Photo by Kateryna Babaieva: Pixels
Leadership success can be defined in various ways. A complete commitment to the mission, no matter the cost, is something that often comes to mind. But the truth is, outside of a military context, sometimes making those intensive decisions at the expense of other people isn’t always necessary.
After all, a business might be able to improve warehouse efficiency if they relaxed some of their safety standards that contributed to zero accidents in the last five years, but is the risk worth it? Would you say reducing this is good leadership? Perhaps, if nothing happens, and it will increase the bottom line. But you could also say that a willingness to play with such ethical quandaries is a questionable vision at best.
As far as we see it, and within reason, caring for your people is the hallmark of good leadership, even if that means a little friction with the direction of travel. After all, some compromises can be made and working life isn’t always a comfortable bed, but a leadership has to assume responsibility for the functioning and wellbeing of those they point in any given direction.
In this post, we’ll discuss the particulars of how to do that. Let’s explore the benefits of leveraging leadership to keep your staff safe:
Raise Accountability
You want everyone on your team to know that safety is something everyone shares responsibility for. It’s helpful to define exactly what accountability looks like, not only for your frontline staff but for managers and executive leaders too. If a leader makes their team understand that safety isn’t a task delegated to one department, but a continuous effort that absolutely will be focused on, they’re less likely to cut corners or to hide errors for fear of being penalised.
It might sound like this is too strict and people will worry, but when you hold your team accountable fairly and consistently, a culture of mutual respect and carefulness becomes the norm, and that’s absolutely fantastic for safety. You shouldn’t be focused on finding blame when mistakes happen of course, but to have a solutions approach that makes certain the process is improved. If you do this correctly, your staff feel safe reporting issues but not the fear of immediate punishment, which makes them much more likely to speak up.
Set Your Operational Parameters
Your staff needs to know where the line is drawn, so there are no grey areas or assumptions being made about safety standards. You should define the absolute minimum required for a task and communicate it clearly with referral documents that can be accessed easily, as it provides a clear, reliable structure they can follow every single time.
It’s also helpful if these parameters are visual and easily accessible. Maybe that means hanging large, easy-to-read charts on the wall in a commercial kitchen, or having a digital checklist your staff have to sign off on before starting certain tasks. No matter how you achieve it, it helps to take the guesswork out of the job, which is important, especially if you’re working at speed in any particular context.
Care For The Detail
The large, sweeping safety rules are great, but the daily reality of keeping people safe is always defined by the tiny details that someone with less of a leadership focus might ignore or not even be aware of. You have to make sure every piece of equipment is maintained perfectly and that all training is kept current. Even the issues that seem tiny, like making sure everyone knows where the emergency exits are, will completely prove that you care about their day-to-day life at work.
For instance, in laboratories, knowing that essential equipment like biosafety cabinets are certified and functioning correctly will be a clear sign of your care for the team working with hazardous materials. You can also listen to the daily feedback of those working in such contexts too, just to make sure you’re always aware of what they need.
Review The Process At Intervals
Safety isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it type of job, despite how it might feel, but it’s something that requires continuous attention. As such, you need to schedule audits and reviews of all your safety processes at intervals and make sure they can be trusted.
Of course there should be a formal process in place, perhaps even one completely redesigned now you’re new in the role, but remember you should also be asking difficult questions and looking for blind spots in the system. Leadership sometimes means taking your ego out of it too, and getting external people to conduct some of these reviews for a fresh pair of eyes that aren’t biased by what they’re used to seeing every day.
With this advice, you’ll demonstrate the best possible leadership by keeping your staff safe without question.