Lessons from History
by Billy Snead
As I prepared to write about this event, I listened to old recordings of the astronauts and the Houston Command Center workers. I was moved to tears as I witnessed the astronauts’ safe return. What really stood out to me was the collaboration and problem solving between people. This is what allowed the three men to make it safely home. What an incredible moment in history.
The phrase, Houston, we have a problem, became a symbol for resilience and collaboration.
Addressing workplace safety problems requires a similar mindset of collaboration, creativity, and adaptability. It requires listening and sitting with others to learn from their stories. Listening and working closely with others is missing in organizations today.
Introducing the SPoR iCue Process
This historical mission reminds us that even under extreme pressure, collaboration and creative problem-solving can help us tackle risk. The SPoR iCue process harnesses these very capabilities and can be used in today’s workplaces. I have used iCue and continue to rely on it almost every day in my practice. Let me first define what the iCue process is.
SPoR iCue Listening and Observation Can Help
The SPoR iCue process, which focuses on making the unconscious conscious through visual-verbal mapping, could have been a valuable tool in addressing incidents like Apollo 13 and I know it can help you in your pursuit to tackle risk and safety issues. Here’s how:
- Surfacing Hidden Risks: The iCue process emphasizes listening for cues in workspace, headspace, and groupspace. This could have helped identify latent risks or overlooked factors during the planning stages of missions, potentially preventing crises.
- Facilitating Real-Time Problem Solving: By mapping out interconnected elements—such as physical, psychological, and cultural factors—the iCue process could have provided a clearer understanding of the situation during the Apollo 13 crisis, aiding in faster and more effective decision-making.
- Enhancing Team Communication: The process’s focus on dialogue and semiotics could have improved the way mission control and astronauts communicated, ensuring that critical information was understood and acted upon efficiently.
- Learning from Failures: Post-mission, the iCue process could have been used to map out the sequence of events and decisions, uncovering deeper insights into what went wrong and how to improve future missions.
The iCue process aligns well with our interest in resonance and connection, as it fosters a deeper understanding of human dynamics and decision-making. My experience is that it strengthens collaboration in any setting.
Personal Experience and Transformation
I first experienced the iCue process during a SPoR class I had taken 6 years ago. I watched as Rob Long wrote on a whiteboard. He was asked to outline for the class a safety issue someone was struggling with. I anticipated this being boring. I was disengaged in thought. My mind was drifting on a zoom call that was supposed to teach me important safety improvement ideas. I have been doing safety for 30 years, what could this guy with a whiteboard teach me? I wanted processes, systems, training, and cool shiny things to improve performance. Someone on the call asked a question and Rob Long swung his chair around and approached the whiteboard like a craftsman to his tools.
He grabbed his dry erase marker, and something changed!
He moved with passion and a sense of urgency as he wrote on the whiteboard. This man loved to teach. I could feel his desire to share information.
He didn’t speak, much.
He just seemed to be listening intently and quickly, writing responses.
He was filling the whiteboard, and all the information flowed out of a connection with another person. I sensed an excitement. I felt something in my heart. My fingers wanted to grab a marker and practice this new thing.
I remember how I couldn’t keep up mentally.
What did all these lines mean?
Why was he circling Phrases and ideas?
Why was he drawing arrows?
By the time he had worked through the issue, it turned out that what I thought was a safety problem wasn’t, but I gained clarity on what truly needed attention, just by watching and participating in the process.
iCue causes things unseen to be visible. I was just observing, and somehow the process had helped me. It’s hard to explain really. But it was worth every minute of learning a new process. Something had just happened to me. I had never been more excited to practice safety than at that moment. Could a whiteboard and conversations really be this helpful?
iCue has so many benefits. It brings people together people and opens them up to learning and collaboration. I was enlivened by the iCue process and began using it with my practice at work, mainly in safety. When I saw how it worked in safety, I began using it in my family and other areas of life.
I remember using it after a safety culture survey was completed and the leadership team had no idea how to proceed and work to tackle culture. I assembled culture teams. I met with these teams and began using the iCue process to identify issues, and I also used it to tackle each of those issues one by one.
Below are some of the responses from the workers:
When they participated in and began learning the iCue process.
- “iCue really opened my eyes to things I had never realized.”
- “Talking through the issues allowed me to see them from different dimensions.”
- “I felt listened to and valued.”
- “We solved this issue together.”
I remember feeling incredible after trying it on my own in the real world. It brought a depth to my practice I had never experienced.
Let’s Test this iCue Thing
I remember volunteering once in a SPoR class to offer up an issue I was experiencing, and Rob Long took the class through the iCue process using my issue. Oh boy, this is going to be rough I was thinking to myself. Throwing my laundry out there and being vulnerable is not my gig, but I did it anyways. After all, it might help. Plus, I want to see if iCue really does work or not.
A simple summary of the issue was:
I was struggling with guilt as I was taking care of my mom. I felt as if I couldn’t do enough for her. I was trying. I ran errands. I helped her around her house. I fixed. I ran. I did all I could. When Rob helped me through my iCue scenario, I had realized all my mom really wanted was for me to just listen. Just sit with her and let her tell her story. I had been doing everything but what she wanted and needed. I would’ve never realized this without the iCue process. I felt healed in a way.
When Rob was done taking me through the iCue process on the whiteboard, circled on the board were listen to your mom, sit with her, let her tell her story and give her time. That’s it. That’s all Rob had circled at the bottom of the board. Those few moments were life changing. I was able to see what I could not see. Making space for vulnerable, honest dialogue can reveal hidden risks and opportunities that data alone might miss.
Invitation for Collaboration
Discover how learning and using iCue can unlock hidden insights in both your personal and professional life.
Could iCue help you tackle the issues you have in your work in safety, incident trends, near misses, and many issues we face in safety practice? Absolutely.
There are many in safety now using iCue daily to help them:
- Better understand human judgement and decision-making.
- Improve their listening and observation skills.
- Improve engagement with workers.
- Sharpen risk intelligence by identifying risk cues.
It can also help you as a person to see how all is interconnected and how you may not be able to see what you need to.
I know iCue has strengthened my relationship with my mom. That is proof for me.
Houston, we have a Solution!
The next free module in SPoR will be on iCue Engagement, Methodology and Methods.
This module is open to anyone who wants to study SPoR.
You apply for your free place in the iCue Module here: admin@spor.com.au
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