People Don't Care What You Know Until They Know How Much You Care.
I visited with a crew at our Pier 23 project in Tacoma awhile back. I showed up just as they were finishing lunch and as I walked into their dry shack area I could sense the camaraderie and family feeling as they ribbed each other.
As I talked with the crane operator, Dan, he said they have worked together for years. He talked about them as if they were all family members. I was in the cab with Dan and they called on the radio and asked for me to leave him alone as he tripped the extremely long concrete pile. They knew the pick required full attention and it made them nervous that I was in there possibly distracting Dan.
I left the cab and went down to the deck of the barge to watch the pick. I watched in amazement as the crew made a difficult pick look pretty easy. This family type connection is what we need to keep our people safe. JT and his crew really walk the walk and look out for each other. They respect the hazards and risks and they communicate well with each other. Thank you to JT and his crew for setting the right example and keeping each other safe for so many years.
Recently, there has been an effort for our supervision to get to know our people. The reason for this is to build those family type relationships.
When we get to know our people we start to develop trust and a better understanding of each others strengths and weaknesses. We learn how to communicate with each other better and it makes it easier to work as a team. Greg Woodward told me a quote that I thought was applicable: “Our people don’t care what you know until they know you care.”
Care about your people. Truly show up for them and make a genuine effort to get to know them, about them, about their family, and about what makes them tick. This is crucial to creating a bond of trust and comradery on the jobsite. When you have these elements, safety becomes second nature. You look out for the safety of those who you care about.
Stay safe, have a great week everyone!