I saw a safety podcast the other day called ‘an answer for everything’, this is unfortunate. No-one is interested in a safety know-it-all, especially when the industry is so poorly educated and the experience of safety so narrow.
The best orientation to do well in safety is to admit that you know very little. The best way to walk out into the field and listen is to people is to say that you don’t know much about what they do but you’d love to hear them talk about it.
If you project that you know everything you will just alienate people and no-one will seek your counsel or advice. If you project that you have all the answers, people know you don’t know how to listen.
This is quite significant for an industry that seeks to give ‘advice’. But good advice or giving advice doesn’t mean you have to know everything indeed, even when I go to my medical doctor she quickly admits what she doesn’t know and is not afraid to refer me on to another professional.
Professionals know what they know in their narrow field of competence and, know not to venture into the disciplines of others as if they know it. At my medical general practice there are numerous specialists in various parts of medicine. A few weeks ago I was concerned about a mole on my back and the first thing my doctor did was refer me to a skin specialist.
This is what professionals do. They don’t bluff, act as if they know something they don’t, they undertake a Transdisciplinary view and act professionally.
I do this often. I have no expertise in engineering, science, any technical disciplines or the Law and when confronted by concerns like these I refer on. I don’t try to play lawyer, I usually refer on to Greg Smith, if it concerns safety law. I have no mathematical expertise even concerning my own MiProfile survey methodology (https://www.humandymensions.com/services-and-programs/miprofile/), I refer to other professionals. My mathematical expert has 2 PhDs in maths so, when I don’t know I simply trust his expertise. Much like my surgeon who saved my life. I inherited a disease from my father who dies of oesophagus cancer and I have the same condition. When you are out of your league, even though it concerns your own body and is life and death, all you can do is trust.
The beginning of learning is knowing what you don’t know, not play-acting that you are some kind of cultural, religious, semiotic, linguistics. legal or psychological expert.
Unfortunately, Dunning-Kruger is alive and well in safety (https://safetyrisk.net/dunning-kruger-is-alive-and-well-in-safety/).
When we do conduct the MiProfile Diagnostic with organisations it always shows up when we ask about safety, that ‘safety arrogance’ is a problem that creates cultural blindness. This often results in blindness to risk and ignorance about risk thereby amplifying greater cultural fragility in the organisation. When Safety knows everything, all learning stops. There is no greater discourse and ideology to create cultural blindness than zero.
In SPoR, we encourage Transdisciplinarity in all we do, we don’t go to Safety to learn much, safety doesn’t have the answers, most often the bluff of Safety quickly falls over.
Nothing is more damaging to safety than the ‘safety fraud’ (https://safetyrisk.net/best-fraud-in-safety-wins-this-is-the-way/). Speaking fraudulence to people (https://safetyrisk.net/safety-fraudulence/) simply shows what the culture of safety is. Telling people you have an answer for everything simply demonstrates that you don’t know much.
Dr Rob Long
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Brian says
So true Rob ….. nobody in no field knows everything. We can only but listen and provide our support and if we do not know the answer admit it and then either find out or refer the person to someone else who has the knowledge.
Rob Long says
Sad Brian that the industry cultivates this approach. It’s why so many workers hate Safety.