In the National Football League (NFL), there’s a term bantered about by owners, management, coaches, and scouts - it’s “the nerd factor.” In the NFL, it’s a positive term because it often translates into success.
I was in Atlanta last week for a conference and was having breakfast off the lobby area. The omelet man who was nearby was doing what he does nearly every morning.
If you want your managers and front-line leaders to have more influence and impact with your workers, they need to get more personal and transparent. Getting personal allows leaders to deliver a message that will have impact and help workers align their actions with their personal values.
More and more of safety and health professionals want to talk about influence rather than authority. You see, they understand that relying primarily on position or rank will simply lead to compliance -- not to individual commitment.
In 1980, Dov Zohar addressed various implications of assessing safety climate through a 40-item questionnaire in order to improve safety-related outcomes. Zohar wrote one of the first scholarly works pertaining to safety climate and I was intrigued.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have consulted, coached, and spoken for thousands of leaders across the globe. And I feel strongly that every leader who is credible, fair, and cares about his workers can push their performance to an entirely new level – particularly if these three traits are used as their primary base of influence.
A great leader has passed, Chuck Noll, Hall of Fame coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Coach Noll impacted the lives of many, many people. Chuck Noll is the only NFL head coach to win four Super Bowls and may be the greatest NFL coach ever.