Becoming a Mindful Organisation: Lessons from High-Reliability Organisations

As safety professionals, we are constantly striving to enhance our organisation's safety culture and performance. One approach that has gained traction in recent years is the concept of mindful organising, which shares many similarities with the practices of high-reliability organisations (HROs). In this blog post, we'll explore the key characteristics of mindful organisations and how they align with the principles of HROs, drawing insights that can help elevate your safety efforts.

Understanding Mindful Organising and HROs

The article "Organising for Mindfulness" by Kathleen M. Sutcliffe and Timothy J. Vogus provides a comprehensive analysis of how organisations can manage complexity and uncertainty through mindful practices. Both mindful organisations and HROs prioritise reliability and resilience in the face of challenges, but they do so through distinct mechanisms that enhance their overall performance.

Preoccupation with Failure

Both mindful organisations and HROs maintain a constant awareness that failures can occur, even in well-oiled systems. They proactively analyse potential vulnerabilities and treat small mistakes or near misses as opportunities to identify and address underlying issues before they escalate. By fostering an intelligent wariness, you can avoid the pitfalls of hubris and complacency that often contribute to accidents.

Reluctance to Simplify Interpretations

Mindful organisations and HROs actively question assumptions and bring diverse perspectives to the table. They understand that the past is not always a reliable guide to the future, so they encourage employees to consider alternative ways of approaching tasks and decisions. By expanding the interpretive variety within your organisation, you can enhance your ability to detect and respond to unexpected situations.

Sensitivity to Operations

Maintaining real-time situational awareness is crucial for mindful organisations and HROs. They prioritise the collection and integration of up-to-date information, enabling them to make small adjustments that prevent minor issues from snowballing into major incidents. By staying closely attuned to what's happening on the ground, you can identify and address latent failures before they manifest.

Commitment to Resilience

While anticipating and preventing failures is essential, mindful organisations and HROs also recognise the importance of developing robust recovery capabilities. They invest in building skills like improvisation, learning, and adaptation to bounce back from unforeseen challenges. By expanding your organisation's action repertoire through training, varied experiences, and collaborative networks, you can enhance your resilience in the face of the unexpected.

Flexible Decision Structures

When unexpected problems arise, mindful organisations and HROs prioritise expertise over formal rank. They enable the person or people with the most relevant knowledge to make decisions, regardless of their position in the hierarchy. This flexibility ensures that emerging issues receive prompt attention from those best equipped to handle them, increasing the likelihood of effective resolution.

Wrap Up

By incorporating these mindful organising principles into your safety practices, you can create an organisational culture that is proactive, adaptable, and resilient. As Sutcliffe and Vogus emphasise in their article, becoming a mindful organisation is an ongoing process that requires continuous learning, adaptation, and a genuine commitment to safety at all levels of the organisation. Start small, experiment with different approaches, and celebrate successes along the way.