There is a lot of discussion around ‘blame’ and how to eliminate it from safety cultures. We know that a blame culture leads to cover ups and reduced accountability, so it is a relevant topic. However, I see organisations struggling to get to grips with how to tackle this very common issue and I hope that I can shed some light on it here.
First, I think it is worth gaining an understanding of what blame is and how it manifests.
Blame is a psychological problem. According to Brene Brown, shame and vulnerability researcher; blame is the discharging of pain and discomfort. We do this in order to reassure ourselves that we have little to no control over an unwanted outcome and therefore we are totally vindicated from any negative consequences, thus avoiding the pain and discomfort. To admit that we did actually have control and that we were wholly or partly responsible for a negative outcome, can make us feel vulnerable and even ashamed of ourselves. These are difficult emotions to sit with at any time, but add to this the judgement from others that often occurs when something goes wrong, and it becomes unbearable. It is far easier to live with ourselves if we can justify and minimise our part and push more of the liability onto someone else. So that’s why we blame, it’s an exercise in self preservation.
Now let’s unpack why some interventions don’t hit the mark.
As a responsible manager, safety is a heavy burden because it’s not only a duty of care, but also a moral obligation to another human being. It’s understandable that if a manager sees a worker doing something unsafely they will have a visceral reaction. They see in an instant, what pain and discomfort they will personally go through if there is an accident. So, in the heat of the moment they tend to shout and point the finger at the person who should know better. They blame the worker for being stupid, or not paying attention, or becoming complacent. It’s this behaviour that organisations work to avoid, when addressing a blame culture. So they instruct these frontline managers to behave differently, to be ‘fair’ and ‘just’ when dealing with safety concerns. Unfortunately, that’s going to be almost impossible to achieve, here’s why!
It isn’t the manager's fault. They are part of a chain reaction. If they didn’t also feel like they would be ‘blamed’ with all of its negative connotations, they would not experience a need to discharge their pain or discomfort by passing the blame on to workers. Culture doesn’t start with frontline managers and run downhill, it starts at the top. Frontline managers and workers are a mirror that reflects back what they are taught by leaders, either in their action or communications, which shows the standards they accept.
Stop focusing on specific behaviour and start focusing on organisational psychology.
Leaders can break a blame culture, by thinking and reacting in a different way. This takes a shift in mindset that is conscious and deliberate. Start by admitting your mistakes, to supporting managers at all levels to admit to their mistakes. Build confidence by showing how they can learn from mistakes or poor decisions. It’s important that their solutions are also supported and they are able to correct themselves and share their learning with others. This is psychological safety in practice.
Example scenario
How this might look in a railway environment:
A near miss occurred onsite, which was caused by rail workers accessing the worksite on the wrong side. Consequently, the CoSS on duty at the time of the incident was interviewed by 2 managers.
Manager #1 asked the CoSS if he had read his SWP to determine the correct location of access, but before the CoSS could answer Manager#2 jumped in and said he couldn’t have, otherwise they’d have been on the right track. Calmly, Manager #1 looked at the CoSS to indicate that he could respond. The CoSS said he had and that the SWP wasn’t specific, as it had a colloquial name on it. Manager #2 immediately said that the CoSS should have asked for clarification, to which the CoSS replied that one of his team knew the area well and seemed confident about the access point that was used. Again, Manager #1 calmly asked if there was any other information that could have been used to determine the exact location. The CoSS told him that there was vegetation obscuring the distance signs and that because it was night time, low visibility was another factor.
Manager #2 was showing signs of frustration and said these were all excuses and threatened that the CoSS would lose his ticket over this. However, Manager #1 remained considerate of the CoSS, who he knew was shook up by the incident and the investigation, he asked what could have helped the CoSS to make a better decision. The CoSS considered this for a while and then suggested that they use what3words on the SWP. Manager #1 thanked the CoSS for the suggestion and said he’d make sure that happened in future.
Manager #2 was worried that the calm approach was too ‘soft’ and would encourage a lack of responsibility, in fact the opposite is true. We’d like to believe that when we are telling someone that they are to blame, we’re also making them take responsibility - this is a self-deceiving myth. People rarely accept blame, especially under duress.
This method works with the positive mechanics of human cognition.
People are wired to learn and make things better, especially if it benefits them personally. By rewarding the learning that comes out of a mistake, we develop growth that will become embedded into our culture. In order for people to become responsive to learning, they have to trust that there is an acceptance that they are fallible human beings. That when a mistake is made they not only grow from that, but with that lived experience, they are better equipped to avoid the same situation again. The human brain is wired to avoid making the same mistake twice. However, if the brain fears admitting it made a mistake in the first place and dismissively justifies why it was someone else's fault, then it becomes someone else's lesson to learn. Since the other person won’t want to accept blame, no-one will learn anything!
The same is true for organisational culture. If leaders justify, dismiss or downgrade what they should be holding themselves accountable for, it is a missed opportunity to create a culture of learning. However, if leaders show vulnerability as one of their strengths, because that takes far more courage than to blame others, they become excellent role models. They can show everyone that making mistakes is human and learning from them strengthens the culture.
Please don’t hide mistakes for fear of being judged. It weakens the culture and keeps the organisations in the blame game.
If you're interested in learning more about safety culture on the railway or want to chat about overcoming 'the blame game', get in touch with Jules.
