November 28 2022
By: Shawn M. Galloway
When we investigate deviations from expected outcomes, it is easy to fixate on who was involved, what happened immediately leading up to the unwanted event, and what went wrong. Context is everything.
U.S. Special Operations Forces teach a weapon position called High Port. This is where the weapon's muzzle is pointed up. This allows safer movement in close quarters, prevents friendly fire incidents, allows quicker switching to hand-to-hand combat, and facilitates better awareness because it allows for a better viewpoint of the unfolding situation. When your eyes are fixated on the individual in your scope or sights, that is all that you see — their actions, not what is going around them or why they might behave in a concerning situation. Harvard Business School Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter created a dynamic model called the Zoom framework, where she encourages leaders to zoom in to understand details, subtleties and nuances better, then zoom out to make sense of what is going on and get the big picture.
Many things influence human behavior. People do things for a reason. Focus on the reason, not the individual. Keep the tools you use to investigate unwanted events at high port. Zoom in to understand, then zoom out to understand why.
"High port your weapon, take a step back, look around, and all of a sudden, you can see what to do." — Jocko Willink
"Leaders need multiple perspectives to get a complete picture. Effective leaders zoom in and zoom out."" — Rosabeth Moss Kanter
"Zoom in, to get a new perspective. Zoom out, to see we're all connected" — Ringo Starr
Shawn M. Galloway is the CEO of ProAct Safety and an advisor to leading organizations across all major industries. With over twenty years of experience in safety systems, strategy, culture, leadership, and employee engagement, he is a trusted advisor, keynote speaker, and expert witness.
He is the author of several bestselling books and has multiple regular columns in leading magazines, with over 400 articles and 100 videos to his credit. He also created the first safety podcast, Safety Culture Excellence, with over 800 episodes. Shawn has received numerous prestigious accolades and has been featured in Power 101 Leaders of the EHS World, Top 50 People Who Most Influenced EHS, Top 40 Rising Stars, Top 11 Health and Safety Influencers, and Top 10 Speakers.
He serves on the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council and the Fast Company Executive Board. He has appeared as a guest on Bloomberg, Fox News, The Daily Mail, Dubai One, U.S. News & World Report, Sirius Business Radio, Wharton Business Daily, and leading safety magazines and podcasts, reinforcing his status as an authority in the field of safety excellence.
For more information, call +1.936.273.8700 or email info@ProActSafety.com.
