• 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
    • 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 / Rob Sams / Sitting Safely at the Table

Sitting Safely at the Table

March 17, 2016 by Rob Sams 7 Comments

Sitting Safely at the Table

See also: Wipe Safety Off The Agenda

Meeting the team of engineersYou’ve probably heard the saying; if an organisation is to take Safety seriously, then Safety needs a ‘seat at the table’. I’ve heard the same said too about HR, about IT and about Finance. Of course the table being referred to is a seat at the decision making table; for example, the Boardroom or the Senior Leadership Team. The argument is that if Safety doesn’t ‘sit at the table’ then an organisation isn’t serious about it. That’s the theory I’ve heard offered by some in Safety, and if I’m honest, I recall saying myself!

The question I now reflect on when I think of this is; if we think safety must ‘sit at the table’, is this really about valuing the safety of people, or, could this mean that we are being seduced into a world of control and power and of wanting to amplify our status in the organisation. A world that on the one hand can seem so attractive, yet at the same time and ironically, so dangerous? What may such power and status amplification do to us? I’ll explore this later in this piece.

First though, thinking about the notion of a ‘seat at the table’ caused me to reflect and consider; do you need to be at the table in order to influence the way that people go about their work, and improve on safety performance in an organisation?

A discussion this week with someone working in Safety supported the position that you do need a ‘seat at the table’. The argument being put forward by this person was that the organisation they work at didn’t take safety seriously because; a) they themselves don’t have a ‘seat at the table’ and b) safety wasn’t a mandatory item on meeting agenda’s. Those two things are a must they argued, otherwise they said, “Safety is just second fiddle”. To be truthful, I was tempted to launch into ‘telling mode’ and suggest to them that these might be good things as that they didn’t then have to get caught up in the politics that goes with ‘sitting at the table’.

But this was not my story, so instead, I engaged in a conversation with the person exploring how they might go about influencing, without a seat at the illustrious table, and what role they could play even though their position in the hierarchy didn’t allow the power and authority they were seeking. It was a good conversation.

I contrast this against another conversation that I had yesterday with a good friend who is currently relieving in a safety role in one of Australia’s largest Tier One companies. This friend was telling me how they have ditched the formalities of their safety observation and conversations Program (i.e. the checklists) and focused instead on the quality of the conversations. Their job as they see it, is to support others in discerning risk for themselves, to encourage thinking and foster a culture where safety is about understanding, not obeying.

I asked my friend what the consequences of ditching the traditional safety processes were, the answer was quite interesting. They shared that there is more talk amongst the people doing the job, the hierarchy are listening more, and the guys in the field are feeling heard.

I suspect that this is the result of my friend being seen as an equal, as a peer and I expect even as a ‘friend’ to those doing the work. They are certainly not seen as the Safety Crusader, nor one of the ‘tossers from the office’, wielding the power passed on from those ‘sitting at the table’. My friend has never met any of those that sit around the table at this organisation, let alone be there themselves. I suspect the only seat that my friend has, is a seat at the table in the lunch room, chatting with the guys doing the work, where amplifying his status is not high on his agenda.

I wonder if, on occasion, we focus too much on our status in organisations, and whether this might lead to what Alain de Botton describes as ‘status anxiety,’ where he suggests:

“That the hunger for status, like all appetites, can have its uses: spurring us to do justice to our talents, encouraging excellence, restraining us from harmful eccentricities and cementing members of a society around a common value system. But like all appetites, its excesses can also kill”.

De Botton (2005, p.xi)

I also wonder what we could learn from Robert Caldini who, in his book Influence, shares his idea of the ‘reciprocal concession rule’ of which he notes (p.36); “Another consequence of the rule, however, is an obligation to make a concession to someone who has made a concession to us.” Reciprocal concession doesn’t sound much like an approach focused on power, control and obedience in achieving outcomes. Perhaps my friend knows a thing or two about reciprocal concession?

Of course the argument that I am putting forward in this piece about not needing a seat at the table in order to influence safety outcomes does not mean that we don’t want, and need, supportive leaders from around the table in order to influence safety in an organisation. Nor am I suggesting that all of those who sit at the table feel the need to augment their status. However, because I’m not stuck in thinking about the world in a binary way, I don’t approach this as an either/or argument. Rather, I see it as a reflection of how we in Safety can go about influencing others through effective conversations, through being seen as equals and supporting understanding in our everyday roles; regardless of whether we sit at the table or not.

How does this play out in your world?

Does Safety really need a seat at the decision making table to make a difference?

Author: Robert Sams

Phone: 0424 037 112

Email: robert@dolphyn.com.au

Web: www.dolphyn.com.au

Facebook: Follow Dolphyn on Facebook

  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
  • More about Rob
Rob Sams

Rob Sams

Owner at Dolphyn
Rob Sams

Latest posts by Rob Sams (see all)

  • Am I stupid? I didn’t think of that… - January 13, 2023
  • I’m just not that into safety anymore - December 30, 2022
  • Focus on ‘Meeting’ people, not legislation – a path to risk maturity - December 24, 2022
  • Just Toolbox it! - December 3, 2022
  • Do we Need a Different Way of Being in Safety? - December 1, 2022
Rob Sams
Rob is an experienced safety and people professional, having worked in a broad range of industries and work environments, including manufacturing, professional services (building and facilities maintenance), healthcare, transport, automotive, sales and marketing. He is a passionate leader who enjoys supporting people and organizations through periods of change. Rob specializes in making the challenges of risk and safety more understandable in the workplace. He uses his substantial skills and formal training in leadership, social psychology of risk and coaching to help organizations understand how to better manage people, risk and performance. Rob builds relationships and "scaffolds" people development and change so that organizations can achieve the meaningful goals they set for themselves. While Rob has specialist knowledge in systems, his passion is in making systems useable for people and organizations. In many ways, Rob is a translator; he interprets the complex language of processes, regulations and legislation into meaningful and practical tasks. Rob uses his knowledge of social psychology to help people and organizations filter the many pressures they are made anxious about by regulators and various media. He is able to bring the many complexities of systems demands down to earth to a relevant and practical level.

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: Rob Sams, Safety Leadership, Social Psychology of Risk Tagged With: safety table

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 7,499 other subscribers

RECOMMENDED READING

viral post – iso 45003 and what it cannot do

Introduction to SPOR – FREE!!

Psychosocial Safety and Mental Health Series

Psychosocial Safety, Is it possible to make it culturally normal?

How to Be Oriented Towards Psychosocial and Mental Health in Safety

ISO 45003 and What it Cannot Do

The KISS of Death in Safety

Behavioural Safety is NOT a Foundation for Tackling Psychosocial and Mental Health

The Worst Approach to Psychosocial Problems is an Attitude of ‘Fixing’

The Language of ‘Hazards’ and Psychosocial, Mental Health

Welcome to the Nightmare, Safety Creates its Own Minefield (as usual)

No Good Reason to Follow Reason

The Moral Harm of the Zero Cult

More Posts from this Category

NEW! Free Download

Please take our 2 minute zero survey

Recent Comments

  • simon p cassin on Psychosocial Safety, Is it possible to make it culturally normal?
  • Hurak Learning on How to Be Oriented Towards Psychosocial and Mental Health in Safety
  • Rob Long on An Advanced Understanding of Culture – A Video
  • Paul Gentles on An Advanced Understanding of Culture – A Video
  • Brent Charlton on The KISS of Death in Safety
  • Rob Long on The KISS of Death in Safety
  • Brian Edwin Darlington on The KISS of Death in Safety
  • Brian on The Language of ‘Hazards’ and Psychosocial, Mental Health
  • Jaise on The Language of ‘Hazards’ and Psychosocial, Mental Health
  • Rob Long on Posture Myths and Holistic Ergonomics
  • Linda McKendry on Posture Myths and Holistic Ergonomics
  • Rob long on Welcome to the Nightmare, Safety Creates its Own Minefield (as usual)
  • Matt Thorne on Welcome to the Nightmare, Safety Creates its Own Minefield (as usual)
  • Anonymous on Welcome to the Nightmare, Safety Creates its Own Minefield (as usual)
  • Jason on How Bias Inhibits Learning in Safety
  • Rob Long on How Bias Inhibits Learning in Safety
  • Admin on How Bias Inhibits Learning in Safety
  • Rob Long on 400,000 Free Downloads
  • Gustavo Saralegui on 400,000 Free Downloads
  • Rob long on To Err is Human, You Better Believe It

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

  • 500 OF THE BEST AND WORST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2023
  • Proving Safety
  • Free Safety Moments and Toolbox Talk Examples, Tips and Resources
  • Road Safety Slogans 2023
  • CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
  • ISO 45003 and What it Cannot Do
  • Download Safety Moments from Human Resources Secretariat
  • NATIONAL SAFETY DAY/WEEK IN INDIA 2023
  • 15 Safety Precautions When Working With Electricity
  • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators

Recent Posts

  • Psychosocial Safety, Is it possible to make it culturally normal?
  • How to Be Oriented Towards Psychosocial and Mental Health in Safety
  • Free Download – Real Risk – New Book by Dr Robert Long
  • Proving Safety
  • ISO 45003 and What it Cannot Do
  • Harming People in the Name of Good
  • An Advanced Understanding of Culture – A Video
  • Risk and Safety Maturity
  • The KISS of Death in Safety
  • SPoR, Metanoia and a Podcast on Change with Nippin Anand
  • Behavioural Safety is NOT a Foundation for Tackling Psychosocial and Mental Health
  • The Worst Approach to Psychosocial Problems is an Attitude of ‘Fixing’
  • SPoR Comes to Vienna June 2023
  • The Language of ‘Hazards’ and Psychosocial, Mental Health
  • Welcome to the Nightmare, Safety Creates its Own Minefield (as usual)
  • The Visionary Imagination – Louisa Lawson
  • Heaven ‘n Hell and the Safety Religion
  • Confirmity in Conformity
  • Numerology and Psychic Numbing
  • Thinking of Mortality
  • Safety is the Wrong Anchor
  • Foresight Blindness, Hindsight Bias and Risk
  • Getting the Balance Right in Tackling Risk
  • What is SPoR?
  • How Bias Inhibits Learning in Safety
  • Afraid to Let Go of What Doesn’t Work in Safety
  • When You Don’t Know What to do in Safety, Have Another Blitz!!!
  • Gloves and Glasses Compliance
  • A Case of Desensitisation – What Would You Do?
  • How to Leave the Safety Industry
  • The Mythic Symbology of Safety
  • Dark Waters, The True Story of DuPont and Zero
  • 400,000 Free Downloads
  • Am I stupid? I didn’t think of that…
  • Don’t Look Now Safety, Your Metaphor is Showing
  • Ratio Delusions and Heinrich’s Hoax
  • To Err is Human, You Better Believe It
  • Culture as a Wicked Problem, for Safety
  • Safety Leadership Training
  • Cultural Orientation in Risk
  • The Stanford Experiment and The Social Psychology of Risk
  • Objectivity, Audits and Attribution When Calculating Risk
  • Records of safety activities: evidence of safety or non-compliance?
  • Zero, The Seeking of Infinity
  • Safety Leadership Essentials
  • What Can Indiana Jones Tell Us About Culture
  • Safety as a Worldview
  • The Loathing of Limits
  • Culture Cannot be Framed Through Safety
  • Free Online Workshops

VIRAL POST!!! HOW TO QUIT THE SAFETY INDUSTRY

FEATURED POSTS

New Year Safety Trade-Offs and By-Products

Incident Investigations and the Einstellung Effect

Risk and Safety Rituals

Semiotics, Semiology and Safety Sense

In Praise of In-Between Thinking in Risk and Safety

There is Nothing more Imaginative We can Do in Safety

Understanding Conscience and Safety

Safety People Don’t ‘Save Lives’

Thinking About Harm

International Workshops – Belgium

The Psychology of Blaming in Safety

Lemmings for Lemmings in Leadership and Risk

Getting the Balance Right in Tackling Risk

We can Value Safety but Safety is not a Value

The Human Race…

Social Sensemaking–New Book Release

Understanding Goal States, Motivation and SPoR, A Video

Free Safety and Risk Lunch n Learn

Risk Boldly

Safety for True Believers

Safety as a Knowledge Culture

OnLine Learning Modules with CLLR

Brain-Centredness and Occular-Centredness in Risk

How Semiotics Affects The Return To Work Process

Talking Risk Video–Anti-Fragility

Next Free Online Studies Introduction to Social Psychology of Risk

Safety for Luddites

Desensitisation–the by-product of ill-conceived safety initiatives

When ‘Hearts and Minds’ are not ‘Hearts and Minds’

We need to make sure this can never happen again

The Mystery of the Emotions

People are not Rats–Moving Beyond Behaviour Based Safety

The Soul of Mental Health

Abduction in Risk and Safety

Seven Essential Safety Reminders

Toward Zero, A Failed Goal

Themes and Concepts in Risk – Requests

How to use signs, symbols and text effectively in communicating about risk

Understanding Psychological Terminology

The Social Politics of 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 7,499 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