By Dawn Haynes
There is a saying in personal empowerment that, “Where the mind goes, the body follows.” It is typically used to illustrate the relationship between our thoughts and our actions. As it is in life, so it is in business—with you, the head of your organization, representing the mind, and your employees (if you have any) representing the body. As such, the overall wellbeing of your company begins with you.
In the previous column, I challenged you to begin evaluating your personal habits for areas where you may be inadvertently and unnecessarily putting your personal safety at risk. You were invited to look at things like: whether or not you’re in the habit of working in deserted buildings; overloading yourself with gear; your familiarity with any available security personnel and their services; emergency evacuation procedures for your building; and your use of an accountability partner.
Hopefully by now, you’ve given these things enough thought to have begun implementing some changes. However, as a small business owner, the overall safety of your organization is driven as much by your mindset as it is by your explicit requirements. Your employees look to you for how they should govern themselves and there is often a tacit understanding among them of your expectations; expectations that they believe could jeopardize their ability to support their families should they fail to meet them.
For example, when I worked in new home sales, it was understood that I would show property to male prospects alone at night if the situation presented itself. My project manager’s only concern was my making the sale, period. Now, while I know for a fact that he was only looking at his own personal financial bottom line (part of his quarterly bonuses were based on my production), I also believe that there was another part of him that felt comfortable with the idea of being alone in a property with a customer, day or night, and that if it was okay for him, it was okay for me. As a result of his mindset, I was accosted on property.
Do you share similar mindsets? Are you so focused on your bottom line that you expect your employees to do whatever it takes to make sure that you reach your financial goals? Do you have a “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander” mentality, whereby if you do it—whatever “it” may be–everyone in your organization is expected to do it as well? Even if you’ve never verbalized them, are your actions communicating your expectations? I’m not an attorney but I do believe that some of these attitudes can be the makings of a risk management nightmare, opening you up for potential liability. So what do you do?
- If you sense that your employees have taken demands upon themselves that were never your intention, begin by communicating this fact to them. They may simply be following your lead.
- If the demands are necessary, make sure that you have mechanisms in place that ensure the safety of your employees. I know of one manager who requires at least one male employee to work late anytime she has women working late so he can escort them to their vehicles.
- Consider allowing your employees to take work home to complete if you’re racing against a deadline and this is feasible. You should do the same.
- If you have employees who are working in the field, make sure that they are either partnered with another employee, or at the very least, have an accountability partner who knows their whereabouts as long as they are on the job. You should do the same.
Everything you think is good for the gander isn’t even good for the goose. Making a few simple attitude adjustments could set you well on your way to a safer workplace. Wishing you continued small business success—safely!
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Dawn Haynes, the Toolbox Diva ™, is the CEO (Chief Empowerment Officer) of 2EmpowerU, (formerly Fight or Flight Self Defense). You can contact Dawn by email at dawn@2empowerU.net, by phone at
713-298-6301, or visit her website at www.2empowerU.net
