John is professor of industrial-organizational psychology at Davidson College, and president of the organization development consulting firm J.E. Kello & Associates, Inc. John can be reached at (704) 894-2024; jokello@davidson.edu.
When folks are brought together around some common task or set of tasks, their earliest experiences “set the tone” for the team. When team members develop the positive attitude that they can succeed, they are more likely to do so.
Increasingly, companies are conducting so-called “culture assessments” to get a handle on how their employees perceive the organizational commitment and approach to safety.