment and work activities so they can mitigate respective hazards.  Success has a way of creeping in and allowing some individuals to feel that “corrections and adjustments” don’t really need to be made and the job will get done without problems, issues, and accidents, so why slow down?

     4.  Standards of performance in your culture for safety have to be set and kept, each and every day.  When we embrace some degree of perceived success for too long, we get soft, and allow standards to drop.  A little housekeeping issue left unattended, a visitor walking by without PPE, or not communicating a clear safety concern in a timely manner.  All of these issues reveal that our sense of urgency and standards for safety may be slipping.  Yes, success will do that too!

Great leaders in great organizations don’t rest on safety success for
too long.  Great coaches and great leaders like Nick Saban know that being too comfortable with one's success and enjoying prolonged celebrations get in the way of sustainable excellence.  And who can argue! 

Shortly after the game, AJ McCarron, the quarterback of Alabama, alluded to the fact that there will be a team meeting in two days, and coach Saban will talk to everyone about preparing for next season.  The Crimson Tide's path forward will be set, the hard work will begin, and Nick Saban will not let success get in the way! 

This blog article cannot be used without written permission from David J. Sarkus.

Not Just a Culture for Safety – Building Community at Work through Safety

When I’m speaking in front of various groups of workers, I often ask each person to scan the room.  I do this in order to let them know that they’re looking at their "families" – their “families at work.”  These are the individuals they spend most time with – sometimes even more than those who they go home to see at the end of their shifts!  I also let each worker know that when they look out for each others' safety in the workplace, they’re helping to ensure they’ll be able to go home to be with their families and friends.  This is their “WHY.”  This is the reason WHY they work so hard and the reason WHY they need to work as safely as possible! I make this statement and ask for their engagement because this is a part of building community in the workplace, in and through safety. 

Last month, I informed you that I would write more about building up
your safety culture by building a community, not just a culture for safety.  Here’s a few simple ways that you may want to start thinking about and acting upon in your own organizations.

l        1.  Celebrate Accomplishments and milestones that were difficult
to achieve by scheduling a dinner or lunch event and by having a motivational speaker to help you entertain, engage, and educate your workers with a different viewpoint and message.  I’m certain you understand that your own familiarity within your organization may be self-limiting and your perspective is not always readily accepted and embraced.  Your event can highlight milestones that may revolve around leading indicators that measure safe actions, levels of safety engagement, or a discussion of your path forward and plan for improving safety in 2013. 

   2.  Build up the Outside Community or community at-large by helping to support their specific needs that may focus on safety at home.  Many more organizations are educating youth within their communities by reaching out to young people with regard to first-aid and CPR, fire safety, or hazardous chemical use.  This is a win-win because a portion of these same workers will eventually become a part of your own workforce and will make it a safer one from what they have learned at a much earlier age.

        3.  Help Out in Hard Times.  Nearly everyone falls upon tough times.  Make sure that you and your co-workers reach out to the injured and ill, and even to those who have recently lost their jobs. Making hospital visits, sending cards, or even donations and monetary gifts shows that you care.  Making appropriate visitations when your co-workers lose a loved one will also show personal care and concern and will be remembered in ways that are not easily forgotten.  We appreciate and remember those who have made special efforts for our well-being in difficult times and it’s something that we should always find time to do.  All of this binds us together in ways that make our work groups and cultures much, much stronger. 

Building community in the workplace through safety is the platform and foundation that leads to greater trust, engagement, and so much more.  By building community through safety, and showing people that you want to care for their most basic needs, their personal safety – there is next to nothing that workers will not do to reciprocate.  And the reciprocation comes about by helping you meet your higher-level organizational goals and expectations that often relate to productivity and quality. 

Finally, as the late great Zig Ziglar has said, “You can have anything in
the world you want if you just help enough others get what they want.”  Taking care of each workers’ safety and helping them get home without injury or illness, ignites and embraces a form of reciprocity that can last for a very long time!

Susan Boyle and Your Safety Culture

It’s easy to write people off by their appearance.  Maybe it’s someone who doesn’t dress or speak like you.  Maybe they have different interests than you, your co-workers, or your friends.   Or as one of my business acquaintances often states, “they’re just special!”

These “special kinds of people” have a lot to do with making your culture for safety a very special one.  And your safety culture needs to take a better look at these special individuals if you want to turn your followers into everyday leaders, and your culture into a community, a family.

In my 30 years of safety work, I realized a long time ago that organizations that have outstanding safety cultures have built an exceptional community or family environment where people really care about each other.  It's not just about the culture - it's about much more!

So Much Talent

Remember Susan Boyle from Britain's Got Talent?  Yes, she’s the amazing mezzo-soprano who blew everyone away with her television performance in 2009.  When she took the stage, we saw that she was dressed a bit frumpy and didn’t fit the part.  She was somewhat unkempt and looked down upon by just about the entire viewing audience.  But we soon witnessed an amazing voice that brought people to their feet for a standing ovation that seemed to last forever!  Ms. Boyle was incredible and continues to impress!  In fact, her first week album sales were the best the USA had seen in more than 10 years!  Her voice helped her to gain immediate respect. 

Things aren’t much different at work or home.  There are individuals around us who we don’t give a chance because of their appearance or because there’s something different about them.  Some of these people remain quiet and seldom contribute in ways we would like for them to contribute to safety.  But why?  Have we ostracized them or embarrassed them?  Are they simply quiet and shy?  Or have we not sought out more effective ways to get them involved in our culture for safety?   Well, there are various reasons why they haven’t stepped up to be more involved in helping us improve our safety culture.  But one thing is certain – many times, these quiet followers are leaders with special talents who are just waiting to happen!  They simply need a little push and some support.  And it starts by not judging them and giving them a little respect.    

I Know from Experience

Over the past 30 years, I’ve worked with many special people who have helped me produce incredible safety outcomes!  Some of these individuals were different, special, and avoided by others. 

Sometimes we avoid those who are different because their presence makes us a little uncomfortable.  You see, we are more comfortable with those who are most like us.  There is a psychological attraction to individuals who validate our similarities and values.  Special people don’t always help to validate us in those ways. 

Earlier in my career, I often avoided these kinds of individuals because
of the way they looked, acted, or spoke.  Maybe they made me a little uncomfortable and it was easier to go along with everyone else and just avoid them.  But it’s a process that we all have to work on.  For a start, the next time you’re in a coffee shop, evaluate who you attempt to avoid or spend time with – likely it’s those who validate you in some particular way.  And as you also know, with maturity and experience, most people really aren’t so different and don’t need to be avoided.

Signs and Signals for Change

If you’re trying to work on more engagement, creating greater on-the-floor
or in-the-field leadership, or want to build a greater sense of community, there will have to be visible signs of change.  These signs are visible actions that signal a new start and direction.  And these signals help to show respect for the worker at an individual level, on their turf, where change really needs to happen.  Here’s a few simple ways that you and your leaders can start to make change happen at a grass roots level:

1.  Be in a place and position to greet people before, after, or during a shift.  The same can be said for safety related meetings.  Offer them your hand so you can greet them or wish them a great day and a safe one too! These small gestures will also give you time to talk about a new direction or path forward.

2.  Learn the names of your workers, especially those quiet followers who can become some of your more effective leaders.  Knowing everyone’s name can seem daunting but you have to start somewhere.   Hearing one’s own name means a great deal to each worker.  And just don’t learn a name – get to know something unique about them.

3.  Walk through your operations regularly and be willing to simply listen to issues, some of which may or may not be safety-related.  Listening is a powerful skill that should never be overlooked.  You will be amazed at how much a few minutes can do for getting more engagement from others, especially those who have not been very involved in the past. 

Each of these small but significant acts shows that you want to establish a positive relationship with everyone.  It can also signal an entirely different start from the way other leaders have acted in the past.  And when you and other organizational leaders focus on building relationships with everyone through safety, especially with those who are quietly special, open communications and engagement with these workers will follow.  In addition, other co-workers who may have excluded these future contributors will also become more open and accepting in time. 

Thanksgiving is nearly here and it’s time to step out in new ways that signal a new path to safety excellence for everyone.   Everyone including those with special talents who seem to be different and may be less fortunate than others – those who need to be a part of your community for safety, if you want to make it a truly special one! 

Next month:  More about building a community rather than just a culture for safety.

About the Author.  David Sarkus, MS, CSP is an author, consultant, coach, and motivational speaker.  He has written five books and more than 50 empirically-based articles.  David is Chief Motivational Officer and President and Founder of David Sarkus International Inc.  His talks focus on teamwork, coaching, safety leadership, and safety culture change.  His firm also conducts safety culture assessments and interventions for some of the biggest and best run corporations in the world.  Please visit us at: www.davidsarkus.com.