Safety Leadership Are you made of the right stuff?

Transcription

1 Safety Leadership Are you made of the right stuff? IOSH Chiltern 16 th February 2017 Jennifer Webster MSc, CPsychol, AFBPsS

2 How can you go from A to B? Safety is a burden: something the H&S team do Little interest in safety Accidents are unavoidable Focus on who to blame Integral to business activities Routine, visible senior leadership Strong partnership working Anticipate safety issues Investigate full range of root causes

3 The recipe for safe behaviours Michie, S., van Stralen, M. M., West, R. (2011) The behaviour change wheel: A new method for characterising and designing behaviour change interventions. Implementation Science, 6:42.

4 Why leadership is important for H&S

5 WHY LEADERSHIP IS IMPORTANT FOR H&S Widespread agreement between industry, regulators, academics and the press that leadership is a key component of a safe organisation: Leadership influences behaviours in the workplace Good leadership reduces the likelihood of work related stress (WRS) Effective leadership drives a positive safety culture This view is widely supported by findings from almost all major incident inquiries and investigations. (Ref: HSE Research Report 952, 2012)

6 WHAT IS LEADERSHIP? No single definition or concept of leadership that satisfies all, however lots of similar definitions. Leadership can be defined as the capacity to influence people, by means of personal attributes and/or behaviours, to achieve a common goal/purpose (CIPD, 2015).

7 Leadership Styles - Transactional Command and control, Clarifies performance expectations, Monitors and rewards performance, Intervenes and takes corrective action.

8 Leadership Styles - Transformational Inspiring role model, Motivates employees to work safely, Shows concern for employee welfare, Challenges employees, Mentor.

9 Commitment and compliance Transformational leadership behaviours are most effective in encouraging safety participation, whereas active transactional leadership behaviours are most effective in promoting safety compliance. (Clarke, S (2013) Safety leadership: A meta-analytic review of transformational and transactional leadership styles as antecedents of safety behaviours. Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology Vol. 3, No. 86, pp.22-49)

10 KEY SAFETY LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS 1. Being a role model 2. Effectively communicating 3. Building a shared vision 4. Engaging with employees 5. Reinforcing positive safety behaviours 6. Authenticity

11 1. BEING A ROLE MODEL Effective Safety Leadership means: Being a safety role model across the organisation Demonstrating personal commitment to safety through behaviour

12 HOW TO BE A ROLE MODEL Lead by example Comply with all safety standards Behave in a safe and healthy way Report safety issues and near misses Consistently apply safety standards Make decisions that demonstrate H&S is a priority

13 2. EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATING Effective Safety Leadership means: Establishing good two-way communication, Taking action to address individual concerns.

14 HOW TO EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE Create opportunities to talk to employees about their safety concerns, Provide timely feedback on the actions taken to address safety concerns, Be visible on-site to find out first hand what it s really like, Support decisions to stop work on safety grounds.

15 The importance of non-verbal cues Your listeners pick up 7% of what you say 38% of the way the words are delivered 55% of your facial expressions Dr. Albert Mehrabian (1981) Silent Messages: Implicit Communication of Emotions and Attitudes (2n Edn.) Wadsworth, Belmont, California

16 Transactions: The 7% and the 38% P A C Dr. Eric Berne Transactional Analysis

17 We constantly shift between P A C Parent = values Adult = logic and rationality A A Child = emotion C C

18 Feedback and Feed Forward Feedback is information provided after an activity. It should be timely, and focused on specific, observed behaviors Feed forward is given before the activity. It describes expectations, the when and how (method) before the activity. Feed forward are practical notes-technical remainders

19 Your feed forward mission! What one thing do you think would make a difference to you as a person or as a leader? Your mission Have as many feed forward conversations in 5 minutes that you can Person A: The area I m working on is Person B: Offer two positive suggestions

20 How was it for you?

21 3. BUILDING A SHARED VISION Effective Safety Leadership means: Creating and communicating a compelling safety vision Building commitment to achieving the shared vision

22 HOW TO BUILD A SHARED VISION Consult with others to identify and set clear safety goals Engage with employees about how to achieve the goals Help individuals and teams understand how the vision translates into their everyday work Champion the vision by being a role model and never compromising on safety for productivity

23 4. ENGAGING WITH EMPLOYEES Effective Safety Leadership means: Supporting a challenging culture Creating a climate of continuous improvement

24 HOW TO ENGAGE WITH EMPLOYEES Use observation techniques to identify areas where health and safety can be improved Seek employees views and ideas on how health and safety can be improved Involve employees in identifying solutions to problems Identify and share good practice from both within and external to the organisation

25 5. REINFORCING POSITIVE SAFETY BEHAVIOURS Effective Safety Leadership means: Setting clear behavioural standards and ensuring they are met Recognising and rewarding positive safety behaviours

26 HOW TO REINFORCE POSITIVE SAFETY BEHAVIOURS Provide constructive feedback/feed forward to individuals and teams Give positive feedback for a job done safely Challenge unsafe practices and behaviours Clearly explain the potential consequences of unsafe practices and behaviours

27 6. AUTHENTICITY Effective Safety Leadership means: Nurturing open and honest relationships with others Acting with integrity

28 HOW TO BE AUTHENTIC Be transparent by openly sharing information with others and encouraging them to do the same Be aware of how your own behaviour and actions impact on others Seek feedback from others to improve your own interactions Demonstrate consistency Make informed decisions

29 SELF-REFLECTION Where are my strengths? Where are my weaknesses? What can I do differently to address my weaknesses?

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31 Some of our customers..

32 About HSL - Operational Units Major Hazards Human & Organisational Performance Health Risks Proficiency Testing & Analytical Services Risk Management

33 Further information If you would like to talk further about how we can help you improve the safety culture and leadership: HSL s consultants are: Phoebe.smith@hsl.gsi.gov.uk Jane.hopkinson@hsl.gsi.gov.uk Copies of Safety Culture/Climate white papers from productsupport@hsl.gsi.gov.uk

34 Knowledge Cafe Round 1: Discuss your experiences of poor safety leadership what types of management/leadership behaviours have you found really frustrating?

35 Knowledge Cafe Round 2: Describe examples of where you have seen good safety leadership in action. This could be something you do that you want to share or what you have seen someone else do.

36 Knowledge Cafe Round 3: Agree up to 5 key safety leadership attitudes/behaviours that you would like to encourage.