…Safety Leadership & Management
Welcome to SLAM
How many times have you been told to do something, behave a certain way, or work to a standard, only to see that those who asked it of you do not do it themselves?
This is less than motivating. This fuels frustration, resentment and conflict. It will not inspire achievement; only breed animosity.
This situation is so common. Those at the top have high expectations from those below, while they feel free to act as they wish and do what they want as long as others do as they say!
Let me, therefore, draw your attention to the specific name of my project: “Safety Leadership and Management”. Note the Leadership is first, followed by the management.
I believe that to get the best out of yourself, and those with you, there needs to be a leadership of individuals supported by a management of the institution; not a management institution with leadership inserted.
Lead people first, mange processes after.
For leadership to be truly effective you must be what you want before you can expect to see it in others.
The firmest foundation of strong leadership is example. If there is nothing to follow, or nowhere to go, nothing to see, then there can be no lead! So, before you lead, ask yourself: do you follow? Do you follow your own vision, standards, and beliefs?
Lead First
Effective leadership excels on example; it inspires.
Common management exists on enforcement, it insists.
Be What You Want
For leadership to be truly effective, you must be what you want before you can expect to see it in others.
It starts from the front and flows back, from the top and flows down, not from the back, spewing forward.
It is about motivation not manipulation!
Set the example, hold the standard, model the way and you will motivate others to follow.
Be what you want others to see!
Establish an Ethic
It all starts with you! Setting examples or enforcing rules – which best describes your style?
SLAM starts at the top and in front – the owner, the director, the manager, the senior member. Your ethics are the foundations for what you want and how you will achieve it: they are the beliefs that dictate your behaviour; they are the values that set your standards.
Even if you are a sole-trader with no employees, or a lone worker with no immediate colleagues for whom to set an example, this still applies. Your example, in safety or otherwise, is seen by many others: your clients – actual and potential – the public, and your peers. What they see will affect their perception and opinion of you just as much as it would any employee or colleague.
This sets up a vocabulary of key terms: integrity, accountability, responsibility. To some, these are very uncomfortable thoughts, but without them, strong, solid, and serviceable leadership is impossible.
Being willing to set an example; to hold yourself accountable to your own values; to be loyal to your own words is the first step to establishing the SLAM programme within your service, team, or company.
Ask yourself
- Are you Leading or a Managing
- Setting examples, or enforcing rules – which best describes your style?
- Both provide a product but which provides the better journey?
- In which environment would you rather work?
- In which environment would you likely excel?
Show Don’t Tell
Showing how it can be done carries more momentum and motivation than just telling how it should be done.
Showing not telling, always makes for the most successful stories!
Check Your Focus
Management is about processes focused on a system; leadership is about people focused in a society.
Systems have controls; societies have cultures. On which do you focus?
Create a Culture
Once ethic is established, culture is created.
Where ethics direct your thoughts, culture dictates the action. A culture is a way of life; it is your customs and behaviours. There is a huge difference between a managed culture and a led one. A management culture is one where processes are focused on a system, while a leadership culture is one where people are focused in a society.
For me, creating the right culture is paramount. Establishing an ethic and setting the standard; having a vision and showing the direction; exemplifying your values through action: these are the foundations of an empire worthy of emulation.
Once set and modelled others will be motivated to follow, and a way of doing things becomes established. This is the “way” you will do things and is the beginnings of your SLAM culture.
Don’t get me wrong, both leadership and management are important. One without the other leaves considerable weakness in any service. There are many occasions when pushing is necessary, but what is your priority, or your propensity? How are you perceived? You should only push when the pull has failed.
Both leadership and management require establishing standards. Both need a purpose, but only leadership calls for integrity and sincerity; management just calls for insistence and supervision.
Management does not require example, it just requires enforcement. It all depends on where you are: at the front, in view, showing the way, modeling the standard, or at the back, out of sight – but heard – telling where to go, pushing and poking.
Combining the two –leadership with management—creates a very reliable and effective provision. One or the other needs to take precedence, however. Establishing a priority sets the tone of your delivery and the style of performance.
Management first? This is production over people: sure it gets things done, but done badly, it can be a fast track to a high turn-over of staff, with uncommitted and demotivated teams.
Leadership first? This is people before production: if you look after the people, the people will look after the process, and that leads to committed & valued individuals with highly motivated teams.
Of course, production is ultimately king: if there is no product, there is no business, so it is not my purpose to devalue the ultimate goal of our services. No, but it is about how we get there and how we do it – it is about the way and the why, not just the and where and the what.
Leadership provides vision, purpose and values, while management provides structure, order and procedure. A strongly lead team without management might result in a motivated but disorganised crew; a well-managed but leaderless team might be structured but potentially purposeless.
Combining the two, using the strengths of each to complement the other will provide a solid base on which to build a respected, responsible company, provide a reliable, effective service with a positive, motivating culture in which employees will flourish and your service will shine/stand-out.
Lead Yourself
If you are a sole-trader, or a lone worker, and you have no other employees or colleague for whom to set an example, then do not think that this does not apply. Your example in safety leadership will be seen by others: your clients, the public, and your peers.
What you do and how you do it is seen by all and will affect their perception and opinion of you just as much as it would to any employee or colleague
Push or Pull?
Good safety culture is led.
Management will push people forward but leadership will pull them forward.
You can only push from behind, and from behind you cannot be seen, but still heard.
You can only pull from the front, and in front it is not so important what you say as they can see what you do.
Both might get you to where you want, but which builds the better team?
Which offers sustainability, better staff retention, higher levels of commitment and security?
“You make your mark by setting a standard. You make your reputation by keeping to it”
Show the Standard
If you don’t believe it, follow it, do it, then your staff are not likely to either. They will believe more in what they see than what you say. Sure, they will comply when you shout or shadow them (personally or through “managerial” supervision) but when left alone, and under pressure, why should they?
Out of your ethic, grows the culture, and the culture is cemented by example. This is the foundation of SLAM. Showing how it can be done carries more momentum and motivation than just telling how it should be done. Showing, not telling, always makes the most successful stories!
SLAM Your Advantage
Surely those who sail contrary to these restrictive winds gain an advantage in a competitive and callous industry against a ship with such heavy moral anchors?
It all depends on how much you value people. Your product is vital, but people are fundamental to the delivery of that product.
So, it is about retention and respect, caliber and commitment. It is about trust and integrity, sincerity and service: who would not want to work with such a company? Who would not want to work for such a company?
You make your mark by setting a standard. You make your reputation by keeping to it. Reputation is among the most valuable assets for any service or company.
Build it, prove it, defend it: and SLAM it!
The Enemy Within
No one likes a hypocrite. Do as I say not as I do; this is exploitation not example.
Hypocrisy is not always obvious. Telling people what you want, but doing something contrary is obvious: this a hypocrisy of action.
Insisting of others, and demonstrating compliance, but not actually believing in it, is a hidden form. This a hypocrisy of attitude. One is about standards the other of sincerity.
Neither support an ethic for emulation; both create caustic cultures.
The hidden hypocrite is worse. At least a hypocrite of action is seen and you know where you are with him.
A hypocrite of attitude is insidious; you believe he is sincere, but inside, out of sight, it is deceit. Just saying what you think people want to hear is not motivation, its manipulation!
Want to SLAM home the advantage for your business?
Call: 07875469762