6 Key Safety Leadership Behaviors

Improving safety results in an organization requires leadership. As Peter Drucker says: “Only three things happen naturally in organizations: friction, confusion and underperformance. Everything else requires leadership”. So, how do you lead an organization to excellence in safety? Here are 6 key behaviors that have worked for me in achieving this:

 

1.- Demonstrate genuine concern for people’s wellbeing

- Ask/talk about a person’s wellbeing

- Follow-up on issues regarding wellbeing

- Constantly remind people that wellbeing is the priority and safety is one of the tools to achieve it

- Have open discussions about issues affecting wellbeing and safety

- Demonstrate and promote a healthy lifestyle

 

2.- Comply with policies and procedures

- Personally comply

- Demand all others comply

- Apply established consequences to those who don’t comply

 

3.- Identify and eliminate risks

- Identify and immediately stop unsafe acts, clearly explaining the risks to the person’s wellbeing

- Apply established consequences in case of violation of policies and procedures

- Constantly look for and detect unsafe conditions; follow-up on their elimination

 

4.- Recognize safe behaviour

- Systematically look for and praise safe behaviour

 

5.- Ensure work is planned with safety

- Verify work is planned in compliance with all safety procedures

- Frequently review work permits with those doing the work, making sure they understand the risks and have taken proper action to eliminate or mitigate them

 

6.- Provide immediate attention in case of injury

- Focused on people’s wellbeing

- Demand to be informed of all relevant incidents