2nd National Summit on Roadway Safety Culture:
Five Keys to Organizational Culture Change
ITE Executive Director and CEO Jeffrey Paniati spoke at the 2nd National Summit on Roadway Safety Culture on Friday, November 6, 2015 at the Transportation Research Board’s Keck Center in Washington, DC, USA. Jeff shared his experiences in leading organizational culture change with the assembled group of industry leaders in safety.
Jeff spent a significant part of his career working in the area of highway safety and has guided organizational culture change in a number of different leadership positions, particularly while serving as the Federal Highway Administration’s Executive Director. He shared some examples of his experiences in changing organizational culture and how these experiences can be applied to the challenge of changing safety culture.
Jeff provided his 5 keys to successful organizational culture change:
- Start with “why.” Change must start with both leaders and employees understanding why the change is necessary.
- When articulating the “what,” make sure the direction is clear, but also leave room for others to shape and own it.
- Reinforcement is critical. Change is hard and requires repetition. The new direction must be repeated and reinforced constantly, not just in words, but through actions.
- Measure progress and create accountability. Measuring organizational culture change is not easy. A combination of tools are requirement looking at both outcomes and outputs. Leaders at all levels in the organization need to be accountable for their part of the change process.
- Stay the course and celebrate successes. Progress won’t always be in a straight line. Patience is critical, as is persistence. Make sure you celebrate successes along the way.
Jeff also talked about ITE’s commitment to the Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) goal and working collaboratively with other organizations to improve safety on our highways. He highlighted ways—training and tools—that ITE is working to support its members as they work of the front lines of reducing fatalities and injuries.