Safety Leadership: Myths and Reality
Context: Why Safety Leadership is Hard to Measure
Unlike technical systems where a malfunction is obvious (e.g., equipment breakdown), safety leadership and culture are hard to "touch" and measure. Anna Voronkova, HSE Manager at Heineken, explains how to formalize these concepts and make them tangible for organizational development.
Myths About Safety Leadership
The speaker highlights three common misconceptions that professionals often face:
- Myth 1: Safety leadership is a separate type of leadership. In reality, a leader remains a leader in any field if they understand the mission and guide the team toward a common goal.
- Myth 2: Only a manager can be a leader. Having a formal position does not guarantee leadership qualities. Informal leaders within a team can have a stronger impact on safety culture than official management.
- Myth 3: A leader's task is only to manage and control. Process management and leadership are different things. Leadership requires the ability to unite people and inspire them to achieve goals, rather than just giving orders.
Types of Leadership and Their Application in HSE
The presentation details three leadership models:
- Transactional: strict control and the "carrot and stick" approach.
- Transformational: team motivation and the manager's personal example (role model).
- Servant leadership: focusing on team needs, delegating authority, and developing employees' strengths.
According to the speaker, servant leadership is the most effective in the safety sphere, as this area requires cross-functional interaction and coordination rather than strict directive management.
The Role of First Line Management
Companies often focus on training top management, forgetting about the middle tier (shift supervisors, foremen). However, they are the key link transmitting information top-down and issues bottom-up. If a block occurs at this level, safety initiatives are not implemented, leading to the demotivation of line personnel. The speaker uses her company's example to show how implementing mandatory leadership training for First Line managers helps solve this problem.
Assessment Tool: Bow-Tie Analysis for Leadership
An unexpected but effective solution was applying the Bow-Tie analysis method, traditionally used for assessing operational risks, to leadership analysis. This tool allows assessing how well management decisions consider safety risks. The analysis is conducted in four areas: communication, interaction, decision-making based on risk assessment, and personal leadership. This helps reveal the real state of affairs, for example, whether safety is truly a priority when selecting a contractor.
What You Will Learn from This Webinar:
- How to distinguish formal management from real safety leadership?
- Why doesn't top management training work without involving line managers?
- How to adapt the Bow-Tie method to assess management decisions and leadership qualities?
- Which leadership styles are most effective for developing a safety culture?
- How to identify and motivate informal leaders within a team?
Comments 4
Alexander Amazastov,
For me the answer is: leadership development. It can be developed even if you are not a born leader. I think a lot depends on the company culture as a whole. If the company is interested in strong leaders, then real or potential leaders are chosen for management positions. If it's a potential leader, they can be developed. The question is broader — how to create such a culture.
Semen Nedelchu,
At the global office level, there are centers of expertise. Centers of expertise are organized by processes/standards. For example, there is a center of expertise for contractor safety, a center of expertise for safety leadership, a center of expertise for critical equipment safety, etc. The center is typically led by someone from the global office. Anyone who has expertise and can communicate in English can become a participant. Centers of expertise develop/update standards and form the approach to process implementation. Any employee can contact a center of expertise with a question related to the center's topic. Speaking about safety, there are 5 centers in total, and Russia is represented in each one. Both central office employees in Russia and plant employees are part of the centers of expertise.
Anna, the phrase "global office" was mentioned several times. What is the percentage of participation of production sites in different countries in the process of developing these procedures? What is your percentage (if it's not a secret)?
Good day! Considering different personality types and mentalities, leadership qualities are not inherent in everyone. In practice, "official" leadership is most commonly encountered, but in my understanding, your interpretation is somewhat idealized. In reality, a manager is obligated to be a "leader" — to define the organization's goals, strengths, and methods for achieving them. Not all managers possess leadership qualities in the true sense, which leads to team breakdown and loss of discipline. But the POSITION of a manager obliges them to "be a leader." Hence the question — what method or mechanism of influence can be applied to resolve such a situation? Just talking, giving advice and suggestions while pointing out management errors — IT DOESN'T WORK!