Leading with Safety

THOMAS R. KRAUSE, PHD, is Chairman of the Board and cofounder of Behavioral Science Technology, Inc. (BST), an international performance solutions company based in Ojai, California.

• Foreword by John L Henshaw xiiiPreface xviiAcknowledgments xxiIntroductionSafety as metaphor for organizational excellence 1Section 1: The Organizational Safety Model 51. The Organizational Safety Model 7How safety leadership assures improvement 8The primary importance of the Working Interface 10Understanding the relationship of exposure events to injury events 11 The necessity of leading indicators 14Enabling safety systems 15Sustaining safety systems 16Leadership creates organizational culture and safety climate 16What motivates leaders to improve safely? 18Influencing the behavior of safety leaders 19Sustaining organizational change: Two critical elements 20Section 2: The Safety Leadership Model 232. The Safety Leadership Model, Part 1The personality, values, emotional commitment, and leadership style of the effective safety leader 25The core elements: personality, values, and emotional commitment 27Measurement of the Big Five 30Applications of Big Five research to safety leadership 31Using the findings to improve safely leadership 32How leaders use the Big Five to improve safety effectiveness 34The leader’s values and emotional commitment to safety 35Leadership style: transactional and transformational 38Cultivating style 433. The Safety Leadership Model, Part 2Best practices in safety leadership 45Tire central role of leadership in safety 46Leadership vs. management 47Best practices in safety leadership 48Measuring leadership best practices 574. The Safety Leadership Model, Part 3Understanding organizational culture and safety climate 59Primary dimensions of organizational culture and safety climate 61 Why some organizations respond to change more readily 62The Organizational Culture Diagonostic Instrument (OCDI) 67The Organization Dimension 68The Team Dimension 75The Safety-Specific Dimension 77Section 3: The Leader's Role: Understanding two crucial aspects of human performance 835. Changing Behavior Using Applied Behavior Analysis 85Applied behavior analysis in organizational settings 86How applied behavior analysis supports safety improvement 87Central concepts: antecedents, behavior, consequences 88ABC Analysis as a tool 91Example 1: Changing behavior at the leadership level 91Considerations for identifying new consequences 93Example 2: Changing behavior at the middle management level 97 Putting behavior analysis to work 1016. The Effect of Cognitive Bias on Safety Decisions 103Research findings on cognitive bias 104Tragedy on Mount Everest in 1996 105Applications to the organizational safety leader 107Understanding cognitive bias 108A manufacturing safety example 109Putting knowledge of cognitive bias to work 110Section 4: Engaging Employees H37. The Role of Executive Coaching in Leadership Development 115Executive coaching: from remedial to developmental 116A behavioral approach to leadership 116The coaching process: Behavioral and contextual 118Step One: Understanding the context 118Step Two: Clarifying the client’s unique point of view 119Step Three: Gathering the data and writing a report 120Step four: The plan 122Step Five: Implementing the plan 123Step Six: Assessing the impact 123Coaching for safety leadership 1248. The Role of the Supervisor in Leading with Safety 129The pivotal role of the first-line supervisor 130Communication skills — the foundation 131The power of strong working relationships 133Fair decision-making and its effects 135Alignment: Incorporating organizational values and priorities into day-to-day activities 137Safety contacts: Getting an accurate picture of performance 1389. A Systematic Process for Reducing Exposure to Hazards:What the safety improvement process looks like at the worker level 141Engagement and cooperation 142Getting engaged in safety 145The safety improvement mechanism 147Implementing the process: team makeup and charier 151Roles at every level 153Leadership and reduction of exposure to hazards 154Best practices 156Getting started 157Section 5: Applications 16110. Planning for Change: Designing Intervention Strategies for Safety Improvement 163The importance of having an effective strategy for safety improvement 164Developing a strategic plan for safety improvement 165Examples of the development of strategic plans for safety improvement 171Armed services branch 171International metals and mining company 176International energy and utilities company 179Gulf coast chemical company 183Puerto Rican consumer products company 18611. Case Histories in Leading with Safety 189Shell Chemical, LP 192Petro-Canada 199PotashCorp 207Puerto Rican consumer products company 21312. NASA's Approach to Transforming its Organizational Culture and Safety Climate 219Assessing the existing culture and climate 222Findings 227The intervention 230The culture change plan 232Results 240Glenn Research Center & Stennis Space Center 243Johnson Space Center 246Bibliography 251Index 259