Understanding Safety Leadership
As Becht Safety Solutions takes its place as the newest member of the Becht family, it’s important that we understand what the cornerstone of the Becht Safety Solutions philosophy is. Simply put; it is Leadership. While proper leadership is critical for the success of any organization, group, unit or family, it is without a doubt the foremost component in the safety success of any entity in our industry. Without Safety Leadership, Safety Success will be a vision unrealized.
[readon2 url=”training/safety-leadership-workshop”]See Becht’s Safety Leadership Workshop[/readon2]
Leadership Fundamentals
While the age-old debate of whether Leaders are born or made rages on, a Leader has to have mastered certain ‘basics’ or the argument is a moot point. As with any discipline, be it mechanics, chemistry or hydraulics, there are certain fundamentals one has to understand and incorporate into ‘what they do’ before they can even consider being effective. One could propose that the fundamentals of hydraulic engineering are certainly more concrete, or static, than those of Leadership and they would be correct. Leadership is not subject to the laws of Physics; it is a human trait, hence, quite subjective. Over the next few weeks, we will explore these fundamentals and determine how we can incorporate them into not only our Safety mindset, but our other disciplines as well.
When one hears the term ‘Leadership’, a multitude of examples come to mind. We may think of political, sports or military figures, a coach, a colleague, a teacher or a family member. All of these are legitimate examples and a closer look would reveal certain commonalities amongst them. One thing for certain is that they had a definite impact on us as individuals; they gave us something that effected who we are – it was personal. Consider the following statement and determine for yourself if it is true: Leaders who lead by example are developing other leaders, who in turn will follow leaders.
Although we all have our own personal definitions of what Leadership is, let’s consider some quotes from others and see if they sound familiar.
“Leadership is the art getting someone else to do something you want done, because they want to do it” (Dwight D Eisenhower)
“Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible” (Colin Powell)
“The bad leader is hated by the people, the good leader is loved by the people, but the great leader leaves the people saying we did it ourselves” (Old Chinese Proverb)
From just these few quotes, we can make some determinations about what Leadership is, and what it is not. These would be:
+ Leaders must have a goal (or a vision) – something to be accomplished
+ Leadership and management are two different things – both important, but different
+ There are different types of Leaders
+ For a great Leader, it’s not about them, it’s about others
+ Leadership is more than a discipline
With these determinations in mind, let’s consider some essential skills of a successful Leader. First among these would be the ability to communicate effectively. If you cannot communicate your vision, your ideas or your intent, odds are you will not realize your goals. One must leave no confusion among their constituents, colleagues or team. This will require clear, concise, two-way communication. What you’re after is a dialogue, not a monologue. As a Leader, you must ensure that everyone involved is informed, involved and fully understands your message. Communication is an acquired skill, effective communication is an art. That being said, this is perhaps the most difficult of Leadership skills to master and consequently, the Becht Safety Solutions Safety Leader Workshop dedicates a good portion of time to it. It is absolutely critical to your success as a Leader to be able to communicate effectively, even more so as a Safety Leader.
Leaders must also plan properly. No one would design a vessel, a process or a structure without first considering such things as materials, logistics, volumes, stress and load factors. Poor planning almost always results in poor outcome, and for a Safety Leader, that is unacceptable. In terms of Safety and Engineering, the venerable ‘1-10-100’ rule is an absolute. It goes without saying, that time spent planning will be compensated by a safe work outcome and expediency of execution.
Leaders understand how to apply reinforcement – positive reinforcement to ensure the right behaviors continue, corrective reinforcement to ensure that undesirable behaviors are modified. This can be a challenge for a Leader when dealing with adults. The truth of the matter is that adults tend to learn or assimilate information (data) in a similar manner as do children. The difference is that children tend to be more trusting (at an early age), while adults tend to be more skeptical (more so as they continue to age). A key part of applying reinforcement is to understand that Leaders are teaching at all times. An effective Leader is in essence, an effective teacher. One of your goals as a Leader, is to get your constituents to a place where they are fully competent in their discipline without continual oversight by you, their Leader. We’ll discuss how Leaders have to be adaptable within a team dynamic at a later date.
Leaders must also understand, that while they may be teaching, they are also learning. Our industry is in a constant state of evolution, always changing, not only in techniques, but methodology as well. If a Leader fails to stay abreast of current trends, technology or benefit from lessons-learned, they may become stagnant, ineffective and out-of-touch with their environment. These are all undesirable in any workplace, even more so in terms of Safety, where such behaviors could make these individuals a liability to themselves and their colleagues.
[readon2 url=”training/safety-leadership-workshop”]See Becht’s Safety Leadership Workshop[/readon2]
