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18 JUN
2012

Safety Leadership nudges, shadows and the value of paranoia

Simon Lawrence
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All Articles, Blogs, Managing Risk, Safety Culture

No

Think New Year 2014 think

new start for safety
Safety Reform Bill Draft a
quick analysis

The Article Safety Leadership Cast no Shadow, by Dr Tim Marsh in a recent edition of IOSHs
official magazine Safety and Health Practitioner was just what I needed last month to hang a few
thoughts of my own on.

Nudges
Nudges are things you can do in safety leadership that gain
attention, prick consciences, focus thoughts, exude
expectations, alert people. They demonstrate standards,
keep people on their toes. I think the key way in which they
work is they are not talking down to us. The way they
address us is at a whispering, rather chummy level. They
are things that we find we have noticed, as opposed to
something directed straight at us. Examples: The fly printed
into the ceramics in mens urinals that apparently we are
unable to resist and that therefore dramatically reduce
splashes and drips. Marsh also mentions the little innocent question Have you
remembered everything? at the end of our tax returns. That gathers revenue because so
many of us say OK, OK maybe there WAS one thing I could have owned up to.

Shadows
Shadows in safety leadership are messages people receive
that reveal the communicators real priorities. In short,
things we hear that are transparent, or token messages, or
mixed messages, conflicting priorities, uncommitted
attitudes or just plain hollow. They are messages that leave
the receivers knowing they might as well carry on the same
as before, because nothing will actually change.

Mindfulness
Clearly, the opposite of mindfulness is mindlessness. In
previous articles, and blogs, I have written about how
sometimes less is more, how employees should be encouraged to make good risk decisions.
In short, mindfulness is not relying on the boss, the guards, the equipment or even your
mates. Its about taking responsibility and being consistently ready to avoid the unknown
and untested. For safety leadership, its about asking the right questions, being a bit
paranoid and watching out for pockets of vulnerability.

Zero Harm with Murray Hurry

hell see you right
Safety Culture something
that happens, not something
you do
Safety Leadership nudges,
shadows and the value of
paranoia

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paranoid and watching out for pockets of vulnerability.

So, lets illustrate Nudges, Shadows and Mindfulness. A few of the examples are taken from
the article, but I have thrown in a number of my own:

Safety Leadership Nudges

And they finished the job? Compare that with: And they still didnt stop the job?
Do it safely but do it by FridayCompare that with: Do it by Friday but do it safely
Clean workplaces with everything put away and keeping it that way.
Managers who follow up and embed training.
Rewarding and acknowledging good safety performance and ideas.
Fixing safety issues visibly and fast.
Walking back of house and asking questions.
Sending back an accident investigation and asking for a better job.
Attending safety meetings and making it clear what you expect.

Safety Leadership Shadows

Safety is Number 1, but we have to finish the rest of the meeting. To get the meaning of
that, compare it with: I really love you but
I dont need to wear PPE because Im just passing through.
Failure to acknowledge good behaviour and ideas.
Denying there is a problem.
Not addressing concerns or using cheap, unworkable solutions.
Regurgitating platitudes.
We need to set and maintain standards, lead by example, take an interest, never walk past
something wrong, ask searching questions, listen to the answers, never be complacent.

Example Mindfulness (Looking for pockets of vulnerability).

Look for urgencies, priorities, changes, delays, difficulties,
changed routines, absence of process.
Follow the Money Vulnerabilities when spending or
cutting costs, making new developments.
Be a little paranoid How can I be sure.
Do people have a lack of credibility/intensity around H&S?
Do the people writing procedures and processes have the
authority to implement? Have they consulted with the
users? Do the users believe/approve the methods?
Are people making assumptions?
Have solutions been tested?
Who, how often is monitoring the workplace and in what way? Who checks the checker?
Is bad news being repressed?
Are we taking things at face value?
Are we ignoring short cuts and are people breaking the rules?
Do we say one thing and mean another?
Are we really listening to people?
Do we ask What if?
Are we creating and adopting new ideas?
Do we really believe Weve got safety sorted? Is that an indicator of complacency? In
summary, we need to set and maintain standards, do safety leadership by example, take an
interest, never walk past something wrong, ask searching questions, listen to the answers,
never be complacent. In fact, be a bit paranoid. It may be possible to delay the inevitable
indefinitely.

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