Are You a Born Safety Leader?

This presentation examines the two questions at the core of business (and safety) leadership: “Are leaders made, or born? What do you think?

The session starts off with a discussion of expert consensus on this question, and proceeds to explore additional framing questions on the subject of effective leadership. Participants engage in discussions and group exercises that examine these key learning issues:

What is leadership?
How does leading differ from managing?
What are the common employee responses to each?
What is the one POWERFUL common denominator of both?
Who is a leader? (I.e., how do you spot one)?
Are there Good leaders and Bad leaders?…and the ultimate question,
Am I a leader?

In answering these questions, the presentation examines Twelve Natural Laws of Leadership; principles that clearly identify the core characteristics and inherent attributes of an effective leader. The session closes by addressing the ultimate question: Am I a leader? A leadership assessment (optional) composed of questions which track with the ‘Natural Laws’ is available for use with this program to gather organizational feedback valuable in establishing leadership competency benchmarks, and identifying leadership development opportunities. How does your organization measure up when it comes to organizational leadership for safety excellence? Do you have born leaders? Would you like to consider an option? 

Leadership For Safety Excellence: 
Do you have it? (Assess, don’t Guess!)

This half-day (informational) or full day (actionable) seminar explores the significant impact that leadership has on elevating human performance to achieve safety excellence.  The session examines the key difference(s) between managing and leading, and the typical employee responses to each…(the have to Vs the want to factor).   Participants complete an Organizational Leadership Assessment, and an Individual Leadership Profile which benchmarks perceptions of where the organization and their personal beliefs and practices are positioned along a Leader – Manager spectrum.  A harsh reality discovered by many organizations is that they are; over managed and under led, resulting in less than optimum performance.

This session answers the question:  “How did we manage to get ourselves into this state of affairs?” by tracking the evolution of management science and the key contributions made by management gurus of their time --Fayol, Taylor, Mayo, Drucker, Peters, Deming, Covey, and Senge… The picture, which emerges, is clear and best summarized by Stephen Covey: “ We can’t manage ourselves out of situations we behave ourselves into.”

The session then focuses on Leader/Manager behavior and explores five key questions:

• What is managing?

• What is leading?

• What are the differences?

• What is the critical common denominator? And

• Which is more important to achieving performance excellence?

To answer these target questions; three performance models are constructed:

• The Management Model

• The Leadership Model

• The High Performance Model

In reviewing the focus points of each model, participants recognize that Peak Performance is not an ‘or’ issue…Excellence requires Leadership and Management.  The program proceeds to identify the single most important test of a true leader, and addresses that leadership attribute most influential to passing the test—Employee Empowerment.  Ten guidelines of empowerment are reviewed, and participants engage in the development of a Follower’s Bill of Rights based on these guides.

The seminar concludes by identifying the five core roles of a safety leader, and presents a ten point can/do action checklist to guide leader actions even when senior executives fail to exhibit visible commitment or active support to a safety process.

Does your organization have the two essential requisites necessary to become a Safety Leadership organization?  Engage your staff in this informative and revealing seminar to find out the score.  
 

Carpe Diem!  The Ultimate Act of Leading

This Leadership Skills development program is premised on the fact that Leaders are made…not born.  Leadership offers opportunity and rewards to all, not just a chosen few. The seminar focuses on what effective leaders do…and emphasizes that a leader’s ultimate act is--taking action!  The session frames leadership as a role, earned (from below) by deeds, rather than a power bestowed (from above) by position.  The program’s main focus is to help organizations improve performance by building leadership capability throughout its ranks.  The program, available in either a one-day (educational) session or 1½ day (actionable) session, explores ten critical leadership attributes—what effective leaders do!  Through observations, and a sequence of facilitated Q & sessions, participants identify key differences between managing Vs leading human performance in an organization…and the corresponding impacts and outcomes of both.  In the 1½ day session, participants work in breakout sessions to apply new knowledge acquired to the development of individual or organizational action plans for improving leadership practices within their respective departments, functions or the organization in as a whole.  In this session, participants gain a greater insight and understanding of:

• Why performance improvement requires more than good management.

• The critical differences between managing things and leading people.

• Who determines leadership…and how to spot one in an organization?

• The critical roles vision and values play in developing leadership.

• The 3C’s of Leadership—Courage; Confrontation; and Change.

• The unique Paradox of Leadership—Leaders don’t create success.

• The two, and only two tests of a real leader.

• The ten key attributes of an effective leader…and

• The high price of good leadership in a poor organization!

• Want to improve leadership skills, practices and results in your organization...

Carpe Diem…and a half!
 

Leadership Tips From The Wiz:  Are You A Good Wizard?

L. Frank Baum, native of Chittenago New York, (where Aunt Em’s diner is still a favorite gathering spot for locals, and where a yellow brick sidewalk memorializes his literary acclaim, was author of over forty children’s books and one classic leadership text: “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!"  Written over a century ago, and transformed in 1934 into the now classic film, Baum’s work is uncanny in it’s predictions and presentation of modern day leadership principles.

Who would have guessed that Dorothy’s now classic line from times past, would so accurately describe the business realities of today: “Toto, I’ve a feeling that we’re not in Kansas anymore.”  Studied closely, this work serves as a modern day leadership text, addressing such key attributes as: Values, Shared Vision, Mission, Courage, Teamwork, Empowerment, Change, Situational Leadership, and the power of needs driven Motivation.

This presentation explores this classic from a business leadership perspective.  The session constructs a five element leadership model, and then using reflection, (who hasn’t seen it…at least ten times), guides participants in the discovery of the many leadership attributes personified by the story’s characters, and the impact of these on the successful outcome of this classic quest.  This program culminates with a leadership assessment that helps participants answer the ultimate Oz leadership question:  “Am I a good Wizard, or a bad Wizard?" If you’re looking for an insightful, interesting and entertaining treatment of leadership principles and practices…follow the yellow brick road to this session. 
 

Safety Excellence Takes Character - 
Can You Pass the Test?

Do you have a formal safety program?  Do you conduct new employee safety orientation? Do you invest heavily in on-going safety training?  Do you have comprehensive safety rules and SOP’s?  Do you do all these things, plus say your prayers, cross your fingers, and step over cracks, yet still have accidents?  If you answered yes, (as most do), odds are your organization has a strong safety program, but a weak safety character!

This program introduces you to Joe (sie)… just an average manager… a real character! It examines the concept of safety character, the human dimensions of safety, 

1.  What S/he believes; 
2.  What S/he says; and 
3.  What S/he does, 

and the powerful impact these have on work practices (safe Vs unsafe) and operational results (accident-free Vs accident full).  The session utilizes assessments, and facilitated exercises to aid participants in recognizing how core values, the foundation of individual (and organizational) character, shape behaviors and influence performance.   Participants engage in three discovery sessions:

• It’s Kinda the Same…Only Different—To identify how common values drive both high performance and low accident rates.

• S/he’s a Real Character—To identify the existence of Say/Do gaps in the organization that influence employee attitudes and impede performance, and

• A Test of Character—To expose key organizational beliefs and values, which need be changed or strengthened to achieve Safety Excellence.

When asked to share the single most important management lesson learned in their Search for Excellence, Tom Peters and Bob Waterman concluded: “Figure out your Values.”  This seminar can help you do just that!  Does your organization pass The Test of Character for Safety Excellence?
 

Leadership Lessons… Learned The Hard Way

No, this isn’t an introductory course from the School of Hard Knocks and Experience…but it’s almost as valuable!

This facilitated workshop challenges participants to take a hard look at some current beliefs on the changing roles and critical attributes of effective leaders in today’s business environment.  Participants explore recently published perspectives on Leadership and engage in learning the hard way exercise designed to embed this knowledge, and actively the transfer these lessons learned to the challenge of improving safety leadership in the organization.  The end deliverable is a group developed safety leadership actions guide, which members of the management team can employ in their safety improvement efforts.  This is an excellent follow-up workshop for groups who have completed the Leadership for Safety Excellence seminar (above) as it reinforces many of the core topics introduced and is designed to transfer knowledge gained into applied action.  Remember that lessons learned the hard way, are those most valuable and remembered.  I offer one guarantee on this session:  It isn’t gonna be easy...but it is kind of fun!  
 

Transforming Safety Effort Into Safety Excellence: 
Visionary Leadership

In 1980, upon completion of his Search for Excellence, Tom Peters was asked to cite his conclusion…the key to Excellence?  His reply: “It’s MANAGEMENT Stupid!”

Ten years later, after many of his identified excellence companies faltered, he re-thought that same question, and proclaimed: “ It’s LEADERSHIP meathead!”

This presentation addresses a similarly common question about Safety Excellence, What is the key? How do you attain it?

Safety excellence evolves by choice, not by chance.  Many organizations profess a desire to be world-class in safety, but few, in fact, are willing to do world-class in safety.   This session explores the Visionary Leadership Process employed by those that make the choice, and stay the course to safety excellence.  The session identifies excellence as a process and constructs a four-element safety leadership model.  Each strategic elements is explored in sequence to composite the Leadership for Safety Excellence Process, a process which is comprised of:

• A VISION of Excellence—A clear, shared image of what excellence looks like.

• VALUES of Excellence—An organization in which people are never compromised.

• A MISSION of Excellence…Everyone committed to a common purpose, and

• A strategy for excellence! —A proactive plan, which makes SAFE, happen!

• Excellence is what leaders do…this presentation addresses their process!  
   

Competencies Of Superior Leaders:  The Desirable Dozen!

This presentation identifies those attributes that differentiate the best Managers…HR, Operations, and Safety from all the rest.  In order to be a World-Class safety organization, a company must have World-Class employees, and this, above all else, requires that an organization have World-Class Managers.  This session summarizes the research on peak performance…the core competencies and key attributes of high performing leaders and managers.  The competencies of high performance managers are reviewed and participants are provided opportunity to rate current practices against the competencies of excellence.  The deliverable from this session is an objective (individual or group) assessment of the organization’s Operations, HR, and Safety management competencies (strengths and weaknesses) as compared to excellence criteria.  How would you fare in an assessment of The Desirable Dozen?  
 

Teamwork:  Playing to Win!

Hey, I wouldn’t screw you…TRUST me!

This workshop addresses the most destructive force in organizations-THEM Vs US attitudes and behaviors!  An organization doesn’t have to live by “The Law of the Scorpion.”  This interactive session engages participants in a competitive, timed, and experiential learning exercise, which demonstrates the value of teamwork in attaining optimum organizational results.  Select participants are formed into units (others observe and learn from the dynamics) and are tasked to achieve a prescribed result.  Through a series of decisions and interactions, these sessions reveal the barriers inherent to effective teamwork in organizations, particularly-- unclear mission, lack of trust, and internal competition. The program closes with group discussion (assuming they’re still talking to each other!) on lessons learned and knowledge gained. The session concludes with a discussion of twenty principles of effective teamwork…the US factors! 
 

Employee Motivation: 
Unlocking The Secrets Of Performance Excellence

This presentation tackles, head on, one of the most frustrating and most frequently asked questions in safety: “How do you motivate employees that just don’t care?”

This seminar explores the complex questions associated with this core question, and provides both a short answer and a detailed explanation of what drives employee behavior (motivation) in the workplace.  CAUTION—The answers aren’t all that new…they’ve just managed to elude most managers for over 70 years!

The session starts by exposing an unfortunate truth about work today…a truth aptly expressed in this frank employee opinion: “There are two exciting days in a worker’s career—the day he’s hired, and the day he gets fired--all the other stuff in the middle, just kinda SUCKS!  But it’s not that way everywhere, and it doesn’t have to be that way in your company…this is what this seminar addresses: What makes the difference between a motivated high performance organization, and all the rest?

The program asks participants to consider: “Why Motivation?  What’s the end game?”  (which, by the way, has nothing to do with employee attitudes), and then, profiles the historical evolution of today’s prominent management practices…more aptly put: “How did we MANAGE to get ourselves into this situation?”  The session reveals the truth of high performance --this truth: “Motivation is not the problem…the problem is the problem!” and challenges participants to look beyond the convenient excuse (employee as problem) to see the deeper systemic causes of low performance… management values, leader practices, and performance systems.

A short (OK, so it’s not that short…'cuz it’s important) history of behavioral science and motivational principles is conducted to firm up our understanding of motivational opportunities.  Principles of the Masters i.e.  Maslow, Hertzberg, Lickert, Blake and Mouton, Mayo, Skinner, Peters, Covey and Deming are reviewed to expose the common factor in all high performance organizations, people centered values and leadership!

This session emphasizes that motivation is not a program, campaign, or contest, but rather a systemic process…a process of effectively lead PEOPLE!

The program then examines the many key questions that surround effective motivation…  including these questions:

• How can we identify and quantify a blaming Vs supportive workplace?

• What motivates workers? And, how have we missed it for over 50 years?

• What is the CRAP quotient impeding performance in your organization?

• What five tests can determine if performance problems are motivational?

• What is Kurt Lewin’s fundamental Rule of Performance?

• What are the four motivational systems, which drive employee behavior?

• What role does truth, justice, and the American way play in employee motivation?

• Is FEAR a good motivator?…guess again!

• What are the four performance change strategies that leave us with but one choice?  And why do we choose wrong 80% of the time?

• Do incentives and rewards work?  How about in safety?

• What are the darksides of safety incentive programs?

• What is the Golden Rule of continuous motivation?  Hint: one word!

This session concludes by guiding participants through a flow diagram explaining how one can systematically raise the employee interest rate in safety via a seven step motivational incentive process based on solid behavioral principles.

This session isn’t about quick fixes, gimmicks, and contests…that would be easy (and would make me rich!), but it wouldn’t work, and sooner or later you’d track me down in my villa in the Bahamas.  This session is about the real motivators of safe employee behavior, the tough stuff; the stuff leaders are made of!  Are you motivated enough to find out? If you sign up right now, I’ll throw in a logo baseball cap! 
 

Discipline In The Workplace: 
S/he Who Beats Least, Leads Best

The results are in, and the sticks have it 8 to 1!

Unfortunately, this isn’t a box score, but rather the results of Human Resource studies, which find that disciplinary notices out number positive inputs to employee personnel files 8 to 1.  Paradoxically, studies from the behavioral sciences also clearly confirm that punishment is not an effective strategy for increasing or improving work performance…missed it by that much!  This session explores the role of discipline and punishment in the safety process, and addresses the question that begs to be answered:  “Why do managers rely so heavily on the use of discipline to improve safe behavior?”  This session provides that answer as well others…including:

• Why are there four behavior change strategies, but only one viable option—if improvement is the goal?

• Why, for over 50 years have mangers failed to recognize what really motivates employees?

• Why is PDDT so commonly cited as the #1 cause of accidents in the workplace…and what really is?

• Why is it not a real swift idea to discipline a Gen-X workforce?…and most importantly...

• Why does your coffee occasionally taste really strange?

In addition to these insights, participants also learn to identify the three types of workplace misbehavior, their causes and the recommended methods for dealing with each.  A group workshop helps participants recognize the signs and sounds of a blaming Vs a reinforcing work environment.  These findings are then used to rate the predominant characteristics of the participant’s organization.  Participants also learn to recognize the six reasons why employees commit moderate misbehaviors and how best to respond to each of these expressed needs.  In conclusion, the presentation discusses the ten good reasons not to rely on punishment for performance improvement, but when it’s necessary, how to apply it effectively.  Ten rules for properly applying punishment for undesirable work behavior…and one bonus rule for managers who rely too heavily on discipline conclude this session.  
 

Safety Leadership In The New Business Process

Business has changed; the business we do has changed; and how we do business has changed, so then must we change to become in sync and aligned with these new challenges.  This presentation discusses managing and leading safety in the new business environment.  
 

Communication Skills:  
Talking Safety Up, To Drive losses Down!

“SNAFU”…“ERROR”…“MISTAKE”…“DEFECT”…
“ACCIDENT”…“INJURY”... “OUCH”!

Welcome to Your Organization you Say?

These terms, and many more like them, occur far to often in our common business vernacular.   And, more times than not, when the investigations they prompt are concluded it’s not uncommon to hear: We have a communication problem!”   SORRY!  But as Maxwell Smart (Agent 86) would say: “Missed it by that much!”  

The truth is, communication isn’t the problem; the problem is the problem!  Operational Errors, a/k/a Accidents, including those that result in human injury, are most generally caused by failings of process and management systems—breakdowns in those systems designed to plan, organize, direct, control, measure, monitor, reward, and most importantly lead an organization.  

Effective Communication is part of the solution!  This session identifies effective communication as a management tool to improve performance i.e. fix what’s really broken, rarely the employee.  The session begins with participants completing a twenty five-question Effective Communication baseline quiz to identify and quantify current beliefs about the relationships between communication and performance.  

The session then examines five key elements critical to effective communication, and identifies the multiple steps and important sequence which make effective communication an interactive process.  In closing, it then explores twelve communication principles, which can help managers improve work individual and group work performance.  An exercise entitled The Messages We Send, helps participant’s recognize communication as a complex full body contact process consisting of far more than just words and memo.  The program concludes with a workshop that allows participants to craft a set of company specific effective communication guidelines for use in improving performance management practices within the organization.  
 

Negotiation Skills For Safety Managers: 
How to Cut a Better Deal for Safety

This presentation discusses the core principles, predominant styles and commonly used tactics employed in the negotiation process.  As staff managers, safety professionals can’t mandate resources, they must negotiate for them (hmmm…wouldn’t it be great if it was the other way around?).  But it’s not, so lets get over it and realize that those who are most successful are those who negotiate best.  This program identifies negotiation as a process having a beginning, a mid-point, and an end…and a real ending.  The session explores thirty (30) basic principles and commonly employed tactics, which if understood and effectively practiced can optimize outcomes in a negotiation process.  The program includes a participant self-assessment to determine predominant negotiation style(s), various technique exercises, and a group workshop, which allows participants to engage in, critique and improve their skills in the negotiation principles learned, and to see that this stuff actually works! 
 

A Management Workshop For D.O.P.E.S. 
(Diagnosing Organizational Performance Error Sources)

To move safety to the next level, an organization must effectively identify and drive accident causation upward in the organization… to it core sources of responsibility.  This typically doesn’t happen in a front line accident investigation process.  Think about it, if you were a first line supervisor (taking it from all directions), would you tell your bosses boss that s/he was the problem which caused a major loss in your operation?  Most likely not, (I tried once and got canned), that’s why repetitive accident types and their causes persist in many organizations.  

An insightful Risk Manager put it this way:  “We’re good problem solvers, give us a problem we’ve solved before, and we’ll solve it again!”  Sound familiar?  If repetitive accidents and injuries are common in your organization, or if phrases like the following are standard in your accident reports: ”Employee was careless”… “Employee wasn’t paying attention”…“Advised employee that disciplinary action would be taken if he was stupid again!” then, this core cause recognition program is for you.  This workshop helps participants see beyond accident symptoms to recognize organizational causes. 

This session guides participants through a process of identifying typical at risk behaviors, determining if these are proximate or core accident causes, seeking organizational causation, and ultimately, sourcing responsibility for permanent process correction to prevent recurrence… generally not the employee, ah, victim, ah, claimant.  The session uses specially designed worksheets and organizational charts to track causation and visually allocate accident responsibility up the organization…”hey, don’t point that thing at me!” 
 

Walk A Mile In My Shoes

This facilitated workshop is based on an actual case study and highlights the importance of Culture, Teamwork, Communications, and how wrong assumptions can impact the successful completion of a mission!  Participants are cast in the roles (asked to walk in the shoes) of one of two parties involved in a deteriorating situation.  The parties read and assess a progression of communication exchanges and are asked for opinion and strategy based on the information conveyed.  

In this process, participants experience the subtle yet powerful influence of culture (differences in beliefs and norms) on mutual understanding, learn to differentiate between intent and impact, appreciate the dangers of assumptions, and gain greater insight on how inaccurate perceptions can distort cooperation and performance in an organization.  This session addresses the Them VS Us barrier common to many organizations, and helps participants develop a greater appreciation of how effective communications, improves performance and results in an organization.  Practice makes perfect, and perfect practice makes excellence!  This case-based facilitation allows participants to practice critical skills and improve abilities…with nothing to loose. 
 

Keeping Score:  The Hardest Math Problem In Safety
(Effective Measurement)

This session addresses the need to develop an effective multi-faceted, multi-level measurement system for the safety process. 
 

Leading Behavior Change

This presentation addresses principles of behavioral change, which lead to improved safety performance within an organization.