MEMIC Safety Blog

Difficult times? Be an Inspirational Leader

 Posted by John Dodge

 

It seems that economic uncertainty is everywhere and is not likely to improve overnight. As a result, your employees are worried about many things and their jobs may be at the top of their worry list.  

 

During one of MEMIC’s recent Integrating Safety into Sound Business Practices workshops for front-line supervisors, the participants were reviewing their observer scores from an assessment tool called the Leadership Practices Inventory. The LPI asks the participant’s co-workers to consider their supervisor’s performance on leadership practices such as encouraging others, modeling the way, and inspiring a vision of the future. When one participant named Sheryl noticed that she scored high on all of the practices with the exception of “inspiring a shared vision of the future”, she commented that as a front-line supervisor she has little knowledge about the future direction of her company.

 

Others agreed that they were in similar positions. After some discussion about what Sheryl didn’t know about the future of her company, I asked her what she did know, or “What would help an individual at your organization be successful in uncertain times?" Sheryl stated that an employee in her organization would enjoy future success if they had the following characteristics:

 

• Flexibililty
• Adaptability
• Willingness to go the extra mile

Sheryl agreed to introduce these characteristics to her team and during our next session, she was happy to report that this approach was already working. The individuals concerned about their future roles were beginning to be able to focus their energy on the traits listed above. And, as a bonus, Sheryl found that managing change became a little easier.

 

Consider your employees. How will you inspire them with a vision of the future? They are ready to listen.

A Clear Observation of Organizational Culture

 Posted by Donna Clendenning

 

Recently, I had the opportunity to provide back safety and core awareness training at two locations of the same healthcare organization.

 

The two locations were operated by two individual administrators and directors of nursing. The administrator of the first location has led her workforce for more than a decade. She is pleasant, open, positive, and an easy-going person.  Sixteen staff attended the training. They participated, and were generally vocal and engaged, and they had a lot of fun with the back safety quiz.  Team competition and a return demonstration of core muscle awareness and strengthening ended in a vivacious finale.  A basket of candies was passed around for the "winners" numerous times and everyone ended up with lots of positive reinforcement. The room was filled with cajoling, laughter, fun, and most importantly, learning. 

 

The second location had a similar number of staff attendees. This administrator is also a veteran of the organization whose leadership style is more business-like. While providing the same training content and style, the second group was quiet and more difficult to draw out.

 

What struck me most were the vast differences in communication and attitude between the locations, despite being one organization.  Among other things, in MEMIC's four-part leadership series workshop, we learn of the value of communication as it relates to performance.

 

Leadership is an activity, not a person.  Leadership comes not from titles, nor even necessarily from expertise, but from the relationships between those who choose to exercise leadership and those who choose to follow. These relationships may result from trust, shared visions or goals, sometimes shared pain, or mutual gifts of significance where leader and followers help each other feel an important part of something larger than them. Leadership draws its power from issues of the heart.

 

What I witnessed was the personal aspect of being a positive leader. The staff of the first location was clearly ready, willing, and able to do whatever it takes for the good of a common goal. The paycheck, or a reward, or a raise was not what learning was about for this group!

 

What culture are you growing in your business? Are you a leader of authority or a leader who draws their power from issues of the heart?

 

Time to Set a SMART Goal

As we approach the end of yet another year, it's time to get prepared for the next one.  One thing most safety-conscious companies do is set employee health and safety goals.  By doing so, companies are forced to review their current situation and increase awareness. Just doing this can greatly improve the possibility of reducing the frequency and severity of injuries. 

How you set your goals can vary by the number of people involved in the process.  While it can be cumbersome to include everyone, the truth is you have a better chance of succeeding if everyone is pulling on the rope.  The more owners, managers and especially front-line supervisors participating in any goal-setting process, the better the buy-in and the better chance you’ll succeed as an organization.  Let's face it, if owners, managers and front-line supervisors aren’t buying in, you are not going to meet the goal.

Some companies are small enough so that the decision-makers can knock out a set of goals in about an hour.  Larger businesses may need to get more creative and/or invest more time.  In either case, there are some basic things you should consider about setting a goal. We call them SMART goals.  Here is what comprises such a goal:

SMART Goal:
    Specific
    Measurable/Verifiable
    Agreed Upon
    Realistic
    Time-Framed

This approach is not new. MEMIC has been using SMART Goals for many years in our Leadership Training classes.  By touching on all five of these items you will be improving on the accuracy and overall ability to hit your target.  Incidentally, this same process can be used in the areas of productivity and quality as well. And with 2009 fast approaching, now is the time to set your goals.

Make sure you communicate the goals to everyone in the organization- not just at the beginning of the year, but repeatedly throughout the year.