Human reliability studies confirm what we know: we make mistakes. Tribe Consultant, Mike Bridge, shares his thoughts on how to create a Just Culture…
What is a Just Culture?
A Just Culture is a vital feature of a well-developed and mature culture. It creates genuine trust for both leaders and workers that each side will do their part to act safely and react fairly when things go wrong.
A just, fair and restorative culture of accountability or ‘Just Culture’ makes us feel psychologically safe at work when mistakes happen.
What should people do when something goes wrong?
A sensible first step when anyone shares a mistake is to check who is affected and what can be done to help.
After checking, start building a map of what happened so you can understand what might stop it from happening again.
The golden principle is about gathering information to build a picture and not judging with hindsight as it’s too easy and tempting to think all is clear cut at this point.
Instead, consider the messy reality that confronted the people in the event. Think about what they knew and how they felt, as well as what the culture and normal behaviours would be in that situation.
It’s about treating people fairly and in a just manner.
What questions should people be asking to show there’s a restorative just and fair approach in place?
I’d start by finding out who’s been harmed and what can be done to help or mitigate this.
Also, was the act wilful? Did they mean for their actions to cause harm?
Are the procedures and rules good and workable in the situation?
Were the rules and procedures followed?
Would another person with same skills for the organisation do the same thing(s)?
And is the person of good character and record?
It’s also worth adding that punishing or retraining a person rarely drives a significant change in improvement and learning.
Instead, the way to unlock learning is by engaging with the people involved alongside their team and the wider organisation to understand what would stop it happening again.
If people are treated with kindness and respect, they are likely to learn and grow. Most people are not criminally minded and, most of the time, do not want to get things wrong, make mistakes or cause harm.
These ideas provide an introduction to creating a Just Culture – a foundational approach to developing a high performing proactive future culture.
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