Fantastic read from Nick Pidgeon on how systems approaches, Turner’s MMD, sensemaking, failure and learning intersect to create or mask ‘safety’. Can’t do it justice, so just a few extracts: · “By 1990, it was clear that the .. intellectual focus was less on analysing how past accidents had occurred .. and more towards .. how… Continue reading Systems thinking, culture of reliability and safety
Tag: leadership
Mental Health Causation in the Construction Industry: A Systematic Review Employing a Psychological Safety Climate Model
This systematic review studied the links between psychological safety climate (PSC) on mental health in the construction industry. 71 studies included. Key findings: · 42 mental health causation factors were identified · High job demand was the most significant contributor, followed by interpersonal relationships, low job control, low job support, and physical status · High job demand was… Continue reading Mental Health Causation in the Construction Industry: A Systematic Review Employing a Psychological Safety Climate Model
Studying organisational cultures and their effects on safety
Hopkins in this discussion paper explores organisational cultures, and how they effect safety. You’ll note he writes cultures, plural, rather than culture as a monolithic construct. Way too much to cover in this paper, so just a few points. Check out the full paper if the topic interests you. Hopkins starts with “Despite all that… Continue reading Studying organisational cultures and their effects on safety
Mini-Compendium: Psychological Safety
Given the prominence of Psychological Safety (PS), it’s worth sharing some research. It’s likely among the most studied modern concepts in organisational theory – so I can barely scratch the surface. Focus first is articles I’ve summarised, and then on any other full-text items I can find. In my haste, I’ve probably included some psychological… Continue reading Mini-Compendium: Psychological Safety
Deming’s system of profound knowledge: 14 points for system improvement
Another from Deming while I’m on the theme. Not much needs to be said – I think it does a lot of talking itself. Deming promoted: · Ceasing the dependence of trying to inspect-in quality · Aim for continuous learning, testing and improvement (e.g. plan, do, STUDY, act) · He was critical of zero defect approaches, arguing them… Continue reading Deming’s system of profound knowledge: 14 points for system improvement
The difference between ‘making do’ and resilience in complex systems
This paper explores the difference between ‘making do’ and resilience. Not a summary, but a few extracts: · Making do has been defined, from a waste perspective as “a situation where a task is started without all its standard inputs, or the execution of a task is continued although the availability of at least one standard… Continue reading The difference between ‘making do’ and resilience in complex systems
Karl Weick: Leadership as the Legitimation of Doubt
An interesting article from Karl Weick discussing the merits of ‘leadership as the Legitimation of Doubt’. He argues the strengths of a leader saying ‘I don’t know’. Some extracts: · Providing an example, he argues that a leader saying “I don’t know,” … was a strong act of leadership, not a weak one” · “It was strong… Continue reading Karl Weick: Leadership as the Legitimation of Doubt
The rise of learning teams: How organisations in Australia are adopting group learning practices for safety improvement
This Master’s thesis from Andrew Barrett explored group learning practices, like learning teams, for safety improvement. Specifically, he studied the following question via institutional ethnographic interviews: · how are organisations in Australia adopting group learning practices for safety improvement? Way too much to cover – so check out the thesis. Some background extracts: · “Safety… Continue reading The rise of learning teams: How organisations in Australia are adopting group learning practices for safety improvement
Zombie leadership: Dead ideas that still walk among us
A really interesting read about ‘zombie leadership’ ideas. Not a full summary, so check out the paper. Zombie ideas are a “residual commitment to an older set of ideas which have been repeatedly debunked but which nevertheless resolutely refuse to die”, taken from zombie economics. They apply this to leadership. They say that zombie ideas… Continue reading Zombie leadership: Dead ideas that still walk among us
Safety metrics and reports “make no contribution to proving the effectiveness of our crucial systems” – Paper Safe, Greg Smith
A few apt extracts from Greg Smith’s excellent ‘Paper Safe’. If you’ve not yet read this or Proving Safety, then do yourself the favour. Greg argues: · Many indicators in use are measures of activity and usually tell us something has been done · But, “They tell us nothing about the quality or effectiveness of the activity”… Continue reading Safety metrics and reports “make no contribution to proving the effectiveness of our crucial systems” – Paper Safe, Greg Smith
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