Leaders reside in glass houses. Like it or not, leaders are transparent and must realize if you lead, people will be watching. As a safety professional, I’ve visited hundreds of locations and job-sites. Some are quite memorable while I would like to forget some others. But, as hard as I try, I can’t forget those places where workers suffered injury from at-risk behavior or being under the supervision of at-risk leaders. During my career I’ve learned at-risk behavior that was shared, in part, by the actions of workers and leaders who placed workers in situations that were not well planned and were poorly executed causes most injury.
Role models
In safety training, I ask supervisors and leaders if they are role models. Some say yes, others say no and some don’t have a clue. The answer is, of course, like it or not, leaders are indeed role models. Trouble is they don’t have a choice.
For discussion purposes, there are two types of role models — positive and negative. Positive role models are those who lead rather than manage. They lead execution activities that require pre-job planning, placing the right people in the right places, utilizing tools such as equipment and materials, utilizing trained and qualified personnel and last, leading in the performance of safe production. To describe and identify negative role models, just think of the opposite of those positive features I just listed. It’s easy to be a negative role model if you don’t care for your customer and treat your employees with disdain. Not caring, or not caring properly, identifies the character of the negative role model. When one does not care, injuries and defects in quality occur quite often. There are lots of negative role models out there who are adequate producers and still generate revenue. But when there is a trail of injury, pain and suffering, the total cost of doing the work won’t be known until the medical costs and workers’ comp bills are paid in full. When all is said and done, injury-free work brings in the revenue while direct costs of injury, along with those hidden indirect costs, result in much less profit.
Watch me
A few months ago I saw a TV program where the reporter said the typical American is videotaped an average of 12 times a day. That means surveillance cameras are recording video at every store, ATM machine, theater, service station, toll booth, fast food restaurant, parking lot and even as we walk down a sidewalk. Other sources say we Americans could be on camera as many as 20 or 30 times per day. In Britain, it is estimated the average citizen is under surveillance as much as 300 times a day. Regardless of where we live, we are being observed and filmed more and more. In law enforcement, the video camera is a policeman’s best friend. The camera captures what a villain or law violator may refute.
If you are a leader at a jobsite with 50 to 100 workers, you also are being watched — not necessarily by surveillance cameras but by your coworkers! Here’s a lesson: Be careful what you do, what you say and where you scratch. Always present yourself as though you were being observed. Never have a public display of behavior you’d be embarrassed by or that could embarrass your company. Don’t say things you’ll regret. Don’t disrespect workers and never, ever mistreat a customer. You may not get along with everyone, but that’s no reason to disrespect.
One of my past project leaders had a loose tongue and always said what he thought regardless of who was listening. In a dispute over scope changes, his loud mouth let loose while the client’s plant manager was nearby. The plant manager intervened in the conversation and let the “loudmouth” know he needed to get his gear and leave the site. The “loudmouth’s” outlandish behavior was a display of his personal character and it reflected badly on his work team and his employer. We don’t need to use bad language or disrespect others; all we need to do is look into that video camera and say, “Listen to my actions.”
For more information, contact HASC Customer Relations at (281) 476-9900, Ext. 310 or visit www.hasc.com.
