This is the final part in a 4-part series outlining a phenomenon called “Drift” which has led to the failure of many organizations. Drift can happen without anything breaking, without anybody erring, without anybody violating the rules they consider relevant. I’ll take you through the 3rd ingredient to recognising how drift occurs and some further tips for you in terms of your governance role. ...

This is Part 3 in a 4-part series outlining a phenomenon called “Drift” which has led to the failure of many organizations. Drift can happen without anything breaking, without anybody erring, without anybody violating the rules they consider relevant. I’ll take you through the 2nd ingredient to recognising how drift occurs and some further tips for you in terms of your governance role. ...

This is Part 2 in a 4-part series on a concept called Drift. When an organisation “drifts into failure”, adverse events like illness, injury, fatalities can happen without anything breaking, without anybody erring, without anybody violating the rules they consider relevant. I'll provide you with some proactive and reactive steps that you can take to monitor for early warning signs of drift. ...

This is Part 1 in a 4-part series outlining a phenomenon called “Drift” which has led to the failure of many organizations, but the danger with drift is, unless you’re looking for it, you don’t even know it’s happening. ...

When people feel cared for at work, they reciprocate through efficiencies, innovation, or caring for people the same way they feel cared. ...

A good place to start when looking to understand mental health hazards is to first understand our needs; that is, what human needs must be met in order to provide a psychologically safe and healthy workplace? Then work backwards to see how those needs might be impeded. In this video, I’ll walk you through 5 basic human needs that must be met if you’re to cultivate a psychologically safe and healthy workplace. ...

Our paradigms, mental models and mindsets can insulate us from learning and seeing red flags through what’s called a Reflexive Loop. It’s an unconscious bias that can reaffirm how well our or how ‘right’ our inner voice is, and subconsciously prevent us from listening to alternative ways of understanding things. In this video I’ll explain how the Reflexive Loop works and a tool to expose your assumptions, values and beliefs in a constructive way - FREE GUIDE AVAILABLE. ...

Our mental models are part of our subconsciousness and they can be the reason we shut out information, or why we're open to learning. It’s therefore essential that we try and bring our mental models to the surface every once in a while to examine whether they are still relevant. In this video I’ll outline two common mental models that inform the board’s perception of the role that people play in either creating or reducing safety in the workplace - one of them will drive organizational improvement, the other will hinder and leave you blind-sided when something happens. ...

In this video I’ll explain two paradigms that dominant our boardrooms in terms of the way work gets done and they are influencing the questions board members ask about safety and health, but only one is going to support safe and healthy work and help you make a positive impact. ...

Designing executive incentives that support safe and healthy work can be tricky. When there is an unavoidable tension between the strategic goals, processes or activities (e.g. production targets and health and safety targets), management needs to clearly identify and actively reinforce their highest priority. So how do you ensure that the priority is health and safety, where there’s a conflict with production / profit? Here are three factors for your consideration when designing executive incentives.
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In this week’s video I talk about why we often see significant events as something unique; that is, we try to find some quirk or practice that can separate us from those who have erred or failed. The risk is that we don't learn or see the red flags in our own organisation. ...

Most organisations after a tragedy will focus on updating the safety management system, but there will be a point when the system looks good on paper, but the board will still be at risk of influencing adverse events if members don’t understand what creating safety really involves, and their role in it. In this video I outline some key principles that should be in any board members’ professional development in safety leadership and governance. ...

The coroner’s report into the Dreamworld tragedy highlights significant gaps in the competency of workers and technical experts, but nothing on the competency of the board. In Part 1 of this 2-part series I look at the coroner’s comments of a careless and negligent board and dive into whether the board was actually careless or was it more a lack of competency in safety leadership and governance? ...

In this video I’m exploring the cost of employees’ perception of unfairness on their physical and mental health and I outline three tips where board members have an opportunity to contribute to improving the perception of fairness in the workplace. ...

Numerous studies show that positive emotions improve your well-being and the well-being of those around you, but they also broaden our thinking. So this week I’ll explain why positive emotions are good for the health and resilience of your organisation and perhaps a key part of your board communication strategy! ...

This week I'm exploring the Costa Concordia case and a common misconception that prevents us from really understanding safety. ...

Research suggests gratitude is an even stronger motivator to give than the feeling of indebtedness / obligation - so how does this relate to safety and business performance? ...

As a company director, you have very little time when you’re conducting a site visit to pull back the curtain and get accurate data of what is really going on. In this post, I will share with you how to best utilise your precious time on site to build trust and make deeper connections with your employees. ...

In this video, I share three ways company directors can create psychological safety in the boardroom. This concept was the #1 characteristic of high performing teams at Google and it's foundational to leading safe & healthy work. ...

The Director Health and Safety Dashboard is a collection and analysis of events, trends and insights from the previous year across business, governance and regulatory landscapes in an effort to identify issues and opportunities in leading and governing safe & healthy work that should be on every company directors’ radar for the year ahead. Download your FREE copy of the report here. ...

In this video I outline three things that company directors can personally do to build a foundation of trust and confidence with your board peers and the executive. ...

In this video I explain how your business can leverage its commitment to health & safety to create value for multiple stakeholders who, at first appear to have very different needs, but in fact all have one thing in common - their attraction to health & safety. ...

This is Part 3 in a 3-part series into What Makes a Great Board of Directors Who Lead From Their Heart, by Leading Safe & Healthy Work. This week I'm giving you 3 RED FLAGS that will help you identify, as part of your governance role, that your culture may not be as healthy as you think ...

This is Part 2 of a 3-part series into What Makes a Great Board of Directors Who Lead From Their Heart. Today we look at TWO QUESTIONS that a great board of directors would consider when setting the annual bonus and designing executive compensation schemes so that it drives the right behaviour and has a positive impact on safe & healthy outcomes in their business. ...

This is Part 1 of a 3-part series where we uncover 5 principles of boardroom culture and how they can shape a culture of safety in your organisation and make you a more confident leader of safe & healthy work from the boardroom. ...

The old adage, “common sense is not that common”, is well and true, but I want to remove it from your vocabulary all together. In its place, I ask you to think about how you might be influencing workplace behaviour by what you demonstrate to others is a priority to you. In this video I’ll give you 3 questions you can ask yourself to assist in this process. ...

When it comes to health and safety reporting there is no blanket template. All businesses have different needs, and you want to make sure to be monitoring what matters to your business. The key to your reporting should be to give you confidence that you’re controlling risk and highlight how health & safety activities are creating value in your organisation. Today I break down the purpose of lead and lag health & safety performance indicators, and how each of them should be used in your reporting. ...

In his 12 years as CEO and Chair at Alcoa, Paul O’Neill increased annual net income by five times, its market capitalisation by $27 billion and led to the company becoming one of the best performing stocks on the Dow Jones Index – he attributes all the success to a focus on workplace health & safety and I’m going to share with you how he did it. ...

This week I’m using Stephen Covey's strategy ‘Think Win/Win’, to show you how you can have greater influence over others without relying on your job title or your role in the organisation. ...

This is the second instalment in a 2-part series on BowTie risk assessments. Today I show you how to apply the hierarchy of controls to a BowTie risk assessment which will ultimately give you a better understanding of where to target your resources and improve your monitoring and assurance activities. ...

In this post I examine the BowTie risk assessment - a great tool for business leaders to help you visualise your critical risks and associated controls. When these two aspects of risk management are clear, you will be able to easily identify what you should be monitoring as part of your assurance and due diligence activities. ...

Today we look at how the requirement to draft accountability maps and statements and the deferral of executive variable remuneration under the Banking Executive Accountability Regime can be applied to WHS governance - accountability maps can be a foundation piece in your WHS governance framework and help officers understand who does what; and while the BEAR requires the deferral of executive remuneration, it means very little if WHS is not included in the assessment of overall business performance. ...

Today we're going to walk through how Executives should act and behave Before, During and After conducting Executive safety walks. We're also going to look back at the safety walks conducted by BP and Transocean VIPs only seven hours before the Deepwater Horizon oil rig blowout in 2010 that killed 11 workers, so that you can learn from their mistakes. If you're not conducting safety walks, or just want a bit more guidance and assurance on your approach, today's post is for you. ...

Technically, a director joining a board today will not be responsible for decisions made prior to their joining. However, problems may arise in the future as a result of those earlier decisions. There are plenty of tools out there to assist Directors in conducting their due diligence before joining a board, but very little on what to look for in terms of workplace health & safety. So, when you are actively seeking to join a board of directors or you have been approached to join a board, there are a few things I suggest you should consider. ...

As a CEO, do you ever feel overwhelmed with the lack of clarity around your role in leading safe & healthy work? Or do you think that as long as you continue to say 'safety first' that the message will sooner or later get through? Well then this post is for you. I'm going to walk you through my framework for coaching CEOs and MDs on leading safe & healthy work. As a bonus, be sure to download the FREE COPY of my Blueprint for CEOs on Leading Safe & Healthy Work. ...

This week I provide a summary of the Workplace Safety Futures report. The report highlights new technologies and ways of working that introduce new risks and challenges for WHS and workers’ compensation, but also have the potential to make work safer and reduce workplace injury. Every business leader should be aware of these trends as they will influence your business in some way or another. ...

This week I examine why respondents to the latest Australian Institute of Company Directors, Director Sentiment Index survey, didn't nominate health & safety as something that keeps them awake at night, and why they think health & safety has too much red-tape that hinders productivity. ...

Have you ever wondered what makes your organisation different to those that have experienced tragic health & safety incidents? In this week's post I walk through some of the myths directors have in executing health & safety governance. ...

This is Part 3 in a 3-part series for Directors on their role in the boardroom to govern and lead mentally healthy workplaces. In this post I highlight how directors can influence the mental health of their organisation, through their relationship with the CEO.
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This is Part 2 in a 3-part series for Directors on their role in the boardroom to govern and lead mentally healthy workplaces. In this post, I outline a 4-part framework that will assist directors in leading workplace mental health in the boardroom. ...

This week I explore the two biggest problems I’ve seen in board WHS performance reporting and share a suggested framework that will assist board members in making strategic decisions and complying with their due diligence obligations. ...

This is Part 1st in a 3-part series of posts that will assist directors in their governance and leadership responsibilities to lead and govern mental health in the boardroom. The focus of this post is to better understand 'what is mental health' and how it can have a positive impact on your company's bottom line. ...

Trust should not be mistaken as simply a soft, social virtue; rather it is a truly hard, economic driver for every organisation. Ongoing trust-building activities should be one of the most important strategic priorities for every organisation. As workplace health & safety is a unifying point of collaboration in any business, it is the perfect catalyst for leadership to build trust in their business. ...

Sexual misconduct, Grenfell Tower, introduction of industrial manslaughter and modern slavery, these were some of the biggest stories of 2017 in health & safety – it was a year we won't soon forget! This week I have outlined 7 key workplace health & safety matters that should feature on any director's radar in 2018. ...

This is Part 3 in a 3-part series dissecting the 2016 Citi Research Safety Spotlight Report. Given that cultural change is fostered through the influence of climate and an organisation’s safety climate is shaped by management’s policies, behaviours, attitudes and decisions, this provides a compelling argument for close attention to the structure and content of those incentives used to motivate boards and senior managers. As suggested above, ‘what get’s measured (and incentivised) get’s managed’. ...

This is Part 2 in a 3-part series dissecting the 2016 Citi Research Safety Spotlight Report. The focus of this week's post is to dissect the motivation to move away from using lost time injury (LTI) data as a measure of a business’ health and safety performance and introduce a new framework for reporting injuries and illnesses that will assist the business in its pursuit to prevent harm and provide a comparable measure of health & safety performance across businesses and industry. ...

This is Part 1 in a 3-part series dissecting parts of the 2016 Citi Research Safety Spotlight Report. In this post I introduce the concept of process safety and the types of process safety indicators ASX100 companies are reporting on. ...

My key takeaways from the 2017 ’Walking the Talk’ Health & Safety Leadership Survey published by Business Leaders’ Health & Safety Forum and Deloitte (NZ). ...

“Boards need to get out and get informed”. This week I run through what it means for 'officers' under WHS legislation to 'stay informed of health & safety matters' and some practical tips on how directors can do so. ...