Original Study: Boskeljon-Horst, L. et al (2023): Learning from complexities of fostering a restorative just culture in practice within the Royal Netherlands Air Force In: Safety Science, Vol. 161,106074.
The study in one sentence
Using the Royal Netherlands Air Force as an example, this study identifies critical factors that need to be considered in order to introduce an effective organizational learning culture that embraces learning from mistakes.
Of interest for people who…
… want to know what to consider making collective learning from mistakes effectively work.
What to remember
For most organizations, mistakes are costly. That's why people get blamed, sanctioned or even punished for making mistakes, with the idea of reducing or avoiding them. What happens? No one talks openly about mistakes, and the opportunity to learn from them is lost. This issue is especially critical in safety-sensitive fields like aviation and healthcare, where learning from mistakes is vital for preventing disasters. To address this, organizations aim to foster a 'restorative just’ culture, focusing on learning and rebuilding trust rather than blame. However, hierarchical and competitive cultures can impede this cultural shift. That’s why this piece of action research identifies four key factors to consider: 1) Fostering vulnerability without fear of punishment, 2) demonstrating moral courage and fairness, 3) a management that supports a restorative approach, and 4) prioritizing learning over punishment. I found it particularly worth reading because it vividly illustrates how these factors play out in a real-world scenario by allowing the rich original narratives of the interviewees to speak for themselves.
The most insightful sentence
«The focus of a
restorative just culture is not on determining right or wrong, but on repairing
(restoring) and learning from an occurrence, by bringing both culprits and the
people affected by the occurrence together to collectively answer the question
of what to do next. However, a competitive and hierarchical culture can make
such openness difficult.»
The most provocative sentence
«[…w]ithstanding the pressure to act according to retributive norms (moral) courage and the willingness to put the interests of the restorative just culture above personal career interests.»
Consequences for managerial practice
If you are concerned about how to install more organizational agility and learning in your team or organization, it might be helpful to look at the findings from this study: 1) Model behavioral vulnerability by openly admitting your mistakes (even when it's not required or wasn't a particularly damaging one); 2) When discussing mistakes, ask questions about how we can best remedy them rather than how to blame who was responsible for it; 3) When discussing mistakes, don't let others insist on punishment, but discuss what needs to be done to rebuild trust; 4) Institutionalize a routine of always seeking diverse voices by introducing meeting rules that allow all voices to be heard - especially the critical ones (e.g. the six thinking hats method). Consider promoting stories of how mistakes have helped to prevent further mistakes.
Food for forward-thinking…
The more we move towards networked organizations, the more counterproductive it may be to attribute failures to individual behavior. How do we need to define processes, systems or performance reviews to balance individual accountability with collective responsibility and learning? I love to hear your thoughts!
