SPOTLIGHT STRONG LEADERSHIP
The quality of a company’s leadership has a direct result on health and safety, member research shows EXEMPLARY LEADERS
Ross McKillop
R esearch from Ross McKillop, a lecturer in Construction Management at Glasgow Caledonian University, reveals positive behaviours by leaders of SME construction companies result in strong organisational development and improved health and safety performance. Speaking with 32 business owners, eight of whom were FMB members, McKillop compiled a four-stage process. Here he summarises his research findings. 1 The leader’s vision The leader's vision for the company’s overall performance needs to align with their strategy for keeping employees safe on site. After all, a serious accident at a construction SME, for example, could have detrimental effects on the business – even forcing it to shut down – due to decreased productivity, fines and replacement costs for plant equipment or materials. 2 The leader’s practices Good leadership requires sensible practices that focus on building relationships with employees. The process of relationship building is often easier when employees and leaders share similar behaviours and are motivated by similar goals – ‘birds of a feather stick together’. My research shows younger employees tend to be motivated by development and money, whereas older workers by stability and praise. By understanding these motivators, leaders can suitably incentivise employees. Developing younger employees and teaching them about processes and procedures,
for example, gives them greater competency and reduces accidents. Older workers are motivated by the leader's concern for their health and safety. They respect leaders who give them a stable and safe working environment. Both younger and older employees perform better when they know there is a chance that their leaders might correct their negative behaviours. It is also clear that actions speak louder than words – meaning that the way business leaders behave encourages employees’ actions. For example, a business leader who communicates verbally to their employees about the value of health and safety practices, and also embodies this behaviour through their own actions, helps employees to understand the importance of health and safety. The owner of one company in the research was drawn to an employee who wanted to improve their communication skills to help instruct those on site whose first language was not English. The owner supported this, seeing the opportunity to develop an informal leader who could help the team. When it comes to organisational development, leaders who actively create a company where employees support one another within a family atmosphere are more likely to end up with team members who are more considerate of each other’s needs. 3 The leader’s reflections so leaders who reflect on feedback from clients, main contractors, health Nothing is perfect the first time round in a construction business
and safety professionals or their employees often take actions to refine processes and performances. These leaders understand how their own behaviours and those of others are at play in creating a safe and sustainable business. 4 The leader’s refinements Reflection enables leaders to understand their company’s commercial impact and how best to move forward. Doing so leads to suitable refinements by improving existing health and safety controls, processes and behaviours of employees. Examples of incremental refinement include: Minimum adjustments to risk assessment to prevent confusion; Improving PPE for comfort rather than just protection from hazards; and Training employees to take on additional tasks at work to further their development and that of the company. Many SME construction leaders are using technological tools, such as communication apps and online access to training and important documents, to support employees to improve health and safety behaviours. Any members who are interested in participating in future research are invited to connect with McKillop via LinkedIn at bit.ly/RossMcKillop
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