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Safety and CuriosityAn interactive learning guideproudly sponsored by the Anglo American Safety Academy

IntroductionS A F E T Y A C A D E M Y | 0 3 7VIDEOUsing the Learning Guide In this guide you will find links to a range ofresources such as:VIDEOS PODCASTSRECOMMENDED BOOKSARTICLES TED TALKS

At Anglo American, we believe that our people are our mostprecious resource. Their safety remains our top priority. Wewant to know that ALL our colleagues, everywhere, at alltimes, are safe. Always safe.Taking care of our people lies at the core of everything thatwe do. But we don’t just say it; we act on it, and we invest in it.Our aim is to shape a new reality where it’s impossible foranyone to get hurt while working with us. We want tocontinually raise the bar in our industry, making the companynot only a leader in mining but an industrial leader. One of thesafest in the world.We never stop searching and thinking of innovative ways tokeep our people safe and enable extraordinary safetyperformance by everyone, everywhere, every day.Driven by this purpose, we have created the Safety Academy.It is an industry first: a ground-breaking, multi-channelresource to help us develop safety professionals today and inthe future. People who can drive safety operationalexcellence through insight, influence and impactacross ourglobal operations. Safety Academy overviewThree principles for safety professionals of the future to live byInspire insightIncrease influenceImprove impactAlways, awaysask, ‘Why?’Bravelychallenge thestatus quoExploreinformationfroma range ofsourcesOffer credible insight and demonstrateknowledge on how touse it•Build trust throughconsistentperformance andstrong workingrelationshipsIdentify and deliverthe right outcomesthrough others•Help others to build their knowledgeand skills where neededANGLO AMERICAN SAFETY ACADEMY 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. | 04

Curious about human behaviourMotivation: This refers to the drive orreason behind our actions. There areintrinsic motivations (driven by anindividual's internal desires orpassions) and extrinsic motivations(driven by external rewards orpunishments).Conditioning: Behaviors can belearned through association(classical conditioning) or throughrewards and punishments (operantconditioning).Social Influences: We are influencedby the opinions, behaviors, andexpectations of people around us.Phenomena like peer pressure,conformity, and social norms play asignificant role in shaping behavior.Cognitive Dissonance: This theoryposits that we feel discomfort whenwe hold conflicting beliefs or whenour actions don't align with ourbeliefs. To resolve this dissonance,we might change our beliefs or justifyour behaviors.Heuristics and Biases: These aremental shortcuts our brains use tomake decisions quickly. While theycan be helpful, they can also lead tosystematic errors or biases.Human behavior is complex, driven by amyriad of factors rooted in biology,psychology, culture, and individualexperiences. Several psychologicalphenomena provide insight into why wedo what we do:Watch this video about howsocial influence drives ourbehaviourEmotions: Our emotions, bothmomentary feelings and moreprolonged mood states, can influenceour perceptions, decisions, andactions.Habit: Over time, repeated behaviorscan become automatic. Habits candrive our actions without ourconscious intention.Self-perception Theory: Sometimes,we determine our inner feelings orattributes by observing our externalbehaviors. If we see ourselves doingsomething, we might infer that wemust have a particular belief orfeeling that aligns with that behavior.Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Thistheory suggests that people aremotivated to fulfill basic needs likefood and shelter before addressingmore advanced needs like esteemand self-actualization.

Curious about human behaviourThe Need for Cognitive Consistency:Humans have an inherent desire to haveconsistency in their beliefs, attitudes,and behaviors. Inconsistencies lead totension and discomfort, whichindividuals are motivated to resolve.Attribution Theory: This revolves aroundhow people interpret events and howthis relates to their thinking andbehavior. We constantly makeattributions regarding why thingshappen, either attributing them tointernal/personal factors orexternal/situational ones.Cultural and Societal Influences: Theculture and society we are raised insignificantly shape our values, beliefs,and behaviors. Cultural norms definewhat is considered acceptable or taboo.Desire for Agency: Humans have aninnate desire for control or agency overtheir lives. This need to have a hand inone's destiny can significantly influencebehavior.Watch these well known psychology experiments which explain twoinfluences on our behaviour

Individual perception can be impaired or distorted due to various reasons, bothinternal (cognitive and psychological factors) and external (environmentalinfluences). Here are some ways in which individual perception can be impaired:Cognitive Biases: These are systematic patterns of deviation from norm orrationality in judgment, leading individuals to perceive reality based on flawedreasoning.Emotions: Strong emotions, such as fear, anger, or euphoria, can distort perceptions,making individuals more likely to focus on certain aspects of a situation and ignoreothers.Fatigue: Physical and mental exhaustion can impair perceptual accuracy. Tiredindividuals might miss details or misinterpret information.Expectations and Past Experiences: Sometimes, what an individual expects to see(or has seen in the past) can overshadow what is actually present, leading them tomisperceive a situation.Distractions: External distractions, whether visual or auditory, can pull an individual'sfocus away from what they should be perceiving.Understanding the factors that impair perception is essential, especially in situationswhere accurate perception is critical, such as driving, making significant decisions,or ensuring personal safety.PerceptionWatch this video and test yourown perception and attention!

The more we like someone the more inclined we are to want tohelp them – and the less inclined we are to give them negativefeedback… if you like somebody the best thing you can do forthem is to be honest with them in your feedback. Done the rightway this should not damage the relationship; but if you don'tmake them aware of potential blind spots, you are doing thema disservice... Outcome biasRecencybiasLikingbiasThis is the tendency to evaluate decisions based on theresult rather than on the decision process. What otherexternal forces were at play to affect the result? What if youhad made a different decision? Could the result have beeneven better? You come out of a meeting where you feelthat you were undermined by your linemanager – he has never done this beforeand is usually fair and empowering. You sitdown and decide to complete his 360feedback… when it comes to the questionregarding empowerment, your mind goesimmediately to the recent event. Andforgets everything that has gone before…ROLFDOBELLI 'THE ART OFTHINKINGCLEARLY'READOUTSMARTYOUR OWNBIASES11 MINUTE WATCH5 MINUTE READWe all hold our own subjective world views and are influenced and shaped by our experiences, beliefs,values, education, family, friends, peers and others. Being aware of one's biases is vital to both personalwell-being and professional success.Heuristics and judgement

AuthoritybiasFrom an early age we are taught that we must not disobey agreat authority, and authority is used to reinforce the status ofmany roles in society. In the workplace, hierarchy may reinforcethis and when asked for feedback on someone in a higherposition it is tempting to think that they either know more thanyou or you are not in the position to proffer constructivefeedback. You should remember that status does not mean all-knowing, all-seeing !Halo/HorneffectFalseCausalityWhen we know somebody is particularlygood or bad at one thing, or we havehad a particularly good or badexperience with them, the more likely weare to extend this judgement toeverything else.ConfirmationbiasA false-causality fallacy is based on themistaken assumption that because oneevent follows another, the first eventcaused the second. For example, acolleague attends a client meeting forthe first time. Shortly after, a deal whichhas been in the making for some timeactually closes. The colleague takescredit, when actually they did very littlein the meeting and the deal was comingto its natural close after a long period ofhard work by the rest of the team.Super investor Warren Buffet sums up this bias perfectly…“What the human being is best at doing, is interpreting all newinformation so that their prior conclusions remain intact" Whenjudging ourselves and others, we often make an instantjudgement and then go looking for evidence to prove it,conveniently ignoring anything to the contrary…Heuristics and judgement

Envy biasself-servingbiasCherry-pickingSimilarity/affinitybiasIn short, we have a tendency to attributesuccess to ourselves and failures to externalfactors. In addition, we tend to over-estimate the contributions we make – thishas been proven in surveys with marriedcouples where the majority of the couplesboth believe that they make more than 50%contribution to the health of their marriage!This bias is one that many of us find difficult to admit. When weare envious of someone's talents or success in can play out insubtle but damaging ways. You may find that you are more aptto look for weaknesses or remember mistakes that are made.Taking control of your biases means being honest with yourself- never use feedback to knock someone of whom you areenvious down a peg or two..If we are similar to or have something incommon with someone we are less likelyto give them critical feedback – they area mirror to ourselves and we find itdifficult to see the flaws in ourselves…When you go onto a hotel website the photographs have beencarefully selected to portray beautiful, majestic interiors. Theyleave out the less appealing details such as the shabby lobbyor the more cramped, viewless bedrooms. Do you startpreparing for your annual review by making a list of all thethings you have achieved that year..? Next time, think about the‘leftover cherries’ and what they really say about yourperformance…Heuristics and judgement

SafelyCuriousJudgementConfidenceFearGung HoCommitmentAnxiousCommitmentBlindComplianceDogmaticComplianceCuriosity is one of the oldest neurological pathways, yet we tend to lose the curiosity ofyouth to adapt or conform to the adult world. Like anything else curiosity is a muscle. Themore you use it the stronger it gets. So what is it exactly? Simply the desire 'to know'.Working on your curiosity will boost your wellbeing, drive sound decision-making, fuelyour creativity and, most importantly, fosters connectivity and understanding betweenpeople.The Safely Curious model looks at two variable scales to be considered when thinkingabout how curiosity can positively contribute to safety behaviours: Fear versusconfidence and judgement versus curiosityCuriosity versus judgementThe degree to which there iscognitive flexibility andinformation seeking behaviourConfidence versus fearThe degree to which there iscognitive flexibility andinformation seeking behaviourCuriositySafely Curious: The Model

Anxious commitment to improving safety refers to a state in which individuals arehighly concerned or anxious about safety issues to the degree that it can impairperformances. This kind of commitment arises from a fear of blame where theremay be a pervasive lack of psychological safety, where somebody may be early intheir career or sometimes related to personality.Safely Curious: The ModelFind out abouthow anxiouscommitment tolead to self-doubt andhesistancy

Blind compliance refers to the uncritical or unquestioning adherence to rules,orders, or expectations without understanding, assessing, or recognizing therationale or consequences behind them. In essence, it's following directives simplybecause "that's the way it's done" or "because I was told to," without evaluating thecontext, ethics, or potential outcomes of the actions.Safely Curious: The ModelFind out about TheBystander Effect whichcan be an outcome ofblind compliance

Dogmatic compliance refers to a situation in which individuals or groups strictlyadhere to rules, policies, or instructions without question or critical thinking. In thiscontext, "dogmatic" refers to an unwavering and inflexible adherence toestablished beliefs oIgnorance can be an important motivator. Often it is peoplewho are ignorant of the potential chances of success who are the keenest to act.One of the more curious reasons for this is the ‘Dunning-Kruger Effect’. This is thetendency of people with very low levels of skill to systematically and unreasonablyoverestimate their abilities. Safely Curious: The ModelListen to JohnCleese describethe conundrumof the Dunning-Kruger effect

Curiosity is most effective when confidence is balanced. Curiosity is informationseeking – too much confidence in the need for as much information as possible makescuriosity counter-productive and risky. Being Safely Curious adopts second order thinking. Second-order thinking, oftenreferred to as "thinking in terms of second-level consequences," is a mental strategythat involves looking beyond the immediate effects of a decision to consider thesubsequent effects that decision might cause. Instead of just thinking about what willhappen right after an action (first-order effects), you think about the events that thisfirst set of events will trigger (second-order effects) and potentially even beyond tothird, fourth, or nth-order effects.Safely Curious: The ModelFind out moreabout SecondOrder Thinking byclicking on theimage opposite

The idea behind this is similar to the concept of "flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,where individuals are most engaged and productive when they're working on tasksthat are appropriately challenging in relation to their skills.Too Little Challenge: If a topic or task is too easy or already familiar, an individualmight not feel curious because there's no novelty or challenge to spark interest.Too Much Challenge: On the other end of the spectrum, if a topic or task is overlycomplex or far beyond an individual's current understanding, it might feeloverwhelming, causing confusion or anxiety rather than curiosity.The Zone of Curiosity: This would be the sweet spot in the middle, where the topic ortask is neither too easy nor too challenging. It's novel enough to be intriguing but stillaccessible, inviting questions, exploration, and deeper understanding.The Zone of curiosity

Making curiosity a habitMaking curiosity a habit can lead topersonal growth, increased creativity,improved problem-solving skills, and anenriched understanding of the world.Cultivating curiosity as a regular practicecan be approached in multiple ways:Ask Questions: Adopt the mindset of alifelong learner. Challenge yourself to ask atleast one question about something newevery day. These can be big philosophicalquestions or simple queries about a topicyou're unfamiliar with.Diversify Your Interests: Explore subjectsoutside your typical areas of interest. Readbooks from different genres, listen topodcasts on new topics, or take onlinecourses in unfamiliar fields.Engage in Deep Conversations: Talk topeople with different life experiences,perspectives, and expertise. Engage inconversations where you ask open-endedquestions and genuinely listen to theanswers.Limit Routine: While routines can begrounding, shaking things up occasionallycan stimulate curiosity. Change your dailyroute, try a new restaurant, or rearrangeyour furniture.Challenge Assumptions: When you findyourself thinking, "That's just the way it is,"challenge that thought. Investigate theorigins and reasoning behind beliefs andpractices.Practice Mindfulness: Being present in themoment allows you to observe andappreciate nuances you might otherwiseoverlook. Mindful practices, likemeditation, can help sharpen yourattention and foster curiosity about yoursurroundings and experiences.Avoid Jumping to Conclusions: Whenpresented with new information, avoidmaking immediate judgments. Instead,delve deeper, seeking to understand thecontext and detaixals.Read Widely: Reading exposes you todifferent worlds, ideas, cultures, andperspectives, naturally fostering curiosity.This doesn't only apply to books; articles,blogs, and other media forms can be justas enriching.Play and Experiment: This isn't just forkids! Adults can benefit from play too.Engage in activities that require problem-solving, creativity, or the learning of a newskill.Celebrate Curiosity in Others: Surroundyourself with curious people, andcelebrate when they explore or discoversomething new. Their enthusiasm can becontagious.Stay Humble: Recognize that there'salways more to learn. Celebrate what youknow but remain open to the vast amountof knowledge you've yet to discover.

Leadership shadowThe concept of a "leadership shadow"refers to the influence, both positiveand negative, that leaders cast upontheir organizations through theirbehaviors, actions, and decisions. Justas a shadow can change its shape andsize based on the light's position, aleader's impact can vary based on theiractions and the context in which theyoperate.The leadership shadow encompassesnot just what leaders say, but how theyact, what they prioritize, how theyrespond to challenges, and even whatthey choose to ignore. All of theseelements collectively send powerfulmessages to the team, shaping theorganization's culture, values, andmorale.For instance, a leader who prioritizesopen communication and regularlyseeks feedback will likely foster aculture of transparency andcollaboration. On the other hand, aleader who avoids confrontation ordoes not address problematic behaviormight inadvertently encourage aculture of complacency or even fear.Being aware of one's leadershipshadow is essential because it allowsleaders to be more intentional aboutthe kind of influence they want to exert.It's about recognizing the ripple effectsof their actions and ensuring they alignwith the values and goals they aim touphold in their organization.

Facilitating curiosity and ‘flow’Match Tasks to Skill Levels: One of the essentialconditions for flow is a balance between thedifficulty of a task and the individual's skill level.Leaders should assign tasks that are neither tooeasy (leading to boredom) nor too hard (leadingto anxiety), but just right, given an individual'sskills.Provide Clear Goals: Having a clearunderstanding of what needs to be achievedhelps individuals to align their actions andthoughts in a directed manner, facilitating flow.Offer Immediate Feedback: In the flow state,individuals often receive immediate feedbackabout how they're doing. Leaders can aid this bycreating systems where results or feedback aremore instantaneous, helping team membersadjust their actions in real-time.Foster Autonomy: Individuals are more likely toenter the flow state when they have a sense ofcontrol over their work. Leaders can promote thisby giving team members autonomy in how theyapproach tasks, trusting in their expertise, andproviding the freedom to make decisions.Minimize Interruptions: Flow requires deepconcentration. Leaders can help by ensuring aworking environment where interruptions anddistractions are minimized. This might meancreating quiet spaces, setting "do not disturb"periods, or providing tools and resources that helpindividuals focus.Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's concept of "flow" describes a state of optimal experience wherean individual is fully immersed and engaged in an activity, often leading to heightenedcreativity and productivity. A leader can play a pivotal role in creating an environmentthat facilitates flow for their team members. Here's how:Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi'sdescribes how the concept offlow contributes to wellbeing inmany aspects of of our lives

Facilitating curiosity and ‘flow’Value Deep Work: Encourage practices thatallow team members to engage in extendedperiods of undistracted work, recognizing theimportance of this deep work.Encourage Lifelong Learning: Flow can befacilitated when individuals continually seek toimprove their skills. Leaders can promote this byoffering opportunities for professionaldevelopment, training, or learning.Provide Necessary Resources: Ensure that teammembers have the tools, resources, andinformation they need. This reduces potentialbarriers to entering the flow state.Recognize and Celebrate Flow: When leadersnotice team members in a flow state, it's crucialto acknowledge it and celebrate it. Thisreinforces the value of flow and encouragesmore of such focused work in the future.Create a Safe Environment: Psychological safety,where individuals feel they can take risks withoutfacing punishment, is key. When people are notoverly concerned about external threats orjudgments, they can more easily dive deep intotheir tasks.Facilitate Collaborative Flow: Sometimes, flowcan occur in teams. Leaders can foster this bybuilding cohesive teams and promotingenvironments where collaborative deep workcan take place.By understanding and promoting the conditionsof flow, leaders can not only enhanceproductivity and creativity in their teams but alsoboost overall job satisfaction and well-beingHere are some questions leaderscan ask themselves to betterunderstand flow and itsimplications for their teams:Awareness of Flow: Have I everexperienced flow in my own work?What was I doing, and whatconditions facilitated this state?Team Dynamics: Are thereconditions in my team'senvironment that may behindering their ability to enter aflow state?Feedback Mechanisms: Is there asystem in place for team membersto receive immediate feedback ontheir performance, allowing foradjustments and continuousimprovement?Autonomy: Have I given my teamenough autonomy and trust tocomplete their tasks withoutmicromanagement?Minimizing Distractions: Have Ihelped create an environmentwhere distractions are minimized,and deep, concentrated work isencouraged?Recognition and Value: Do Iregularly acknowledge andappreciate the hard work of myteam, especially when they goabove and beyond?Communication: Do I maintainopen channels of communication,allowing team members to shareconcerns or suggestions related totheir work environment and flow?Reflective Practices: Do I regularlyreflect on my leadership style andstrategies to ensure I'm continuallyfacilitating an environmentconducive to flow?