Make It Safe To …
A trainer, speaking to trainees at the start of class: “Welcome, class. You are encouraged to ask questions and participate. Remember, if you have a question, 15% to 20% of the class probably has the same question.”
A trainee, a few hours later: “I have a question.” The trainee then asks the trainer a question related to the material.
The trainer, after walking to the board, writing the trainee’s question down and then crossing it out: “I have already covered this, and I’m not wasting time going over it again. You need to pay attention.”
Trainee: “You said we should ask questions.”
Trainer: “That didn’t include stupid questions.”
Trainee: “You’re a liar.”
Trainer: “I’d rather be a liar than an idiot.”
Seventeen years after this real-life interaction, during a break in a class I was teaching, the trainee shared his experience with me. He was almost in tears as he told me this was the first time he had participated or said anything during a training session in those last 17 years. He then choked up a little, shook my hand and thanked me for creating an environment in which he felt safe to do so.
As I reflected on this trainee, his intelligence, the insightful questions he asked during my class and the value he added by participating, I couldn’t help but wonder how many missed opportunities there had been during the last 17 years and the positive impact that trainee could have made on other training sessions and his peers. Yet sadly he said nothing and instead, as Mack Turner phrases it, audited all of his training.
Psychological Safety
We are really good at saying the right things. “You are encouraged to participate.” “If you see something, say something.” “Report errors, near misses and good catches.” “Have a questioning attitude and stop when unsure.” “Ask questions during job briefings.” But what are we actually communicating, and how safe do people feel doing the things we say we want them to do?
Here’s my blunt answer to that question: If they aren’t doing it, we aren’t encouraging it. For example, I can’t tell you how many times someone has gone on and on to me about how great their near-miss reporting program is. They’ll show me documentation and all kinds of materials they have created, and then I ask this simple question: How many near misses get reported? The answer is often zero and frequently less than five. Then starts the ABCDE (i.e., accuse, blame, complain, defend and deny, make excuses).
Legacy Culture
Most of these people and organizations are trying to do the right thing. They believe in what they are doing for the right reasons. But a negative legacy (a lasting impact of the past) is a difficult hurdle to overcome. We can’t just start programs – no matter how well-intended and good they are – and expect worker buy-in. Like the trainee from the story that I shared earlier, past experiences impact present decision-making.
So, what can we do? There’s obviously no simple answer to that question, but here are a few useful strategies to overcome legacy culture and foster psychological safety.
Admit failures. Step one in overcoming legacy culture and fostering psychological safety is to make an accurate assessment of where you have been, where you are now and where you want to be. For most organizations, a lot of negative legacy culture has been created through a top-down management approach and focusing on assigning blame after errors and incidents. If you want your people to report their errors, report yours. And then be open to feedback, ideas and suggestions. Ask for specific thoughts about what could have been done better and how event responses could have been handled differently.
Develop relationships and create culture. Both books I’ve written have “The Hurdle” in the title because safety leadership is challenging. And like a track-and-field athlete jumping over a hurdle, the run-up is key. Overcoming legacy culture and creating safe environments that foster psychological safety are hurdles in safety leadership, and the run-up to those hurdles is creating culture and developing relationships.
Involve and empower. No matter how great or well-intended any safety program or initiative may be, it will not be successful if people don’t buy into it. One of the best ways to create buy-in is to involve and empower people. That means more than sitting on a committee. It means they are part of the decision-making process. It means they are champions who conduct training and share information. And it means they are part of the evaluation and continuous improvement process.
Share successes. From a safety standpoint, most of what gets shared with frontline workers is negative. It’s incident reports, safety stand-downs, improvement initiatives and who got disciplined for what. Share successes and what went right, being sure to explain the positive impacts and results of those successes. This is critical with near-miss and good-catch reporting. Share what was reported, what actions were taken, and how it benefits the organization and each person in it.
Conclusion
Maybe what we’re really talking about here is human performance improvement. Acknowledge that people make mistakes and that we can learn from those mistakes when they are shared. Also acknowledge that culture is what drives behavior, and that positive reinforcement works.
Good or bad, you cannot change what has happened in the past. What you can influence is how the past is affecting the present. Admit failures, develop relationships, create culture, empower people and share your successes. That isn’t a perfect formula with guaranteed results, but it is a recipe for success.
Learn More
You can learn more about this article by reading my book “Frontline Incident Prevention – The Hurdle: Innovative and Practical Insights on the Art of Safety,” and I hope you’ll join me for the free webinar on this topic November 13 at 11 a.m. Eastern. Thank you for reading, stay safe and be well.
About the Author: David McPeak, CUSP, CIT, CHST, CSP, CSSM, is the director of professional development for Utility Business Media’s Incident Prevention Institute (https://ip-institute.com) and the author of “Frontline Leadership – The Hurdle” and “Frontline Incident Prevention – The Hurdle.” He has extensive experience and expertise in leadership, human performance, safety and operations. McPeak is passionate about personal and professional development and believes that intrapersonal and interpersonal skills are key to success. He also is an advanced certified practitioner in DISC, emotional intelligence, the Hartman Value Profile, learning styles and motivators.
About Frontline Fundamentals: Frontline Fundamentals topics are derived from the Incident Prevention Institute’s popular Frontline training program (https://frontlineutilityleader.com). Frontline covers critical knowledge, skills and abilities for utility leaders and aligns with the Certified Utility Safety Professional exam blueprint.
Webinar: Make It Safe To …
November 13, 2024, at 11 a.m. Eastern
Visit https://ip-institute.com/frontline-webinars/ for more information.
- Make It Safe To …
- October-November 2024 Q&A
- The Meter Base Checkout Procedure
- Trailers, Brakes and Common Usage Errors
- Reduce Risk with New Strategies for Operator Training
- Empowering Utility Workers: Integrating Job Control and Resource Availability for Enhanced Safety
- Designing Safe and Inclusive Work Systems for a Neurodiverse Workplace
- Hand Protection for Electrical Shock and Arc Flash Hazards
