LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR IN
SAFETY
Basic Safety Management
Corporate Level (same for all sites)
Directives, Policies & Procedures
Overall Safety Management Systems
Audit & Feed-back Mechanisms
Incentives
Primary objective is to
understand Hazards
& reduce Exposure
at worksite.
Site Level Mechanisms (similar at most sites) Working Interface
Safety Plans
Exposure
Injuries
Observations, Audits, Problem solving
Hazard Recognition
Incident Investigation & No Blame Culture How the work is Done
Training
What is different at one site compared to other?
• Majority of focus at most sites is on craft level employee
driven improvement process with very insignificant
influence by the Leaders.
• Safety Awareness level is usually strong at Top, however
most of the times does not influence people with
wrenches!!!
• Results have proved that the Quality of Leadership &
their ability to influence others is the single most
distinguishing factor!!
• Who are the Leaders?
Manager, Safety Representatives, Job Supervisor,
Foreman….
What is different at one site compared to other?
If exposure is reduced, will the injuries be reduced?
Maybe………. Are we sure??
Is it luck?
Maybe………
but how can you manage or acquire or buy luck?
Safety Leaders should clearly understand that
management of the Incident Rate or Injury itself does
not require Safety Leadership, but the kind & amount of
exposure & behaviors leading to the incident event …….
these should be tackled objectively & requires
Leadership skills…..
SAFETY IS FOUNDATIONAL TO OVERALL
ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE AND IS AN IDEAL
PLACE TO START
BUSINESS RESULTS
QUALITY
PRODUCTION
INNOVATION
ENGAGEMENT
SAFETY / SECURITY
Employees need sense of Safety & Security as a foundation
to be fully engaged, deliver their greatest potential
Organizational Safety Culture
Employees perform better in Teams or individually when they
have a sense that the Organization is concerned about them in
general. They don’t fear about BLAME…..
Best way for Leaders to convey this message is making the
workplace Safer by their actions. Effective Leadership helps in
generating a sense of Unity, Teamwork & Engagement on the
job that eventually results in higher Organizational
performance.
Safety is an ideal place to start because it is highly visible, it has
obvious meaning, appreciated by the industry worldwide & it
sets the tone for other kinds of general performance
enhancement such as Production & Quality.
Safe organizations usually deliver quality products efficiently.
ZERO-INCIDENT CULTURE
Root Causes
Organizational Factors
1. Procedural Justice
2. Leader-member exchange
3. Management Credibility
4. Perceived Organizational
Support
Organizational Qualities
Organizational Commitment
Openness to Change
Job Satisfaction
Mutual Trust and Respect between
Supervisor and worker
Organizational Citizenship Behavior
Team Factor
5. Teamwork
6. Workgroup Relations
Safety Factors
7. Organizational value for
Safety performance
improvement
8. Safety Communication
9. Approaching others
Excellent Communication and
Cooperation
Outcomes
Safety Awareness
Incidence Rates
Safe Behavior
Safety Related Costs
Nine Root Causes that LEADER should work on
to achieve Positive Safety Outcomes
Procedural Justice
This refers to the extents to which the individual workers perceives
fairness in the supervisor’s decision-making process.
Leader Member Exchange
This refers to the relationship & the level of confidence that the
employee has in his supervisor.
Management Credibility
This refers to a perception by the employee that the things that
management says are consistent with the thing management does.
Perceived Organizational Support
This refers to a perception of the employee that they receive the support
needed to accomplish the objectives of the organization.
Teamwork
This refers to the extent to which employee perceives that working with
the team members is an effective way to get things done.
Nine Root Causes that LEADER should work
on to achieve Positive Safety Outcomes
Workgroup Relations
This refers to how well I get along with the people I work with.
Organizational Value for Safety Performance Improvement
This scale measures the extent to which employee perceives the organization
has a value for safety performance improvement. Is it something that
people only talk about or is it something people in organization really
value to?
Upward Communication
This factor refers to the extent to which communication flows freely upward
through the organization. Are workers afraid to talk to seniors on Safety?
Approaching Others
This factor refers to the extent to which employees feel free to speak to each
other about safety concerns. Am I willing to stop my co-worker engaging
in at risk behavior?
So……
how does
Safety Leadership
Puzzle look like?
FEED BACK & RECOGNITION
ACTIONS
COMMUNICATION
COLLABORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT
ACCOUNTABILITY
CREDIBILITY
VALUE FOR SAFETY
VISION
Safety Leadership Puzzle
Vision
Safety leadership starts with vision. This means that the senior most
person in the Organization (Company, Division or Site) needs to be
able to “see” what safety performance excellence would look like in
the organization. Communicate the Vision in a way that is
compelling, not only through words but more importantly through
Actions & describing how future would look like when Safety is
realized.
Value for Safety
Safety Leaders act to support safety values and principles.
Lead by Example!
Accountability
The excellent safety leader gives people a fair appraisal of their
efforts and results in safety, clearly communicates people’s role in the
safety effort, and fosters the sense that people are responsible for the
level of safety in their organizational unit.
Safety Leadership Puzzle
Credibility
The excellent Safety Leader is credible to other people in the
organization. When the safety leader says something other people
believe him and do not question the leader’s motives or understand
them to be giving mixed messages.
Collaboration & Encouragement
By collaboration we mean working well with other people, promoting
cooperation and collaboration in safety, asking for and encouraging
input from people on issues that will affect them, helping others
resolve safety related problems for themselves, and encouraging
others to implement their decisions and solutions for improving
safety.
Action Oriented
Safety Leader is proactive rather than reactive in addressing safety
issues. Demonstrates sense of personal urgency & energy to
achieve desired Safety culture & hence the outcomes.
Safety Leadership Puzzle
Communication
The excellent safety leader is a great communicator. He
encourages people to give honest & complete information on Safety
issues even if the information is unfavorable.
He draws big picture of Safety in the minds of people.
Communicates effectively & with same level of commitment up,
down & across!!
Feedback & Recognition
Safety Leader is good at providing feedback and recognizing other
people for their accomplishments. He PUBLICLY recognizes the
contributions of others, uses appropriate praise more than criticism.
Finds ways to celebrate accomplishments in Safety. Provides
Feed-back on its “factual” values & not as personal conclusions.