Reflections... What's Your Story?

What’s Your Story?

We sent our Communications Team into the field over the past month to help us collect photos and video clips to update the APM media library. Katie Maldonado, our Communications Director, wanted to share some of her thoughts around safety stories after reflecting on her site visits.

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What Motivates People to Invest in Their Future?

Ask a person why they signed up for a savings account. You’ll hear about their plans for a new house, sending their children to college, traveling with their partner, or starting their passion business. These are not sad stories. They are exciting prospects worth saving toward.

Ask a person why they started a new diet and exercise plan. You’ll hear about their goals to be healthier or live longer, to improve their quality of life and spend more time doing the things they love with the people they love. These are not sad stories either. The potential is thrilling and successfully keeps them from devouring the extra cupcake.

But … Safety Stories Aren't Usually Happy

Often times, the stories that get relayed in safety discussions aren’t happy ones. Safety seems more like a reactionary choice based on a near-miss or a tragedy. This is a terrible setup for the importance of safety. Of course we struggle getting people to buy-in to safety when it is presented as the default choice made after a gut-wrenching incident. People may logically understand that safety is the right choice. But, it’s the story of why people choose safety that is most compelling and impactful in the small moments of critical decision.

Positive Stories Beat Sad Stories

Stories are powerful – they inspire belief and action. Stories are also easier to remember than the logical aspects of safety. Inspiring positive stories affect people all the way to the heart instead of just the brain. Sad stories cause fear and make people feel awful, but this is often only temporary. And the further away you get from the tragedy, the less impact its memory holds. Connecting safety with a positive personal story empowers people to own safety because they are looking forward to something, and every moment they stay safe, they get closer to it.

Allow Me to Share a Story (or Two)

I visited several jobsites over the past month, and I saw many different styles of leadership. The one that stuck with me the most was a leader who spoke from the heart. He daily shared his personal story (his WHY) for remaining safe with his crew members. He owned the good and bad reflections from the prior day and committed to a better today because of his story – going home to his family safe, healthy, and proud in a month. Every minute of every day, he gets closer to this reality. And every moment – every split-second decision – matters in staying safe. While I attended his site, I witnessed firsthand his honesty in daily self-improvement and commitment to the safety of his crew by taking the time and going the extra mile to ensure everything was done in the safest manner possible. Watching his leadership was an inspiration to me and caused me to reflect deeply about how intentional I have been in advocating safety daily through sharing my personal story. Our Commitment Based Safety philosophy is a great way to do this. Choosing safety for ourselves and the people we love and helping the people we love choose their own safety are two of the greatest accomplishments we can have.

At another site I visited, I saw the below wall setup. What an excellent visual representation of the many positive stories across the crew! The wall was set up directly across from the crew’s break trailer so that they could look upon the stories each time they went back to the work area.

Sad Stories Aren’t All Bad

The sad stories of near-misses and tragic injuries aren’t unimportant. They can give us a good dose of reality, which may be needed (it’s commonly the snake you don’t expect that bites you). But let’s not forget these stories can be limited in long-term impact. A positive story inspires a lot stronger and longer. After all, most people live for the possibilities of life, not the absence of affliction.

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Thank you, Katie, for your candid reflections and encouragement to us all in owning (and sharing) our stories. We all have the power to inspire and impact people’s lives for the better!

—Jake