Even if you know the answer, you’re better off asking others. You may even get a better answer. While coaching the fictional Richmond Greyhounds, Ted does that. A lot. He knows it works.
Humility is a complex concept and should defy simplification. I’ll try to simplify it anyway! In my mind, humility is all about recognizing your own fallibility, that others may have better solutions, and that it’s okay to ask for help. As I have worked with leaders over my career, I have found humility to be the single most important characteristic that distinguishes great leaders from good ones.
Safety leadership expert Susie Scott states, “I continue to believe that humility is probably the most important characteristic of a Safety Leader. Admitting that you can never know everything about your operation, and genuinely listening to learn and improve, is how we need to lead in Safety, and arguably all aspects of business.”
To be a humble safety leader, here are five things that you can adopt as a core practice:
- Actively listen to your team members and show that you value and appreciate their perspectives.
- Admit your mistakes and take ownership. Show that you are vulnerable.
- Empower others by trusting others to make decisions, even if you think you could do it quicker and better – whatever that means!
- Seek feedback from your team. Ask how solutions are working and what would make it ‘even better if.’
- Share credit. It’s more important that others get credit than for you to do it. Be generous with praise when it works. When it doesn’t, take ownership.
Darren Male, HSSE leader at Fugro, summarizes these concepts nicely. He states that “all too often, as Health and Safety Professionals, we can find ourselves so absorbed in the moment that we don’t take time to pause and reflect; by building this important reflection time into our personal working practices we give ourselves the opportunity to recognize our own shortcomings, ask for help and enable ourselves to learn from others so that we all benefit.”
Take a lesson from Ted. Be generous in praise, admit you don’t know all the answers and learn from others.
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