Fear Kills

In case you didn't see it, a report in the New York Times earlier this week offers a stark example of what can happen when the culture of an organization discourages open and honest dialogue. The article reports that in a study conducted earlier this year by the insurer, Lloyds, the crew of the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico had significant and ongoing concerns about the safety of the rig. The Lloyds team was on board the rig about a month before it blew and conducted a safety survey and a number of focus groups with Transocean crew members over the course of several days.

"Almost everyone felt they could raise safety concerns and these issues would be acted upon if this was within the immediate control of the rig," said the report, which also found that more than 97 percent of workers felt encouraged to raise ideas for safety improvements and more than 90 percent felt encouraged to participate in safety-improvement initiatives.

But investigators also said, "It must be stated at this point, however, that the workforce felt that this level of influence was restricted to issues that could be resolved directly on the rig, and that they had little influence at Divisional or Corporate levels."

Alternatively, we could come up with a list of what to do if you want to create an environment where people are afraid to say what needs to be said. In either case, I'd love to hear your thoughts over the next few days. I'll write a post next week based on your comments and ideas.