Page 42 - OHS, November/December 2024

B R E A K T H R O U G H S T R A T E G I E S B Y R O B E R T P A T E R
Moving From ‘Bitter’ Towards
Better Safety Leadership
ferently. (Case in point: Googling “leadership” yields
When it comes to leadership, people see things very dif-
“about 4.35 billion” results!) But to me, the highest lev-
el of leadership is founded on courage, the willingness
to face discomfort. Starting with squarely seeking out, acknowledg-
ing, and dealing with the elephants in the room that impede progress.
Sure, when all is going well and humming along smoothly, it’s
easy to bask in the glory of positive results. No doubt that even
during such bountiful take-the-bows times, strong leadership is
still greatly needed, both to reinforce what people are doing well
AND to remind them to not get lost in the laurels, to stay on a con-
tinuous improvement track – to avoid complacency (where “good”
or “very good” becomes the enemy of “great”), or worse, deteriora-
tion (where “pride goes before a fall.”) Th is is especially important
when in safety, where even one incident can be devastating.
Improving is always a process of dusting off the rust, letting
go of dysfunction, and replacing what is tired and no longer true.
Essential to this is the inner strength to be a willing recognizer.
Courage is required to seek and then call out what isn’t working,
such as surfacing those mixed messages that seemingly every com-
pany transmits to some degree (the specifi cs vary, but even the best
cultures send contrarian directions, such as “Safety is Number 1!”
along with “Get it done faster, we have deadlines” etc. Or promot-
ing Safety dis-believers to higher levels. Or not allocating suffi cient
time to focused training.)
I recall presenting a multi-day safety leadership seminar for an
international manufacturing company where I’d pre-interviewed
the regional Safety director participants. Aft er I shared a summary
of anonymous reports of concerns, the directors were raring to
delve into strategies for moving well above and beyond.
Unfortunately, an executive visiting from their remote corpo-
rate headquarters was visibly chagrined upon hearing concerns
about their culture. Th is particular vice president accused the
Safety leaders of being “disloyal” for harboring and sharing any
negativity about current imperfections. While we had to work our
way through this, the VP’s message still dampened potential safety
leadership energies. I’ve seen similar “you better not even think
this, certainly never surface this” messages from other senior lead-
ers, oft en ones who ironically espouse positive values and messages
but whose actual actions run counter to their talk.
Contrarily, in the words of a master internal martial artist,
the most eff ective people, those who transcend the ordinary, are
willing to “eat bitter.” Seeking out, rather than avoiding or even
suppressing adverse feedback. Th ese individuals don’t lie to them-
selves and do not encourage false Pollyanna-ish responses just to
make themselves feel or look better. Refusing to fi ddle while Rome
burns, those who “eat bitter” do not surround themselves with
“yes” people who bolster a house of cards founded on a false sense
that all is well, and if anything is less than ideal, it could only be the
fault of others. Aft er all, the leader is doing everything she/he pos-
sibly can. Th ey can’t help it if they are saddled with resistant people
who won’t do what’s good for their own safety.
Have you heard anything like that?
Th ese outlooks are always signs of lead-
ership insecurity and weakness. And
while there may be some who go along
with praising such leaders, there will al-
ways be those who privately see – and disrespect – that such “em-
perors have no clothes” and are actually naked in the face of harsh
elements, despite denials or gaslighting.
Smartest leaders know that where the bitter exists, even if seem-
ingly well-hidden – ongoing unsolved problems, tenacious injuries
that are minimally addressed, “hidden” low trust status quo – these
can detract, even pollute their culture. Th at, as famed changemas-
ter Kurt Lewin found, the most eff ective way to develop signifi cant
and sustainable change is less through doing more, not just rehash-
ing what has mundanely been done. But by identifying what actu-
ally gets in the way of/blocks improvements, then removing or at
least reducing some of these forces.
In other words, the way to the highest level of safety is through
the uncomfortable; it takes treading into and then beyond the “un-
derworld” (see Joseph Campbell’s “Voyage of the Hero” work) to
get to the higher ground of turnaround change.
Do you fi nd yourself on a safety plateau? Have you tried sev-
eral approaches but remain frustrated that nothing seems to really
change? If the well of your safety culture is even somewhat polluted,
the only way to get potable water is to dredge out and then get rid of
the sludge. Don’t allow cultural toxicity to remain. It takes courage
for anyone to “eat bitter,” to be willing to honestly look at failures or
disappointments, and for a leader to ask him/herself, “What was my
part in this?” and “What might I have done diff erently?”
Some ways to accomplish this? Individually and privately seek
out those workers who are respected by their peers to listen to their
frank concerns (Ask, “On a scale of one to 10, where 10 is ‘great,’
how would you rate our Safety culture and performance? Why
would you rate it as high or as low as you did?”) Be sure to include
some who represent the “naysayers.” Seed your Safety Committees
so these aren’t solely populated by those retired on active duty or
those who have found it politically expedient to go along with the
status quo. Set the tone with everyone that, while you certainly
don’t want to dwell on negatives (and that it’s as important to sur-
face what’s going well), active problem-solving towards improve-
ment means examining the warts in your Safety culture.
For the strongest leaders I’ve seen, calmly unearthing and then
dispelling what they sense or fear might be awkward, uncomfort-
able, or worse, but it can be a powerful pathway to signifi cant and
lasting safety step-ups.
Robert Pater is the Managing Director and creator of the
MoveSMART® system for preventing strains/sprains, slips/trips/falls,
hand injuries implemented in over 60 countries. Th eir emphasis is on
“Energizing, Engaging Expertise” to simultaneously elevate safety per-
formance, leadership and culture.
42 Occupational Health & Safety | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024 www.ohsonline.com