The Ultimate Goal of Safety Leadership Is Influence

‘Motivate work family members to perform a certain way because they want to perform that way.' That is the ultimate goal of safety leadership influence. Think about how or why you now do things that may have been initially done at someone else's insistence but are now things you want to do:

● Brushing your teeth

● Completing your education

● Washing dishes

● Wearing a seat belt

● Completing a job safety analysis

● Paying your taxes

● Parking in reverse / first move forward parking

When I describe safety leadership, the ultimate definition that I lean into includes the term influence. Influence means more than motivating others to think, behave, or react a certain way, in my opinion. It includes embracing the safe habits that keep work family members safe. Looking at a typical day at work, I execute most of the things I do because they were originally part of someone else’s original knowledge sharing, preference, or direction, but that has now morphed into my way of doing things. I commonly use the following phrase to articulate what I am describing:

“Getting others to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.”

At some point in my life, the list of actions I mentioned above was someone else’s idea:

● I was influenced to brush my teeth by my parents as a young child. I didn’t automatically know and appreciate the necessity of personal dental hygiene.

● I was influenced to further my education beyond high school by my teachers, parents, and mentors in the community. As an 18-year-old high school senior, I did not recognize the importance of a college degree.

● I was influenced to wash the dishes after using them instead of stacking them in the sink by my wife. Prior to our marriage, I did not appreciate the positive housekeeping appearance of an empty kitchen sink, something my wife preferred, so I soon learned to adopt that approach as well.

● I was initially influenced to wear a seat belt by law and later because I learned the consequences of not wearing a seat belt on the human body when involved in a vehicle crash. I started wearing a seat belt in my late teens, and as I matured and as my knowledge grew, the importance of wearing a seat belt was reinforced at different stages of my life (e.g., studying and experiencing the consequences of not wearing a seat belt on the human body when I was a professional firefighter – auto extrication specialist and teaching my work family and my children about the importance of wearing a seat belt).

● I am influenced to complete a job safety analysis when I am completing activities that are not part of my normal day or present specific safety risk that requires attention and management. A job safety analysis does not have to be a formal process. It can be as simple as checking my mirrors and side windows for objects and people before driving my automobile out of my driveway. I am continually aware of the importance of completing a job safety analysis when I visit work sites, engage work family members who are working on field projects, and when reviewing event investigations.

● I was influenced to pay my taxes when I was a young developing safety professional. I started out being focused on paying my taxes because it was an important law to comply with, but now I do it because it supports the infrastructure of the country, state, county, and city in which my family and I live and work. Paying taxes is an important part of being a value-adding member of society. I learned this outlook through government operation classes in primary school, high school, and college. I have furthered my knowledge in this space through my participation in civil voting rights and community leadership.

● I learned the profound importance of parking in reverse (to ensure my first move was forward after being parked) with my Alaska work family in 2013. I initially adopted reverse parking in 1991 when I operated fire trucks as a backup driver at the Charleston, WV Fire Department. My time serving the work-family members in Alaska made me focus on vehicle safety more than ever as I saw the importance they placed on it. The influence of my work family has impacted not only my parking preference but also my young adult son's, who now understands the value of reverse parking.

"Getting others to do what you want them to do because they want to do it is an important element of safety leadership at work, at home, and in the community"

Getting others to do what you want them to do because they want to do it is an important element of safety leadership at work, at home, and in the community. Underlying this capability to influence behaviors beyond the presence of the influencer requires the person being influenced to understand why it is important, what is going to be done, and how it will be achieved. Connecting the ‘why,' the ‘what,' and the ‘how’ we do certain things is inherently important to us as human beings.

To “get others to do what you want them to do because they want to do it” in the safety space includes sharing safety leadership knowledge, exemplifying safety leadership, calling out observations of at-risk behaviors or conditions, and celebrating safe behaviors – all this is part of creating and influencing a safety culture that is good for everyone.