The Safety Influence Series

Do you want to make a difference? There are many ways someone in a leadership role can have a positive impact on the lives of their employees. Perhaps there is no leadership responsibility more profound than creating a sustainable, injury-free workplace. Every person who goes to work expects to return home in the same condition. When someone is hurt, the adverse effects of their injury ripple through the employee’s family and friends.

Achieving an injury-free environment is one of the most difficult problems many leaders face. Over 35 years in manufacturing, I observed quite a few leadership actions that significantly contributed to less risk-taking, greater hazard awareness, and genuine collaborative efforts among employees and supervisors. Leaders who understood, embraced, and implemented these strategies saw a dramatic reduction in incidents and injuries at their facilities. Organizations with the best safety performances simply do a lot of small things collectively and strategically well. This audiobook is a collection of leadership concepts, thoughts, words, and actions that (when strategically implemented) can move your organization toward a better safety future.

The first section takes a look at some fundamental concepts. It includes a discussion on compliance versus commitment, how to develop a safety strategy, why people make mistakes and take risks, and an overview of a Just Culture. The core of the audiobook reviews some key research findings in social psychology, sociology, and neuroscience. I share personal experiences of highly effective leadership. And I recount other situations that exemplify the wrong approach. In each case, I discuss how you can leverage these concepts in a practical way to improve your safety leadership skills.

Topics include: how our thoughts can drive our behaviors when it comes to safety, how the words we use can be influential on personal decision-making, how social influence and leadership actions can drive safety performance, and how to facilitate the right personal safety conversation. At the end of each section, there is a segment called the "Safety Leader’s Toolbox"; It contains over 70 practical tools and tips for being a more effective safety leader! Listeners are encouraged to consult the "Safety Leader’s Toolbox" for small changes in what you think, say, and do to shape your safety culture.

Spoiler alert! One essential leadership skill is knowing why, how, and what to talk about when it comes to safety. Where do you begin? Start with a "Why" of caring. If you start with caring as your personal motive, you won’t have to do everything perfectly. Your employees will want to do the right things for the right reasons. You can listen to this audiobook in order, or go to a specific section.