LEADERSHIP

DEVELOPMENT IN OHS

By Chandana Kannangara
MBA,MIIESL,Dip in Eng
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What is leadership?
Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do
something you want done because he wants to do it.
– Dwight D. Eisenhower

Leaders help themselves and others to do the right things.

They set direction, build an inspiring vision, and create
something new. Leadership is about mapping out where you
need to go to "win" as a team or an organization; and it is
dynamic, exciting, and inspiring.

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 Are Leaders born or made ?

Leaders are made not born: Behavioral Theories believe that people
can become leaders through the process of teaching, learning and
observation. Leadership is a set of skills that can be learned by
training, perception, practice and experience over time
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Who is an effective leader ?
An effective leader is a person who does the
following:
• Creates an inspiring vision of the future.
• Motivates and inspires people to engage
with that vision.
• Manages delivery of the vision.
• Coaches and builds a team, so that it is
more effective at achieving the vision.
• Leadership brings together the skills
needed to do these things. We'll look at
each element in more detail.

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Characteristic of a Leader
• Delegation
• Communication
• Enthusiasm
• Accountability
• Honesty
• Confidence
• Commitment
• Intuition
• Inspire
• Approach

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Boss Vs. Leader
Boss Leader
Drives employees Coach them
Depends on authority Depends on goodwill
Inspires fear Generates enthusiasm
Say “I” Say “We”
Places blame for the Fix the breakdown
breakdown
Know how it is done Show how it is done
Uses people Develops people
Takes credit Gives credit
Commands Asks/ Request
Says “Go” Says” Lets Go”

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Who is a manager?
The definition of a manager is a person responsible for
supervising and motivating employees and for directing the
progress of an organization.

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How to be an effective Manager
Difference between Manager and a Leader

Leader’s Qualities Manager’S Qualities

Inspire Manage
Motivate Organizes
Coach Plans
Establish Direction Coordinates
Lead Follow the vision
Seek opportunities Evaluate
Support Facilitate
Empower Budgeting

Leader +Manager = Effective Manager

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Group Activity

Identify the barriers for leadership which you have come

across. Discuss with your team and present 5 barriers from
each team.

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Barriers for Effective Leadership
• Poor planning - When plans are inadequate
• Poor Leadership skills
• Negative attitude of team members
• Team members not accepting you as their leader
• Team conflicts- Team members don’t get along
• Communications breakdowns
• Team is unaware of the team goals

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Leadership Qualities derive from different
personalities
 Courage
 Self-control
 A keen sense of justice and fairness
 Definiteness of plans
 The habit of doing more than being paid for
 A pleasing personality
 Sympathy and understanding
 Mastery of details
 Willingness to assume full responsibility
 Co-operation

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 Leadership vs Health and Safety

The leadership role, more than any other function, shapes and
influences the culture that produces performance outcomes

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Impact of Leadership

Excellent safety performance is about getting the right

behaviour from people.
•Although necessary, it is not about systems and procedures.
As a leader, you have a tremendous impact in the field by what you:
 Say
 Do
 Don’t say or don’t do
Visible Leadership

Primary Key for achieving Safety Success:

SAFETY
LEADERSHIP
=
VISIBLE
COMMITMENT
Your Role as a Leader
• Excellent performance requires for your
leadership
• As a leader you should know:
how our safety programs work and your role in
them
The importance of leadership in getting the right
behaviours
Leading in the Field
‘Walk the talk’
Demonstrate your commitment with visible actions
Follow-through with actions
Fair
Never turn a blind eye Be Firm
Hold others accountable Consistent
Your Job as a Safety Leader is to…
• Explain the HSE process to employees
• Provide effective feedback

• INTERVENE: NEVER walk past an unsafe act or condition. To do so is to approve or

condone the activity or condition

• Seek to understand WHY the situation or behaviour was that way

• And so correct the problem, not treat the symptom
At-Risk Behaviour
If you see someone taking a risk, you are authorised to:
Stop the job
Talk to them
Explain the risk
Explain the safe way
If you are ignored & they continue to take the risk,
Report it
Personalise your leadership…
Use words like
I need you to…
My expectations are…
I want you to...
Not
The Client want you to…
WHS Advisor requires…
My boss wants…
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
• Lead by example
• Employees will subconsciously follow your actions
They always pick up the bad habits first!
• Show them the way
• Nominate individuals and teams for awards and
certificates
Recognition
• Give plenty of verbal recognition to individuals and teams for
jobs well done
• Let individuals and team known when you observe their safe
behaviour
• Use pre-start safety talks to provide feedback
• Catch your team doing the right thing!!
 Safety Leadership Journey
Inspire Others to Behave Safely

Leadership Ongoing Journey

Personal Transformational
Approach
(Consultation/Mutual Respect)

Discover and
share other Why we are
Raised ways of operating here today
Awareness
Build Relationships

(Conversation)
System
Procedures Compliance
Policies Licence to Operate
Forms
Transactional - Tasks

(Talk at and Tell)

Practical Tools To Apply Leadership
 Understanding Peoples Behaviour
ABC Model

Activator
Events that precede behaviour and prompt it.
Have 20% impact impact on behaviour
E.g. Training, personal beliefs, behaviour of
others, past experience, requested to do
something
Behaviour
Consequences
Things people say and their actions
Behaviour determines performance
Events that follow behaviour
Have 80% influence on whether behaviour occurs
again
Understanding Peoples Behaviour

Principles of ABC
• Majority of all incidents are caused by people behaving in unsafe ways
• Understanding employee behaviour is fundamental to the success of
creating a safe workplace
• Premise of model is that all Behaviour (B) is a function of its immediate
environment.
• Factors such as Activators (A) and Consequences (C) of each behaviour
trigger and sustain it
ABC Model
• Activator – Aspect of the environment, precedes and influences
behaviour
• Eg – Others are doing it or The right tool/plant not available

• Behaviour – Something you can see, every day – every task – Its
either safe or unsafe
• Consequence – Every behaviour is followed by a series of
consequences
ABC Model - Examples
• Someone is speeding in the workplace
• Why are they speeding? – Thrill, Late for work, emergency, attitude, nice road
to speed
• Ended up as – crash, caught by Police, someone else ran off the road
• Activity - Work out the ABC!
• Activity – Think of Some others
• As a Leader – Ask the questions
Psychology of Influencing Others
• The part of the brain
that determines what
we are going to pay
Reticular attention to
Activating System • You can program your
(RAS) RAS
• You can program other
peoples RAS
• Influencing Positively
with RAS questions
Consult and Communicate
• Intent
• Look & Observe
• Engage
• Ask Questions
• Discuss Consequences
Leading an Effective Toolbox
Talk/Pre-Start Meeting

• Target

• Engage

• Ask Questions

• Mutually Agree
In Short…
• You are the key to high performance. Your job as a
Leader is as much about SAFETY as it as about
productivity
• Know and understand the expectations and systems
• Ask for support whenever needed… demand it!
• If in doubt, STOP THE WORK
• Document your efforts
 Leadership and worker participation

• Strong, effective and visible leadership is vital to

good workplace safety and health. And, in turn,
good safety and health is essential to the success
of a business.
• Protecting employees from accidents and ill
health is not only a legal and ethical duty — it’s a
sign of a business that is likely to grow and thrive.
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 Reducing risk from the top down
An enterprise’s leaders — senior management, directors and/or the board — are in a
position to prevent accidents and ill health in the workplace. They can do this by:

• Committing to and communicating an effective OSH management

strategy
• Developing robust safety and health management systems
• Monitoring the performance of those systems.(KPIs)
• Setting a good example by following all safety procedures at all times
• Motivating staff to participate in ensuring good safety and health

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 Paying Price for Poor Leadership
Ineffective or non-existent leadership on OSH can result in accidents or even fatalities as
well as poor mental and physical health among workers. It can damage a company’s
reputation. Poor leadership can, in fact, have significant financial costs as a result of, for
example, sick days, wasted time and compensation payments.

Good OSH leadership, on the other hand:

• Prevents accidents and illness
• Increases productivity and efficiency
• Improves employee morale
• Help the business to win new contracts and attract high-quality employees
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 Taking a lead on Safety and Health
Organisation benefits from good OSH leadership.

• Carry out regular risk assessments and act on the results

• Always consider the safety and health implications of introducing new members of staff,
processes and working methods
• Visible leadership is effective leadership. Make sure leaders make regular visits to the
‘shop floor’ of your organisation to talk to employees about OSH problems and solutions
• Demonstrate commitment by making sure that safety and health issues are always on the
agenda at board meetings
• Provide safety and health training to all leaders, promoting a greater awareness of the
value of OSH

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 The Role of the Management
Management Understanding for Safety and Health
• Effective and strong leadership
• Active worker involvement
• Ongoing assessment and review
• Leadership goes hand in hand with participation
• Without good leadership, participation will not succeed
• Management is responsible for the prerequisite to
establish partnership and participation
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First management principle: Leadership and
safety and health (1)
Effective and strong leadership in safety and health is vital.
This means that management:
• Commits itself to OSH as a core value of the organisation
• Has an accurate picture of the organisation’s risk
profile.(facilities risk rating ).
• Leads by example and demonstrates integrity
• Clearly defines and monitors roles and responsibilities
• Prioritises OSH in the company’s sustainability strategy and
throughout the supply chain

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Leadership and safety and health (2)
Practical examples of OSH leadership include:

• Visiting workstations to consult staff about health

and safety (workers may not only identify problems
but may provide solutions too)
• Taking personal responsibility and showing that you
care
• Leading by example
• Making available, as far as possible, money and
time.( H & S budget )
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Second management principle: Active worker involvement

•The employer is responsible for managing work-related risks, but

some country law says that employers must consult their
workers about health and safety
•Some employers go beyond this legal obligation to create a real
two-way communication process in which workers take part in
health and safety decision-making
Active worker involvement (2)
• This creates a culture where relationships between employers and
workers are based on collaboration, trust and joint problem-solving
BUT
• Direct worker participation should not be seen as an alternative to a
system of workers’ representatives
• They can both be used effectively, in line with organisation values
and the specific characteristics of the workplace
 Active worker involvement (3)
Employee input is especially valuable during:
•Risk analysis
•Developing policies and interventions
•Providing pertinent observations during training and
implementation
Active worker involvement (4)

Benefits of active worker involvement include:

•Lower accident rates
•Cost-effective solutions
•A happier and more productive workforce
•Greater awareness and control of workplace risks
Third management principle: Ongoing assessment and review (1)

•Monitoring and reporting are vital tools for enhancing

workplace safety and health (Dash Board )
•They can provide the company board with specific (e.g.
incident-led) and routine reports on OSH performance
•This can be useful in raising issues, highlighting problems
and ultimately enhancing safety and health
Third management principle: Ongoing assessment and review
(2)
A good assessment and review system should include:
• Procedures to report major health and safety failures to board members
and company owners as soon as possible
• Systems to capture and report data such as accident and sickness rates
• Arrangements to incorporate worker views and experiences
• We help create safer and healthier workplaces for everyone’s benefit –
but we cannot do this by ourselves
In Short…
• You are the key to high performance. Your job as a Leader is as much about
SAFETY as it as about productivity
• Know and understand the expectations and systems
• Ask for support whenever needed… demand it!
• If in doubt, STOP THE WORK
• Document your efforts
Safety Leadership
Commitment Statement

What is it?
•One page written statement
•Personal commitment made to your health & safety
•Commitment to what you will or will not do
•Share your commitment with you collogues by posting in visible location i.e. office door, work
station etc

Why?
•Create a “total safety culture”
•Next step towards achieving the our goal of “Zero Harm”

At work – on the roads – in the home!

 SAFETY LEADERSHIP
Commitment Statement

At work – on the roads – in the home!

Any questions?
I will:
 Intervene if I observe at-risk behaviours

 Lead by example and “walk the talk”

 Provide recognition to individuals of teams when safe behaviours are
observed
 Only talk on a hands free mobile when driving

 Adopt the principles safety as a whole of life value

I will not:
 Be a risk taker instead a risk manager Your turn…
 Ignore people that are at-risk of injury without taking action

 Walk past a hazard without talking action: fix it, make it safe, report it
 Condone the taking of “short cuts” that defeats approved safe work
practices
 Drive recklessly and in doing so place myself or others at-risk

Name: Position: Signature: Date:

Stephen Pooler Senior WHS 13 Jun 2008

Advisor
Summary of Safety
Leadership Attributes

Recognise Participate & Inspire &

and Reward Communicate Motivate

Safety Leaders Safety

Improvement
Lead Provide Show
by Example Resources Concern

Role Model Build Trust

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THANK YOU. ALL THE BEST.

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