Dr. John Kello, professor of industrial-organizational psychology at Davidson College, and president of the organization development consulting firm J.E. Kello & Associates, Inc. John’s work centers on the implementation of the “High-Performance Organization” model in a variety of work settings. He can be reached at (704) 894-2024; jokello@davidson.edu.
We tend to view our own industry, whatever it is, as unique. We’re prone to see our industry as having characteristics that distinguish it from other industries. I am often told by clients, “this business is unlike any other.”
Some of us are blessed to step into an EHS role where “the table is set.” Top management daily walks the talk, and supports and publicly acknowledges our efforts. We operate in a Positive Safety Culture.
You might recall last year the fatal accident involving a self-driving Tesla. It reinforced the need to be vigilant even as we are assured (or assure ourselves) that “the machine will handle it.”
One of the real head-scratchers in the realm of workplace safety is the reality that such a large percentage of accidents, especially serious ones, happen to experienced workers.
For many years, organization development (OD) interventions focused mainly on incremental, localized adjustments, tweaks to the functioning of the organization.
The first-shift guys tell you they work together as a team. They are the best shift in every way. And they always clean up and set up for second shift.
What if a company is characteristically cautious and slow to make a decision, and does not reward innovative risk-taking, while the market is moving fast and increasingly rewarding agility? What if the choice is to change or die?
What’s the biggest daily problem in organizations? Communication. What could have prevented many of the recordable incidents that occurred last year at your facility? Better communication. Communication makes the world go ’round.
In part one of my “short
course” in managing stress (October 2006) I mentioned individuals
can have very different thresholds for experiencing distress. Even the
hardiest among us have our limits. So what do we do when we’re
nearing those limits?
The answer to the question in the title is “yes.â€
When we perceive an event as a challenge or potential threat, a physical and psychological response is triggered by the autonomic nervous system. Whether the stressor is external (an oncoming car swerves into our lane) or internal (an anxiety-arousing thought), its onset abrupt (a sudden emergency) or gradual (a long-term unresolved problem), this automatic reaction is essentially the same.
