Since January 25th, Brazil is grieving from a tragedy that could have been avoided. The horrible episode seems to be closely linked, if not caused, by wrong management decisions of a mining company. For this post, I would like to invite you to reflect on how we can identify the values of an organization by analyzing history.
“History has a predictive value not because the future will be like the past but because some things will continue, habits will endure, and humans will tend to behave in the future much as they have behaved in the past, given similar contexts.” David K. Hurst
The collapse of the tailing mud stored at a dam in the city of Brumadinho in Brazil caused terrible suffering, especially for the families affected, and put the entire country to grieve. More than a 100 people were killed and many more people disappeared, probably buried in the mud. Sadly, a similar tragedy happened about 3 years ago in the city of Mariana, very close to Brumadinho, causing enormous damage for the environment, the death of 19 people and much damage to the economy of the region. The company behind both episodes is exactly the same, a big mining company, one of the biggest in Brazil.
It´s not a coincidence that in a short period of time, the same issue, the collapse of tailing mud dams caused two horrible tragedies.
It seems that the safety of workers and local communities it is not a strong value in the culture of the mining company responsible for the dam that collapsed. It looks like the risks are not properly assessed on a daily basis, nor are they taken seriously, putting the lives of so many people at risk, as recently happened.
“Culture is to organization as character is to the individual. That is, organizations don’t have cultures; rather they are cultures.” David K. Hurst
On the occasion of the first tragedy, about 3 years ago, there was social commotion and a new CEO was appointed. The change in the leadership was not enough to avoid an even more tragic episode, probably because the roots of the issue are in the culture of the company, and the new leadership neglected to implement a change in behaviors.
The culture of an organization is built over years, based on accumulating experiences and behaviors. It is difficult to change, but the context is not static, and it requires leadership to make changes to preserve good values. Besides, leaders need to identify missing values and be courageous to do what is right, independent of the costs. They need to set the example and lead the way.
“If culture is created by experience, then the only way to change it is by changing experiences.” David K. Hurst
After two tragedies, the balance is negative. Many people are dead, and the damage is priceless. The environment is deeply affected and many families will suffer the consequences for years. Economically, the shareholders are demanding compensation and the organization lost value in the market.
It is obvious that fixing actions are being announced, after all, but my question is: in the long run, will the leadership have the courage to do what is right and change their own behavior to create a better culture and to establish a respectful relationship with the community?
Reflecting on this sad history I came to a conclusion that independent of our professional positions, we should review our own behaviors at work and reflect if we are nurturing robust cultures in the organizations in which we work, because our collective behaviors determine the kind of society that we are.
Hurst, David K., 2012, The New Ecology of Leadership: Business Mastery in a Chaotic World, ISBN 978-0-231-15970-8, Columbia University Press
Special Thanks for Dr. Leslie Breitner that kindly revised this post.
Post illustration – photo credit –corcoise on Visual Hunt / CC BY-NC-ND