Human & Organisational Performance (HOP)

“Safety is not the absence of accidents. Safety is the presence of capacity.” — Dr. Todd Conklin

The Five Principles:

1. Error is Normal

• Even the best people make mistakes. It’s important to build systems that anticipate and tolerate human error rather than punish it.
• Reality: Mistakes are inevitable — even in high-performing teams.
• Implication: Expect and plan for human error in systems and processes.
• Application: Use redundancies, fail-safes, and training to reduce the impact of errors, not just the frequency.

“If it can go wrong, eventually it will — even with good people.”

2. Blame Fixes Nothing

• Blaming individuals does not address systemic issues. It prevents learning and improvement by focusing on symptoms rather than root causes.
• Reality: Blame doesn’t improve systems or reduce future risk.
• Implication: Focusing on individual fault misses systemic contributors.
• Application: Shift from a culture of punishment to a culture of curiosity and learning.

“Blaming someone may feel satisfying, but it doesn’t make the organization safer or stronger.”

3. Learning is Vital

• Organizations must constantly learn from successes and failures. Learning comes from understanding how work is actually done, not how it is imagined.
• Reality: All events — especially failures — are learning opportunities.
• Implication: Organizations should be curious and actively seek insight from work as it’s actually done.
• Application: Use learning teams, after-action reviews, and open conversations to understand operational realities.

“Learn from normal work and near misses — not just when things break.”

4. Context Drives Behavior

• People’s actions make sense to them given their context. To improve performance, we must understand and improve the conditions and systems in which people work.
• Reality: People’s decisions make sense in the context they’re in.
• Implication: To improve behavior, improve the system and environment people operate in.
• Application: Look at workload, resources, procedures, pressure, and culture when evaluating actions.

“Instead of asking ‘Who failed?’, ask ‘What set them up to fail?’”

5. How You Respond to Failure Matters

• The way leaders respond to failure or problems determines whether the organization learns and improves or stays stuck. Responses should focus on understanding and growth, not punishment.
• Reality: Leaders’ reactions determine whether people speak up and whether learning happens.
• Implication: Trust, psychological safety, and openness are essential for reporting and problem-solving.
• Application: Respond with curiosity, empathy, and a commitment to learn.

“Your response creates the conditions for future reporting — or future silence.”

Why HOP Matters?

• Improves safety without relying solely on rules and compliance.
• Builds a learning culture instead of a fear-based one.
• Enables organizations to be more resilient, adaptive, and trustworthy.
• Focuses on how work actually happens, not just how it’s imagined.