An industry professional for over 30 years, Rod hopes to help others learn from his mistakes and avoid the “Safety Cop” mentality. The process of authoring The 8 Habits of a Highly Effective Safety Culture began in 2004 and has taken numerous years to develop the courage to put pen to paper. All cultures evolve and a safety culture is no different. These eight habits will change as industries change and as people change. However, six of the eight habits remain the same today as in 2004. The two habits that did evolve, #6 and #7, were due to progress in Human Performance Based programs. This book assembles all the information you need to create a just and sustainable safety culture all in one place. The goal is to make it safe for your employees to fail, because failure is inevitable as long as humans are involved.
Do you want to make a difference? There are many ways someone in a leadership role can have a positive impact on the lives of their employees. Perhaps there is no leadership responsibility more profound than creating a sustainable, injury-free workplace. Every person who goes to work expects to return home in the same condition. When someone is hurt, the adverse effects of their injury ripple through the employee's family and friends. Achieving an injury-free environment is one of the most difficult problems many leaders face. Indeed, during 35 years in manufacturing I never discovered a singular solution to this challenge. However, over these years I observed quite a few leadership actions that significantly contributed to less risk-taking, greater hazard awareness and genuine collaborative efforts among employees and supervisors. Leaders who understood, embraced, and implemented these strategies saw a dramatic reduction in incidents and injuries at their facilities. In my experience, organizations with the best safety performances do not have a secret. They simply do a lot of small things collectively and strategically well. That's really what this book is about. It is a collection of leadership concepts, thoughts, words, and actions that (when strategically implemented) can move your organization toward a better safety future. There are no 'silver bullets' here. On the other hand, you don't have to do all of these things to be successful in your safety journey. The first section of the book takes a look at some fundamental concepts everyone who is striving to achieve safety excellence should understand. It includes a discussion on compliance versus commitment, how to develop a safety strategy, why people make mistakes and take risks, and an overview of a Just Culture. The core of the book reviews some key research findings in social psychology, sociology and neuroscience. I share personal experiences of highly effective leadership. And I recount other situations that exemplify the wrong approach. In each case, I discuss how you can leverage these concepts in a practical way to improve your safety leadership skills. Topics include: how our thoughts can drive our behaviors when it comes to safety, how the words we use can be influential on personal decision-making, how social influence and leadership actions can drive safety performance, and how to facilitate the right personal safety conversation. At the end of each chapter, there is a segment called the SAFETY LEADER'S TOOLBOX. This toolbox contains over 70 practical tools and tips for being a more effective safety leader! Readers are encouraged to consult the SAFETY LEADER'S TOOLBOX for small changes in what you think, say, and do to shape your safety culture. I invite you to put on your safety shoes and walk with me. Together we will consider how you can lead your organization to exceptional safety performance. Spoiler alert! One essential leadership skill is knowing why, how, and what to talk about when it comes to safety. Where do you begin? Start with a "Why" of caring. If you start with caring as your personal motive, you won't have to do everything perfectly. Your employees will want to do the right things for the right reasons. You can read this book in chapter order. You can also go to a specific chapter to learn more about a particular topic. Either way, you are encouraged to consult the SAFETY LEADER'S TOOLBOX throughout this book for small changes in what you think, say, or do to shape your safety culture. Choose a set of tools from the TOOLBOX that will enable you to move toward your safety vision. Start making a difference in the lives of others!
The Strategic Safety Culture Roadmap is based on the results of major Process Safety disasters. It offers practical strategies with accompanying tools and methods to address the issues raised. A must have for those wanting to improve their company's safety culture, reduce unwanted incidents and maximize profitability.
Provides a clear road map to instilling a culture of safety excellence in any organization Did you know that accidental injury is among the top ten leading causes of death in every age group? With this book as your guide, you'll learn how to help your organization develop, implement, and sustain Safety Culture Excellence, vital for the protection of and improvement in the quality of life for everyone who works there. STEPS to Safety Culture Excellence is based on the authors' firsthand experience working with international organizations in every major industry that have successfully developed and implemented ongoing cultures of safety excellence. Whether your organization is a small regional firm or a large multinational corporation, you'll find that the STEPS process enables you to instill Safety Culture Excellence within your organization. STEPS (Strategic Targets for Excellent Performance in Safety) demystifies the process of developing Safety Culture Excellence by breaking it down into small logical, internally led tasks. You'll be guided through a sequence of STEPS that makes it possible to: Create a culture of excellence that is reinforced and empowered at every level Develop the capability within the culture to identify, prioritize, and solve safety problems and challenges Maintain and continuously improve the performance of your organization's safety culture Although this book is dedicated to safety, the tested and proven STEPS process can be used to promote excellence in any aspect of organizational performance. By optimizing the safety culture in your organization, you will give the people you work with the skills and knowledge to not only minimize the risk of an on-the-job accident, but also to lead safe, healthy lives outside of work.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of The Talent Code unlocks the secrets of highly successful groups and provides tomorrow’s leaders with the tools to build a cohesive, motivated culture. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BLOOMBERG AND LIBRARY JOURNAL Where does great culture come from? How do you build and sustain it in your group, or strengthen a culture that needs fixing? In The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle goes inside some of the world’s most successful organizations—including the U.S. Navy’s SEAL Team Six, IDEO, and the San Antonio Spurs—and reveals what makes them tick. He demystifies the culture-building process by identifying three key skills that generate cohesion and cooperation, and explains how diverse groups learn to function with a single mind. Drawing on examples that range from Internet retailer Zappos to the comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade to a daring gang of jewel thieves, Coyle offers specific strategies that trigger learning, spark collaboration, build trust, and drive positive change. Coyle unearths helpful stories of failure that illustrate what not to do, troubleshoots common pitfalls, and shares advice about reforming a toxic culture. Combining leading-edge science, on-the-ground insights from world-class leaders, and practical ideas for action, The Culture Code offers a roadmap for creating an environment where innovation flourishes, problems get solved, and expectations are exceeded. Culture is not something you are—it’s something you do. The Culture Code puts the power in your hands. No matter the size of your group or your goal, this book can teach you the principles of cultural chemistry that transform individuals into teams that can accomplish amazing things together. Praise for The Culture Code “I’ve been waiting years for someone to write this book—I’ve built it up in my mind into something extraordinary. But it is even better than I imagined. Daniel Coyle has produced a truly brilliant, mesmerizing read that demystifies the magic of great groups. It blows all other books on culture right out of the water.”—Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Option B, Originals, and Give and Take “If you want to understand how successful groups work—the signals they transmit, the language they speak, the cues that foster creativity—you won’t find a more essential guide than The Culture Code.”—Charles Duhigg, New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better
Advice from the Worst Safety Professional Ever: How to Do and View Safety Differently is a guide to help others safety professionals succeed by looking back on the early career of Rod Courtney, an ex-Army combat medic and ex-“Super Max” prison correctional officer turned well-intentioned—but very flawed—safety professional. At the start of his career as a safety professional in 1998, Rod channeled the attitude, skills, and culture of the military, prison system, and law enforcement into his new duties. On his very first job he was told to, "Go find them doing something wrong," and, "If you catch them breaking safety rules you can fire them.” He did just that, and he was good at it. Rod let them have it, all the while convinced in his heart that he was doing the right thing. Despite the sincere desire to make a difference and help others go home safely to their families, he was the worst safety professional ever! Advice from the Worst Safety Professional Ever covers the early mistakes Rod made in his career as a safety professional and contains the advice all early safety professionals need, but often do not get. Rod goes into detail about the skill sets needed for success as well as where the safety industry came from, where it is at presently, and expectations for the future. Rod encourages readers to laugh (with or at him) as they read about the silly mistakes he used to make—so they don’t have to make them too!
Our tendency is to blame workers and label their personal failings as the cause of safety errors. Labeling does not solve problems that cause error. It is an illusion of human perception leading us to false conclusions resulting in dysfunctional practices that hurt the safety of our workers and the effectiveness of the systems we put in place to protect them. Learn a better way to analyze the behaviors of your employees to understand how they were put in a position to take the risk in the first place.
How safe is you workplace? How safe are you? This is a straight-talking, easy reading, humorous guide for assessing the safety culture of the workplace and of an individual as well. Offers suggestions, things to look for, and questions to consider when assessing the workplace safety culture.
Next Generation Safety Leadership illustrates practical applications that bring theory to life through case studies and stories from the author's years of experience in high-risk industries. The book provides safety leaders and their organisations with a compelling case for change. A key predictor of safety performance is trust, and its associated components of integrity, ability and benevolence (care). The next generation of safety leaders will take the profession forward by creating trust and psychological safety. The book provides safety leaders with actionable goals to enable positive change and translates academic languages into practical applications. It leaves the reader with a clear strategy to move forward in developing a safety plan and utilizes stories, humor, and case studies set in high-risk industries. Written primarily for the safety community and can be used to influence day to day safety operations in high-risk organisations.
In the 7 Habits series, international bestselling author Stephen R. Covey showed us how to become as effective as it is possible to be. In his long-awaited new book, THE 8th HABIT, he opens up an entirely new dimension of human potential, and shows us how to achieve greatness in any position and any venue. All of us, Covey says, have within us the means for greatness. To tap into it is a matter of finding the right balance of four human attributes: talent, need, conscience and passion. At the nexus of these four attributes is what Covey calls voice - the unique, personal significance we each possess. Covey exhorts us all to move beyond effectiveness into the realm of greatness - and he shows us how to do so, by engaging our strengths and locating our powerful, individual voices. Why do we need this new habit? Because we have entered a new era in human history. The world is a profoundly different place than when THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE was originally published in 1989. The challenges and complexity we face today are of a different order of magnitude. We enjoy far greater autonomy in all areas of our lives, and along with this freedom comes the expectation that we will manage ourselves, instead of being managed by others. At the same time, we struggle to feel engaged, fulfilled and passionate. Tapping into the higher reaches of human genius and motivation to find our voice requires a new mindset, a new skill-set, a new tool-set - in short, a whole new habit.
