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April 2020

By Josh Williams, Ph.D. The following model was forwarded to me by a colleague and it’s an excellent way to visualize our collective responses during COVID-19. The diagram is divided into different zones which represent our response to this terrible pandemic. This includes the fear zone, learning zone, and growth zone with the objective of moving towards the growth zone as best we can. Doing so helps ourselves and others during this time of crisis. The Fear Zone We’ve all likely been in the fear zone at various points of this pandemic. In the fear zone, people are anxious, edgy, and may “transmit” negative emotions

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By Madison Hanscom, Ph.D. Great leaders do not act like they are the smartest person in the room. They know the value of a team effort, and they value insight from everyone. Regardless of where employees fall in the hierarchy, it is important to get everyone thinking and speaking. This is particularly important during a time of uncertainty or crisis, when workplaces are constantly adapting to the changing environment. People will remember how leaders respond during a time of turbulence, and this includes whether employees feel safe to speak up without negative consequences. This is required if the goal is to

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By Kyounghee Choi Have you ever imagined that an Orchestra is just like an Organization? Orchestras are a great place to explore lessons in leadership. I recently went to the Symphony Orchestra with my husband and was amazed by how each instrument can harmoniously integrate to make magic that exceeds the sum of all the instruments. There’s no doubt that musicians practice hard to make everything sound so perfect. But how do they perfectly align with each other? Orchestras are usually led by a conductor who directs the performance with movements of the hands and arms. The conductor is the leader of

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By Josh Williams, Ph.D.“You’ve got to learn to listen…and listen to learn.” – Joey RamoneConventional wisdom when trying to quickly diagnose safety culture is to go and ask people doing the work what is working well and what needs improvement. Front-line employees may not have access to information and pressures at the executive level. However, they do have a pulse on safety culture at the ground level. Unfortunately, many leaders at executive and front-line level roles simply don’t have the time, or make the time, to get out in the field and engage with employees. In some situations, personal schedules need

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By Josh Williams, Ph.D. The world lost a great safety champion last week in former Treasury Secretary and Alcoa Chairman and CEO Paul O’Neill. O’Neill was a fierce advocate of employee safety and took big risks (and won!) going “all in” on injury prevention. He took the bold step of saying there were no budget constraints for safety at Alcoa, even if that meant lost revenue and an unhappy Board of Directors. O’Neill famously stated, “I was prepared to accept the consequences of spending whatever it took to become the safest company in the world”1. He told staff that there was no

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By Madison Hanscom, Ph.D.It is the responsibility of leaders to demonstrate how to act during times of uncertainty. At its core, walking the talk involves leaders acting in ways that align with their stated values and the stated values of the company. When a leader practices what they preach, this builds trust among followers, which is the belief that leaders will act in their best interest. This in turn helps create improved safety culture, morale, and safety outcomes. Although employees always look to leaders as role models, this is particularly important during times of crisis. During difficult moments like the

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