• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SafetyRisk.net

Humanising Safety and Embracing Real Risk

  • Home
    • About
      • Privacy Policy
      • Contact
  • FREE
    • Slogans
      • Researchers Reveal the Top 10 Most Effective Safety Slogans Of All Time
      • When Slogans Don’t Work
      • CLASSIC, FAMOUS and INFAMOUS SAFETY QUOTES
      • 500 OF THE BEST AND WORST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2023
      • CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
      • COVID-19 (Coronavirus, Omicron) Health and Safety Slogans and Quotes for the Workplace
      • Safety Acronyms
      • You know Where You Can Stick Your Safety Slogans
      • Sayings, Slogans, Aphorisms and the Discourse of Simple
      • Spanish Safety Slogans – Consignas de seguridad
      • Safety Slogans List
      • Road Safety Slogans 2023
      • How to write your own safety slogans
      • Why Are Safety Slogans Important
      • Safety Slogans Don’t Save Lives
      • 40 Free Safety Slogans For the Workplace
      • Safety Slogans for Work
    • FREE SAFETY eBOOKS
    • Free Hotel and Resort Risk Management Checklist
    • FREE DOWNLOADS
    • TOP 50
    • FREE RISK ASSESSMENT FORMS
    • Find a Safety Consultant
    • Free Safety Program Documents
    • Psychology Of Safety
    • Safety Ideas That Work
    • HEALTH and SAFETY MANUALS
    • FREE SAFE WORK METHOD STATEMENT RESOURCES
    • Whats New In Safety
    • FUN SAFETY STUFF
    • Health and Safety Training
    • SAFETY COURSES
    • Safety Training Needs Analysis and Matrix
    • Top 20 Safety Books
    • This Toaster Is Hot
    • Free Covid-19 Toolbox Talks
    • Download Page – Please Be Patient With Larger Files…….
    • SAFETY IMAGES, Photos, Unsafe Pictures and Funny Fails
    • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators
    • Download Safety Moments from Human Resources Secretariat
  • Social Psychology Of Risk
    • What is Psychological Health and Safety at Work?
    • Safety Psychology Terminology
    • Some Basics on Social Psychology & Risk
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk – Prof Karl E. Weick
    • The Psychology of Leadership in Risk
    • Conducting a Psychology and Culture Safety Walk
    • The Psychology of Conversion – 20 Tips to get Started
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk And Safety
    • Psychology and safety
    • The Psychology of Safety
    • Hot Toaster
    • TALKING RISK VIDEOS
    • WHAT IS SAFETY
    • THE HOT TOASTER
    • THE ZERO HARM DEBATE
    • SEMIOTICS
    • LEADERSHIP
  • Dr Long Posts
    • ALL POSTS
    • Learning Styles Matter
    • There is no Hierarchy of Controls
    • Scaffolding, Readiness and ZPD in Learning
    • What Can Safety Learn From Playschool?
    • Presentation Tips for Safety People
    • Dialogue Do’s and Don’ts
    • It’s Only a Symbol
    • Ten Cautions About Safety Checklists
    • Zero is Unethical
    • First Report on Zero Survey
    • There is No Objectivity, Deal With it!
  • THEMES
    • Psychosocial Safety
    • Resiliencing
    • Risk Myths
    • Safety Myths
    • Safety Culture Silences
    • Safety Culture
    • Psychological Health and Safety
    • Zero Harm
    • Due Diligence
  • Free Learning
    • Introduction to SPoR – Free
    • FREE RISK and SAFETY EBOOKS
    • FREE ebook – Guidance for the beginning OHS professional
    • Free EBook – Effective Safety Management Systems
    • Free EBook – Lessons I Have Learnt
  • Psychosocial Safety
    • What is Psychosocial Safety
    • Psychological Safety
      • What is Psychological Health and Safety at Work?
      • Managing psychosocial hazards at work
      • Psychological Safety – has it become the next Maslow’s hammer?
      • What is Psychosocial Safety
      • Psychological Safety Slogans and Quotes
      • What is Psychological Safety?
      • Understanding Psychological Terminology
      • Psycho-Social and Socio-Psychological, What’s the Difference?
      • Build a Psychologically Safe Workplace by Taking Risks and Analysing Failures
      • It’s not weird – it’s a psychological safety initiative!
You are here: Home / FIFO / Leadership, Risk and the Zone of Reciprocal Relationship

Leadership, Risk and the Zone of Reciprocal Relationship

June 5, 2015 by Dr Rob Long 7 Comments

Leadership, Risk and the Zone of Reciprocal Relationship

One of the stories of the week is the big surprise about corruption in FIFA, just joking, there is no surprise. After years of speculation the evidence is now clear that endemic corruption exists in FIFA at all levels. The story of Sepp Blater (or more close to home) or Alan Bond, illustrates the importance of understanding leadership within the framework of ethics, mutuality and reciprocation. We called this the ‘Zone of Reciprocal Relationship’ in our latest book Following-Leading in Risk, A Humanizing Dynamic.

The Zone of Reciprocal Relationship (graphically represented below), represents those things that join following to leading. This is why the book title joins following to leading and why the title uses participles not nouns (eg. Leadership, Followership) to describe the mutuality (humanizing) dynamic. The power of the leading and the following is not at the icon at each end of the diagram but it is in the power of the hyphen, what joins following and leading together. If these matters (between the following and leading) are not considered in leadership, it is likely there will be no followers.

leadership

The closest issue to the act of leading (and illustrated in the graphic) is the importance of ethics. Nothing is more likely to cause followers to leave in droves than the demonstration of self interest and corruption. It is unfortunate that for all the things that Alan Bond did, he will be most remembered for corruption and his time in prison. Similarly, all the many good things achieved by Rolf Harris will are now rejected in the light of his demise and unethical conduct. There is no unethical leadership, people do not follow corrupt leaders and self-interested, selfish management. How remarkable that there are so few books published on ethics in leadership!

As the story of Blatter and FIFA emerge, as prosecutions, corruptions and self interest grows so the demise of people once valued as leaders will sink into nothingness. A legacy without ethics, is no legacy.

Nothing is more devastating to following than the knowledge of kick backs, favours, back room deals and self interested politics. People want to achieve things based on merit, not on some secret self-interested deal. Double-speak (say one thing and do another) completely breaks down any respect for those in authority. Without some health in the Zone of Reciprocal Relationship, there is not likely to be much genuine following and leading.

In the MiProfile (https://vimeo.com/24764673) Culture Diagnostic (with an extensive database across many industries) the current perception of ‘double-speak’ in risk and safety in Australian industry has an average result of 65%. In other words, a majority of workers believe (rightly or wrongly) that their organisations tend to say one thing and then do another when it comes to risk and safety. Double speak fuels a destructive counter-culture of cynicism, pessimism and skepticism. For example, running a campaign on ‘speak-up’ to near misses and reporting and then crucify confessors for reporting. The regulator seems to have perfected this art of ‘speak up as a hero’ (http://www.worksafe.act.gov.au/page/view/3455) and then run a ‘blitz’ to scare everyone with the ‘fear of god’ that worksafe will flog you (https://safetyrisk.net/theres-nothing-better-than-a-blitz/ ). It seems the hero mythology (http://hazardman.act.gov.au/) is more loved by the regulator than the reality.

When it comes to ‘double-speak’ in risk and safety, some organisations love preaching a discourse of zero and then accept the drive to send things underground, because LTIs become the measure of all things. Or, zero harm organisations preach about zero harm but believe in ‘selective harm’ and accept the tragedy of harm (FIFO and DIDO) as not counted as injury. Double-speak should be one of the first things measured in any culture survey, yet in most surveys on the market in safety this is not even considered important.

Activity in The Zone of Reciprocal Relationship conditions the state of following and leading. How matters in the Zone are exorcised shapes the leading and following. When the quality of authority is known to be significantly corrupt, followers desert the ship in droves. This is not just true in sport and entertainment but also in risk and safety.

  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
  • More about Rob
Dr Rob Long

Dr Rob Long

Expert in Social Psychology, Principal & Trainer at Human Dymensions
Dr Rob Long

Latest posts by Dr Rob Long (see all)

  • When Safety Delights in ‘I Told You So’! - May 24, 2023
  • Understanding Safety as a Cultural Reproductive Process - May 23, 2023
  • Thinking Outside the Safety Bubble - May 21, 2023
  • Understanding Language Influencing, A Video - May 21, 2023
  • Safetie - May 21, 2023
Dr Rob Long
PhD., MEd., MOH., BEd., BTh., Dip T., Dip Min., Cert IV TAA, MRMIA Rob is the founder of Human Dymensions and has extensive experience, qualifications and expertise across a range of sectors including government, education, corporate, industry and community sectors over 30 years. Rob has worked at all levels of the education and training sector including serving on various post graduate executive, post graduate supervision, post graduate course design and implementation programs.

Please share our posts

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: FIFO, Robert Long, Safety Leadership, Social Psychology of Risk Tagged With: ethics, FIFA, following, leadership, risk

Reader Interactions

Do you have any thoughts? Please share them below Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Search and Discover More on this Site

Never miss a post - Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,521 other subscribers

Recent Comments

  • Rob Long on It is NOT My Responsibility to Keep You Safe
  • Chris. on It is NOT My Responsibility to Keep You Safe
  • Pierre Joubert on Zero Doesn’t Work, Road Fatalities Increase
  • James on We are all equal
  • Rob Long on We are all equal
  • James Parkinson on We are all equal
  • Brent Charlton on What Does Safety Achieve?
  • Admin on We are all equal
  • James Parkinson on We are all equal
  • Rob Long on What Does Safety Achieve?
  • Brent Charlton on We are all equal
  • Brent Charlton on We are all equal
  • Brent Charlton on We are all equal
  • Brent Charlton on What Does Safety Achieve?
  • Simon Cassin on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • Simon Cassin on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • Rob Long on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • Rob Long on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • Rob Long on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • Rob Long on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time

RECOMMENDED READING

viral post – iso 45003 and what it cannot do

Introduction to SPOR – FREE!!

Psychosocial Safety and Mental Health Series

It is NOT My Responsibility to Keep You Safe

The KISS of Death in Safety

Is Your Safety World Too Small?

You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time

When Safety (Zero) is Abusive

Hands Up the Best Safety Fraud!

Communicating Professionally in Risk

How NOT to be Professional in Safety

How NOT to do Anything About Culture in Building and Construction

Celebrating 60 Years of Lifeline

More Posts from this Category

NEW! Free Download

Please take our 2 minute zero survey

FREE eBOOK DOWNLOADS

Footer

VIRAL POST – The Risk Matrix Myth

Top Posts & Pages. Sad that most are so dumb but this is what safety luves

  • Free Safety Moments and Toolbox Talk Examples, Tips and Resources
  • 500 OF THE BEST AND WORST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2023
  • CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
  • Ratio Delusions and Heinrich’s Hoax
  • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators
  • Road Safety Slogans 2023
  • FREE RISK ASSESSMENT FORMS, CHECKISTS, REGISTERS, TEMPLATES and APPS
  • 15 Safety Precautions When Working With Electricity
  • What Is Safety?
  • Safety Acronyms

Recent Posts

  • When Safety Delights in ‘I Told You So’!
  • My Story is Better than Yours
  • Understanding Safety as a Cultural Reproductive Process
  • The Unconscious and the Soap Dispenser
  • Thinking Outside the Safety Bubble
  • Understanding Language Influencing, A Video
  • Safetie
  • You are NOT the Sum of Safety
  • Update on SPoR in India, Brazil and Europe
  • It is NOT My Responsibility to Keep You Safe
  • Safety at the Margins
  • Research Basics for Safety
  • We Need Communities and They Need Us
  • Researching Within The Safety Echo Chamber
  • Confirmation Bias, Risk and Being Offensive
  • Lemmings for Lemmings in Leadership and Risk
  • Expertise by Regurgitation and Re-Badging
  • Zero Doesn’t Work, Road Fatalities Increase
  • Can There Be Other Valid Worldviews Than Safety?
  • Evaluating Value by the Value of What You Don’t Know
  • Reality vs Theory, The Binary Divide
  • No Paradigm Shift with BBS
  • The KISS of Death in Safety
  • Is Your Safety World Too Small?
  • What Does Safety Achieve?
  • In Praise of Balance in Risk and the Threat of Extremism
  • We are all equal
  • You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • What in the (Risk & Safety) World is Imagination?
  • iCue Engagement Process
  • SPoR, Metanoia and a Podcast on Change with Nippin Anand
  • For the Monarchists of Safety
  • The Sully Effect
  • All Things Must Pass in Risk
  • Scapegoating and Safety
  • Understanding Habit, Habituation and Change
  • Don’t Mention the War
  • Safety in Design for Who by Who?
  • Beyond ‘What We Do Around Here’
  • Asking the Wrong Questions
  • When Safety (Zero) is Abusive
  • Mandala as a Method for Tackling an Ethic of Risk (a Video)
  • Safety Cosmetics
  • Visualising the EHS Role
  • Towards Dumb
  • Workshops with Dr Long – Vienna, Austria 26-30 June 2023
  • Visual, Verbal and Relational Mapping in Risk Assessment
  • Abduction in Risk and Safety
  • Creating Myths and Rituals in Safety
  • The Safe Christmas Psychosis

VIRAL POST!!! HOW TO QUIT THE SAFETY INDUSTRY

FEATURED POSTS

Safety Investigation – Whodunit?

Workshop – Understanding Culture Tackling Risk

SPoR Workshops Vienna 26-30 June

An Social Ecology of Resilience

Blind Faith in Safety

Stand Behind The Yellow Line – Do Engineering Controls Affect Risk?

Talking Risk Video–The Unconscious In Communication

Risky Conversations – Free Download

Why Myths in Safety Work

I Have the Power, I’m a Safety Hero

An Ethical Psychology of Risk

All Risk is Subjective

The SEEK Investigations Donut

Making Language in Safety Meaningful

Safety Career Highlight

The Strange Challenge of Unlearning in Safety

7 Incredible Ways To Diagnose Risk More Effectively

By What Method Do You Tackle Risk?

New Year Safety Trade-Offs and By-Products

The ‘Noise’ of Safety, Silence and Practicing of Mindfulness

Human Dymensions Newsletter September 2016

Competing Values Framework and SPoR

ACTOR + ACTION + TIME = EVENT

It’s a Great Goal, it Just Doesn’t Work

Envisioning and Creativity in Safety

Selective and Slow Harm is not Zero Harm

SPoR Body of Knowledge – A Video

Rhythms, Musicophilia and Safety

Bad Moon Rising

The Primacy of Play in Learning

Safety Can’t Control Nature (or People)

Acceptable Risk as a Decision Making Process

What Can Safety Learn From Desire Paths?

The Heart of Wisdom at Covid Time

Deepwater Horizon and The Suppression of Risky Conversations

We need to make sure this can never happen again

How Workers Really Make Decisions

How Do Workers Make Decisions?

I DON’T KNOW

The Fear of Freedom in Safety

More Posts from this Category

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,521 other subscribers

How we pay for the high cost of running of this site – try it for free on your site

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY?

What is Psychological Safety at Work?


WHAT IS PSYCHOSOCIAL SAFETY

x
x