7.19.2010
Sustainability is on every corporate radar. The strength of the signal and distance from action vary. In some cases, internal task groups have been formed, sustainability risk assessments have been performed, and actions incorporated into operations and products and services. In other cases, none or some of these activities have been started, or actions have not gotten beyond PR drivers.
In the current MIT Sloan Management Review, Christopher Lueneburger and Daniel Goleman make a valuable contribution with a presentation of a sustainability implementation model and identification of different competencies needed at different phases of implementation. They also identify differences between traditional implementation techniques and practices in large corporate initiatives from those needed in a sustainability initiative. Lueneburger and Goleman say that a common mistake is approaching the implementation of a sustainability initiative with the same tools and mindset used in the past, stating that sustainability is “not your father’s corporate initiative.” Read More
Posted By Charles Redinger | in Emerging Issues, High Performance Teams, Innovation, Personal Mastery, Sustainability, Uncategorized | Tags: Change leadership, Cross-functional teams, Greenwashing, Integrated EHSMS, Seeing systems, Sustainability initiative, Sustainability leadership, Sustainability management system, sustainability risk assessment | No Comments »
4.19.2010
With roots in regulatory compliance, it is no wonder that the internal view for EHS professionals is not always rosy. At times even being called or thought of as a cop. There are numerous evolving concepts that impact EHS effectiveness well beyond regulatory compliance. Some of these include the use of EHS management systems and six-sigma. Another area is how EHS audits are conducted and findings used. Still another is the role EHS professionals can play when their context (you can also say “mental models”) shift from one that is compliance-based (cop-on-the-beat) to one of advising and coaching.
A piece to this shift is accountability. In an advising/coaching role, EHS accountability is shared in partnership. EHS management systems help provide a framework for partnerships to flourish.
Read More
Posted By Charles Redinger | in Emerging Issues, Innovation, Personal Mastery, Strategic Thinking & Planning | Tags: Art of Inquiry, Coaching, Corporate Coaching, Dialogue, EHS Accountability, EHS Audit, EHS Coach, EHS Management System, EHSMS, EPA Compliance, Mental Models, OSHA Compliance, Partnership, Six-sigma | No Comments »
3.25.2010
I have worked with several EHS departments to increase their performance and cohesiveness. In partnership, we’ve addressed performance beyond simply meeting regulatory compliance, rather looking at ways they could integrate EHS deeper into the organization and impact sustainability and CSR. A starting place in all of these engagements has been to get the EHS management system up-to-snuff and firing on all cylinders. Beyond the EHSMS, we then focused on:
- Team vision. Developing a strong vision based in the team’s collective wisdom.
- Communication skills. Strengthening internal and external communication and generating alignment.
- Team learning. Developing mechanisms for feedback, analysis and integration.
- Systems thinking. Strengthened skills in systems ID and mapping.
Read More
Posted By Charles Redinger | in Emerging Issues, High Performance Teams, Management Systems, Personal Mastery, Strategic Thinking & Planning | Tags: Collective Wisdom, CSR, EHS, High Performance Teams, Sustainability, Systems Thinking, Team Vision | No Comments »
2.25.2010
Documents such as ISO 31000:2009 discussed in an earlier blog, present a good example or framework for improving organizational effectiveness and performance. Frameworks such as these are meant to be general so that individual organizations can tailor them to specific needs.
When applying a new method, approach, or system, organizations need to consider numerous things in developing an implementation/integration strategy that will bring the initiative to life. One of the challenges organizations have in doing this is generating participation. Volumes are written on this subject in the management and organizational sciences. Some of the key points that reoccur are: Read More
Posted By Charles Redinger | in Innovation, Personal Mastery, Strategic Thinking & Planning | Tags: ISO 3100:2009, Quantum EHS Management Systems | No Comments »
2.4.2010
In their presentation at the 18th Annual Pegasus Conference, Peter Senge and Betty Sue Flowers spoke about leadership and the role that story and myth play in guiding leaders. Leadership, they argued, is about the future, the story that is created and communicated.
Oftentimes, leaders don’t think that they can alter the story. Senge and Flowers, however, disagree. At every moment, they argued, we have the power to create a new story. In fact, the ability to do this is an essential leadership trait. They suggested that one way to create a compelling storyline is to develop plots based on a “purpose to learn,” as opposed to “victim-based” plots. Read More
Posted By Charles Redinger | in High Performance Teams, Innovation, Personal Mastery | Tags: Betty Sue Flowers, Pegasus Conference, Peter Senge, The Universe Story, Thomas Berry | No Comments »
1.28.2010
At the NAEM Forum, Don Ritz and Bruce Huber of Barrick Gold led a session called “The EHS Manager as a Change Agent.” In this session, they put forth that EHS professionals can and must view themselves as change agents in organizations, and presented a process similar to the Seven Steps of EHS Integration developed by Redinger EHS.
This process shifts the EHS mindset toward one that is generative and based in vision and alignment, as opposed to a mindset that is reactive and based in compliance. Some of the change agent characteristics that Ritz and Huber identified were: persistence, courage, passion, commitment, ability to leverage, and integrity. Read More
Posted By Charles Redinger | in High Performance Teams, Innovation, Personal Mastery | Tags: Barrick Gold, Bruce Huber, Don Ritz, NAEM | No Comments »
1.21.2010
In his keynote address at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHCE) in Minneapolis, economist and futurist Jeremy Rifkin stated that the most basic human instinct is to embody relationship–that is, to be connected with others. He spoke of the “struggle to be,” and argued that it is imperative to reach out to and connect with others at work, in our communities, and in society as a whole, and to do so with science behind us. He talked about the spatial change that occurred with the first Apollo flight to the moon in July of 1969. For many, Rifkin said, it was a defining moment in life—there was a spatial change in how we viewed the world and ourselves, and an expansion of mindset way beyond ourselves.
In our consulting engagements, we often hear the word “silo” used to describe conditions within the EHS group or the overall company. In this new era, the concept of silos must be reconsidered, as they limit innovation. Read More
Posted By Charles Redinger | in High Performance Teams, Personal Mastery | Tags: AIHCE, American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, Jeremy Rifkin, John Passacanando, NAEM | No Comments »
1.14.2010
Many indicators point to a shift in EHS drivers and thinking. Redinger EHS outlines a few below.
End of the Oil Economy
At the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHCE) in Minneapolis, economist and futurist Jeremy Rifkin explained that we are in the twilight of the oil economy, yet have not fully grasped its ramifications, or how it will affect communities and organizations. He spoke about a “third revolution”: radical, new ways of thinking about energy are needed, he argued, based on four pillars — generation, distribution, storage, and communication. He challenged EHS professionals to develop skills to succeed in this new era, skills that are above and beyond core technical skills.
New EHS Drivers
At the NAEM EHS Management Forum in Memphis, “Managing the Green,” keynote speaker Ron Hart, formally with the EPA, suggested that EHS professionals are “asleep at the wheel,” unaware of the fact that a new era of EHS is here. “We are now in an era where EHS has real stakeholder value,” he said. A whole new set of drivers (e.g., climate, population, interconnectivity, emerging economic powers, etc.) is transforming the EHS role in organizations. Read More
Posted By Charles Redinger | in Emerging Issues, Innovation, Personal Mastery | Tags: AIHCE, American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, Betty Sue Flowers, NAEM, Pegasus Conference, Peter Senge, Ron Hart | No Comments »
