Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/932759
AGGREGATES MANAGER / February 2018 9 The five elements of accountability What does it take for a leader to create an environment whereby all individuals voluntarily and accurately work safely, no matter who is watching? We validated five core elements from the research. 1. Clearly define expectations. The emergent safety leader ensures that every person who reports to the leader knows exactly what is ex- pected of them to keep themselves and others safe. It is the leader's responsibility to ensure every subor- dinate is clear about the work they are expected to perform. 2. Train to ensure competence. The emergent safety leader ensures that every direct report knows how to do their work safely and accurately. It's a breach of integrity to expect good performance if you haven't provid- ed proper training and preparation. While the leader may not personally train each subordinate on the specif- ic activities of the role, they must oversee those activities and validate that the subordinate knows how to work safe and right. 3. Provide necessary resources. The emergent safety leader provides all direct reports with the resources of time, supplies, equipment, labor, and budget in order to work safely. How could we reasonably expect anyone to work safely and accurately with- out the necessary resources? 4. Measure the accuracy of execution. The emergent safety leader follows up with every direct report to ensure accurate execution of all defined expectations. A leader must mea- sure performance with periodic spot checks and conversations to ensure the activities are being performed correctly. Leaders must ensure they have the proper combination of leading and lagging indicators at each level. At the front line, mea- sure the activities that drive safe behavior, not safety results such as accident or incident rates. For middle managers and executives, mea- sure both the activities that build the presence of safety and safety results. 5. Deliver appropriate feedback. The emergent leader frequently rec- ognizes safe work and coaches to improve unsafe work relative to defined expectations. Lead- ers must provide timely, relevant, specific, and frequent feedback to subordinates about the work they are expected to perform. Positive recognition is much more effective than correction or criticism. Most people work safely most of the time yet the majority of the communica- tion they receive from their leader is about the unsafe work they do. This is a problem. The basic principle is this: The more you recognize the safe work your people do, the less you will have to deal with their unsafe work. Positive recognition is a very powerful tool for influencing the performance of others. When a leader builds it into their habitual leadership behavior, others will gradually begin to self-correct the things they do wrong. Three moments of truth There are three pivotal moments of truth when the interaction between leader and subordinate is critical to the work of accountability. 1. At the beginning of the relationship. Discuss what's expected and how it will be measured. The goal is to gain mutual clarity on those two items. Invest whatever amount of time is necessary to reach under- SCALPING www.kpijci.com Untitled-7 1 1/18/18 9:43 AM