¶ Not Everything Is as It Appears
So did you ever notice that some things aren't what you think they are? That some things look like they're going to be X and end up being Y? Music. Hey everybody, Todd Conklin, Pre-Accident Investigation Safety Moment. Today, we're going to talk about the amazing piece of information that I think you learn as you work. And because you have experience working, being a part of an organization, you kind of figure stuff out as you progress.
I don't want to say as you get older, because that sounds weird and depressing. But as you gain experience about the world, as you become more seasoned, like a cast iron skillet, you start to have some basic kind of understanding that not everything is as it appears. So the best example I can give of this is I was just talking to a friend who the team that she's working on is having some issues around coalescing and coming together as a team.
And the determination was made probably with some goofy survey. She didn't say this, but you can sort of play along with this, that there was a lack of trust within the team. So they brought in an expert, and that expert did an entire day on trust building, trust building, trust building, trust building. And they did kind of amazing things like leaned on each other and, you know, fell blindfolded into a crowd of people.
And then at the end of the day, they did what's good about you and what's bad about you. And it didn't go well. I mean, people didn't like to hear what was it. It hurt feelings and it scared people and it wasn't effective. And so we were talking about this and I thought, well, you know, that's interesting. But the problem isn't trust. Trust is a symptom of really a bigger, deeper problem. That the problem is not trust. Trust is a symptom.
And in fact, the bigger challenge is, is are they making agreements with each other? And then most importantly, keeping those agreements with each other. If you look at accountability and you think of accountability as a clarity exercise, then there's a lack of probably clarity about who does what and who finishes what and when they finish what.
And so I asked the question, just kind of casually, because we're talking about it, is there a lot of problems with people making promises and not keeping them? Or are we in a position where workers have so much to do, there's no way they can do it all? Or are we in a position where maybe the workers don't understand clearly who is responsible for major parts of the deliverables? And this friend of mine said, all those things are incredibly true.
¶ Lack of Clarity in Agreements
In fact, that's been a huge problem with this project, with this team since we've begun, is there's not a sense of clarity. And people make agreements with people, but then they don't keep those agreements. I said, well, it seems like that's what you should have talked about on your day of building trust. And she looked at me and she said, yeah, wow. Wow. And then we moved merrily on, probably because there were desserts being served.
And any time pie is involved, it always takes over from stupid work conversations at dinner. But I thought about that, and I thought, you know, we should probably talk about that, at least in the safety moment part. art.
Because one of the things you learn, and you guys know this, this isn't a mystery, is that what looks like it's going to be a problem is really more of a symptom of trouble deeper inside the whole organization or inside the team or inside the work group or inside the processes and practices.
And that as you get older, you just kind of learn really quickly that if they're saying the problem is trust, we can probably go back even one layer and find all sorts of foundational items that are missing that equate into better, bigger, nicer. More trusting environments in which to work. That lesson is an important lesson. You know it already, so we're sort of practicing.
But I do think it makes a huge difference to realize that solving Solving the problem you see may not solve the problem you have. That's the safety moment for today. It's a short and sweet one, but I do think it helps us get smarter. And isn't that what it's all about? Learn something new every single day. Have as much fun as you possibly can. Be good to each other. Be kind to each other. And for goodness sakes, you guys, be safe. Music.