Safety Leadership
Objectives:
•Exploreand share ideas about some basic concepts of
Leadership and how they can be applied in WH&S
•Begindevelopment of your own safety leadership
improvement strategy
Leadership – What is it?
Leadership is not:
Not Power -
•Power derives from status, money, ability to harm,
access to media or control materials
•AThug who sticks a gun in you back has “power” but
not leadership
Leadership is not:
Not Status -
•Statusor position may enhance the opportunity for
leadership
•Some in a high status or position haven’t got a clue
how to lead
Not Authority –
• A person may have subordinates, but not followers
•People will only follow if a person acts as a leader
Leadership is not:
Not Management -
•Management is an organizational skill
•Managers preside over procesesses, functions and
program
The leadership role, more than any other
function, shapes and influences the culture
that produces performance outcomes
You do not lead by hitting people over the head…
that’s assault, not leadership
Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Impact of Leadership
Excellent safety performance is about getting the right
behaviour from people.
•Although necessary, it is not about systems and procedures.
As a leader, you have a tremendous impact in the field by what you:
Say
Do
Don’t say or don’t do
Visible Leadership
Primary Key for achieving Safety Success:
SAFETY
LEADERSHIP
=
VISIBLE
COMMITMENT
Your Role as a Leader
• Excellent performance requires your leadership
• As a leader you should know:
how our safety programs work and your role in them
the importance of leadership in getting the right behaviours
Leading in the Field
• ‘Walk the talk’
• Demonstrate your commitment with visible actions
• Follow-through with actions
• Never turn a blind eye
• Hold others accountable
Fair
Be Firm
Consistent
Your Job as a Safety Leader is to…
• Explain the HSE process to employees
• Provide effective feedback
• INTERVENE: NEVER walk past an unsafe act or
condition. To do so is to approve or condone the activity
or condition
• Seek to understand WHY the situation or behaviour was
that way
And so correct the problem, not treat the symptom
At-Risk Behaviour
If you see someone taking a risk, you are authorised to:
Stop the job
Talk to them
Explain the risk
Explain the safe way
If you are ignored & they continue to take the risk,
Report it
Personalise your leadership…
Use words like
I need you to…
My expectations are…
I want you to...
Not
The Client want you to…
WHS Advisor requires…
My boss wants…
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
• Lead by example
• Employees will subconsciously follow your actions
They always pick up the bad habits first!
• Show them the way
• Nominate individuals and teams for awards and certificates
Recognition
• Give plenty of verbal recognition to individuals and teams for
jobs well done
Let individuals and team known when you observe
their safe behaviour
Use pre-start safety talks to provide feedback
• Catch your team doing the right thing!!
Safety Leadership Journey
Inspire Others to Behave
Safely
Leadership Ongoing Journey
Personal Transformational
Approach
(Consultation/Mutual Respect)
Discover and
share other Why we are
Raised ways of here today
Awareness operating
Build Relationships
(Conversation)
System
Procedures Compliance
Policies Licence to Operate
Forms
Transactional - Tasks
(Talk at and Tell)
Practical Tools To Apply Leadership
Understanding Peoples Behaviour
ABC Model
Activator Behaviour
Events that precede behaviour Things people say and their
and prompt it. actions Consequences
Have 20% impact impact on
Behaviour determines Events that follow behaviour
behaviour
performance Have 80% influence on whether
E.g. Training, personal beliefs,
behaviour occurs again
behaviour of others, past
experience, requested to do
something
Understanding Peoples Behaviour
Principles of ABC
Majority of all incidents are caused by people behaving in
unsafe ways
Understanding employee behaviour is fundamental to the
success of creating a safe workplace
Premise of model is that all Behaviour (B) is a function of its
immediate environment.
Factors such as Activators (A) and Consequences (C) of each
behaviour trigger and sustain it
ABC Model
Activator – Aspect of the environment, precedes and influences
behaviour
Eg – Others are doing it or The right tool/plant not available
Behaviour – Something you can see, every day – every task – Its
either safe or unsafe
Consequence – Every behaviour is followed by a series of
consequences
ABC Model - Examples
Someone is speeding in the workplace
Why are they speeding? – Thrill, Late for work,
emergency, attitude, nice road to speed
Ended up as – crash, caught by Police, someone else ran
off the road
Activity - Work out the ABC!
Activity – Think of Some others
As a Leader – Ask the questions
How we reward Unsafe Behaviours
How we punish safe behaviour indirectly
Key Message
ABC Model is a cultural change tool
Moves culture from one that inadvertently encourages
unsafe behaviour and punishes safe behaviour
To one that increases positive behaviour through
reinforcement
Psychology of Influencing Others
The part of the brain that
determines what we are
going to pay attention to
You can program your
Reticular
RAS
Activating System You can program other
peoples RAS
(RAS) Influencing Positively
with RAS questions
Influencing Positively
RAS Questions -
What might happen if you fall?
What impact does it have for others if they see you doing it that way?
Have you thought about the consequences?
How can you improve on that?
Activity - Can you think of Others?
Consult and Communicate
Intent
Look & Observe
Engage
Ask Questions
Discuss
Consequences
Leading an Effective Toolbox
Talk/Pre-Start Meeting
• Target
• Engage
• Ask Questions
• Mutually Agree
In Short…
You are the key to high performance. Your job as a Leader is
as much about SAFETY as it as about productivity
Know and understand the expectations and systems
Ask for support whenever needed… demand it!
If in doubt, STOP THE WORK
Document your efforts
REMEMBER
YOU are responsible for safety
YOU are the KEY to safety
Safety Leadership
Commitment Statement
What is it?
•One page written statement
•Personal commitment made to your health & safety
•Commitment to what you will or will not do
•Share your commitment with you collogues by posting in visible
location i.e. office door, work station etc
Why?
•Create a “total safety culture”
•Next step towards achieving the our goal of “Zero Harm”
At work – on the roads – in the home!
SAFETY LEADERSHIP
Commitment Statement
At work – on the roads – in the home!
I will:
Intervene if I observe at-risk behaviours
Lead by example and “walk the talk”
Provide recognition to individuals of teams when safe behaviours are
observed
Any questions?
Only talk on a hands free mobile when driving
Adopt the principles safety as a whole of life value
I will not:
Be a risk taker instead a risk manager
Ignore people that are at-risk of injury without taking action
Walk past a hazard without talking action: fix it, make it safe, report it
Condone the taking of “short cuts” that defeats approved safe work
practices
Drive recklessly and in doing so place myself or others at-risk
Name: Position: Signature: Date:
Stephen Pooler Senior WHS 13 Jun 2008
Advisor
Summary of Safety
Leadership Attributes
Recognise Participate & Inspire &
and Reward Communicate Motivate
Safety Leaders Safety
Improvement
Lead Provide Show
by Example Resources Concern
Role Model Build Trust
Your attention and participation
was appreciated
