712 Safety Supervision and Leadership

What Works: Tough-Caring Leadership

Leaders who adopt this style demonstrate toughness as a reflection of their deep concern for employees' safety. This leadership approach is also called the "servant-leader" model because the leader serves those he or she leads. In this model, managers maintain high safety standards and expect disciplined behavior, primarily because they prioritize their employees' well-being and success. It's a selfless approach to leadership, focusing on the greater good of the team. We'll delve further into this leadership style and its implications below.

• Managers understand that complying with the law, controlling losses, and improving production are most effectively achieved when the workforce is motivated, safe, and able.
• Managers understand that the key to fulfilling their commitment to external customers lies in first fulfilling their obligations to internal customers: their employees.
• Communication is typically all-way with information shared openly to ensure collective success. A quantum leap in effective safety (and all other functions) occurs when employers adopt a tough-caring approach to leadership.
• Instead of acting as the 'safety cop,' the safety manager's role is to assist line managers and supervisors in effectively implementing safety measures. It is the responsibility of line managers to enforce safety, not the safety department. Such a shift in roles can lead to significant, positive changes in the corporate culture, fostering a success-driven environment.
• While tough-caring leaders primarily use positive reinforcement to shape behaviors, they also recognize the necessity of discipline as a part of their leadership role when it is warranted. However, before they discipline, managers will first evaluate the degree to which they, themselves, have fulfilled their obligations to their employees. If they have failed in that effort, they will apologize and correct their own deficiency rather than discipline.

Remember, in a tough-caring safety culture, trust between management and labor is promoted through mutual respect, involvement and ownership in all aspects of workplace safety.

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