Safety Leadership: The leadership advantage: Key skills for operational excellence

Editor’s Note: Achieving and sustaining an injury-free workplace demands strong leadership. In this monthly column, experts from global consulting firm DEKRA share their point of view on what leaders need to know to guide their organizations to safety excellence.

Today’s leaders face a constantly evolving environment. Workplace complexity has increased because of the adoption of remote and hybrid workforces, technological advances (including machine learning and artificial intelligence), a focus on sustainability and social responsibility, and challenges in effective communication and change management.

Discussions on leadership often receive a lukewarm response. Yet, leadership – above all else – drives success. With so much happening globally and in the workplace, it’s crucial to pause and focus on this.

Leadership is fundamentally about people. Few organizations consist of only one person, so leaders must learn to filter and distill the various inputs they receive into concise messages.

Through their behavior, leaders must demonstrate actions that ensure the safety and well-being of their workforce. In doing so, organizations can improve performance and drive toward greater success.

The difference lies in how the leader accomplishes this. There’s no magic solution – leadership requires hard work, dedication and a willingness to dive in.

In the U.S. Navy, for example, all F/A-18 Super Hornet squadrons are resourced similarly and share the same mission: to support the branch’s broader mission of ensuring maritime security and protecting national interests.

Each squadron, consisting of around 200 people, is led by an experienced commanding officer who was chosen because of their past leadership performance.

Every year, the performance of each squadron is reviewed to capture best practices for future application. Safety metrics, combat and maintenance effectiveness, retention, advancement, promotion rates, and physical fitness scores are analyzed.

Interestingly, despite similar resources and missions, one squadron often outperforms the others. The difference? Leadership.

Although all leaders are different, some traits, characteristics and skills propel leaders and their organizations to the top:

• They know their people. Understanding individual strengths, weaknesses, desires and needs is crucial for forging a unified path to success.
• They clearly articulate their mission, vision and strategy.
• They excel in communication, knowing what information is required by whom, at what time and in what format.
• They understand where and how their organization fits into the bigger picture, allowing for greater flexibility in changing operational requirements.
• They continuously assess their performance through inspections, audits, evaluations and internal self-assessment.
• They excel at the feedback loop: planning, briefing, executing and debriefing.
• Leadership is the key to operational excellence.
• The best leaders consistently demonstrate a critical set of skills, making a significant difference in their organizations.

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