How Managers Foster Safety and Dependability in Wastewater Services

The right managers in the right roles can increase safety and dependability in wastewater services or any industry. Learn 5 red flags to help you better identify who is not suited for these important roles.

Safety and dependability in wastewater services is the topic of the second post in a special twelve-part series that examines the Mission and Values of US Submergent Technologies.

“We are dependable when we show up on time, do what we say, and always follow up.”

US Submergent Technologies (USST)

Part 2 of the USST Safety Series: Dependability in Wastewater Services

After more than 30 years of managing others in Florida state government public service and at our companies, US Submergent Technologies and SediVision, I have learned to recognize telltale signs of subpar managers.

I won’t say it is always easy to discern the truth in the workplace or to do it quickly enough, but spotting managers who don’t fit your company’s culture is important for morale and productivity and supports critical issues of safety and reliability.

Someone once wisely said to me, “I never regret the employees I let go, just the ones I didn’t.”

Transparency. Truth. Respect.

Wrong-fit managers in a company create a culture in which those who report to them almost never receive the training, support, and encouragement they need or deserve. Sometimes guilty of “kissing up and kicking down,” wrong-fit managers may patronize their boss while bullying the subordinates they should be leading.

Ironically, these subordinates are often in frontline positions; the performance of these employees is frequently how the public, especially clients of the company, measures the organization’s reliability, dependability, and commitment to safety.

5 Red Flags that a Manager Does Not Fit Your Company’s Culture

• Trust. Managers who are not right for the role will inevitably make you feel as if you cannot trust them. You may not be able to quite put your finger on why you don’t trust them until you realize that they always have an answer but rarely produce results.
• Flattery. I recently read something that said, ‘Don’t be moved by flattery.’ Some people with inflated egos believe everyone else is likewise moved by having their egos stroked.
• Manipulative behavior. You know you’ve got the wrong manager in a role when he or she flits and talks but rarely executes. Their time is often spent attempting to make themselves more important in the eyes of others, not by their actions and service but by their lip service.
• Self-adulation. Wrong-fit managers may take credit for the activities and success of others. They may repeatedly share their past successes while failing to be accountable for their actions in the present.
• Lack of respect. Ineffective managers will put themselves ahead of others.

Managers who demonstrate any of these five red-flag tendencies will never fit a company culture that is based on transparency, truth, and respect. And employees who are distracted or distraught from dealing with these managers are not positioned or supported for keeping their eye on the ball and their thoughts on safety and procedural best practices.

Read more about US Submergent Technologies’ commitment to safety and dependability in wastewater services:

• The Critical Link Between Innovation and Safety in the Wastewater Industry
• Laser Focus: Safety on the Road at USST
• USST’s Comprehensive Safety Operations Program Has You Covered