Often our expectations are set way too low. Do you ever feel like you can’t get your employees to do what you want them to do? Or…they only ever come in at the 70% compliance mark, and you’ve come to believe that’s just normal? To meet the goals we want, especially in safety, we have to raise our expectations so that people will rise to meet them.
RAISE THE EXPECTATION
It all comes down to how you, as the safety manager, are setting those expectations. If you are shooting for safety excellence – are you actually expecting it?
Think about a professional team: if you don’t perform, you aren’t part of the team anymore, right? Why? An expectation has been set that the player is expected to perform, and if they don’t have the skills or can’t do the job anymore, a replacement will be found. A team will only achieve excellence when they have the right players all performing as they are intended to.
We often neglect that in safety, and yet we NEED to be in the business of achieving excellence when it comes to compliance. After all, workplace safety is necessary to prevent injuries or even worse. The truth is that it won’t happen until we understand what excellence looks like 100% compliance.
SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY PSYCHOLOGY
Once you start thinking that way and expecting excellence from your management teams and employees, there’s a greater chance that you are going to get the results you want to get. It’s called a self-fulfilling prophecy. You get the results we expect. If you expect 70% – you’ll get 70%, and on it goes.
Join me in this episode as we talk about how your expectations affect the success of your safety program and how you can pursue 100% compliance – no matter what.
TAKE ACTION
The minute you change your thought to the standard of excellence being 100% and nothing less, your accountability will get better. Your people will know you mean business. You’ll show up differently because you’ll have that expectation. And, when you expect people to meet that expectation – they’ll do so.
Think about how you are currently promoting your programs. Are there any areas that you aren’t expecting 100% compliance? How can you approach it differently when it comes to training, follow up, and consequences? What are you expecting?
Excellence begins at 100%.
Highlights From This Episode:
- It’s time to set higher expectations
- How self-fulfilling prophecy works
- Changing your results comes from your own thoughts
- How to shift your expectations for results
Links Mentioned:
- Get on the list and get a FREE idea book: 5 Surprising Ways to Make Employees Crazy for Safety at http://www.thesafetygeek.com/5ways
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN
How are you implementing these tips? Let us know in the comments below!
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Hi, I'm Brye (rhymes with sky)! I am a self-proclaimed safety geek with two decades of general industry safety experience. Specializing in bringing safety programs to a world-class level and building a safety culture, I have trained and coached many safety managers, just like you, on how to effectively manage workplace safety in the real world. I would love to help you too.
