Safety for Success

Leadership is the act of driving a group towards success amid any hardships and crises. Leaders practically cannot accomplish anything without the aid of the group of average men who comprise the workforce in companies and organizations; therefore, it is necessary to establish an optimal environment for workers and employees. Although many people argue that an unsafe work environment, which stimulates competition and pressure, can help motivate employees to achieve success in fear of the repercussions of failure, a safe work environment for subordinates better yields success to leaders by displaying high performance through constant innovations. 

The feeling of safety or security in a group not only improves the group’s health but also allows it to perform to its potential. As mentioned in Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek, a close study of high-performing organizations shows that “if certain conditions are met and people inside an organization feel safe among each other,” then “they will work together to achieve things none of them could have ever achieved alone”(17). When people feel safe inside an organization, they are more open to working with others and thus produce exceptional performance. If it is a case of insecurity, then collaboration will be next to nothing; consequently, performance will decrease, hindering the group’s potential.  Moreover, this relationship between safety and the performance of a group can also be seen in Toyota’s assembly line manufacturing process. In Toyota, employees are encouraged to stop the entire production line assembly process and report any irregularity or issues with it without the fear of any consequences. This leads to better quality and safety of products. This culture establishes a sense of safety among the production line workers, allowing them to perform to their potential by producing the least amount of defective parts they can. Once again this reinforces the notion that when the average man - or employee in this case - is felt safe by the leader, then they start performing to their potential. Performance is an essential part of every organization, and if any leadership cannot perform, then the organization won’t be able to sustain itself and succumb to shambles. 

Furthermore, an atmosphere of safety among a leader’s subordinates is necessary to foster innovation. Simon Sinek reinforces this notion in Leaders Eat Last when he claims that “inside a Circle of Safety'' people “trust” and “share” their “successes and failures” to figure out what they “know” and “don’t know.” This eventually results in “innovation”(170).  In a contrasting situation, where the safety of employees is negligible and trust is absent, there is no room for sharing information with each other. Innovation is the process of making changes to a product to make it even better, and this can only be done when information regarding the shortcomings and advantages of the current product is known. Furthermore, this concept is also embraced at Pixar Studios. At Pixar, an environment of trust and safety is established where employees are encouraged to openly critique and improve each other's work. This leads to continuous innovation in animation techniques and storytelling. Without constant innovation, whether of a product, service, or strategy, a group’s future will be jeopardized as it risks falling outdated and less competitive to its enemies and competitors who are constantly looking at ways to improve. Therefore, it is evident that successful leadership requires innovation which can only be achieved by crafting a safe atmosphere for subordinates. 

In conclusion, a safe work environment is a paragon for success. When the leader makes an average man feel safe, then many brilliant and exceptional feats can be accomplished.