Diversified Energy

Many in the transportation industry work alone. That makes safety leadership more of a personal decision.

Here is what I’ve learned about making that personal decision to own safety.

Growing up, our family dinner table conversations often turned to workplace injuries. My dad was an occupational physician, so we heard about the broken bones, lacerations and other work-related injuries that his beloved patients suffered. Not exactly your usual dinner table conversation. Later when I was old enough, I worked in my dad’s clinic as a file clerk and errand boy, witnessing the love my dad had for his patients as he stitched them up and cared for them. He led from the heart.

It’s no wonder that I became curious about how his patients were injured in the first place and gravitated toward studying safety in school. Thirty-nine years later I’ve investigated countless incidents and spent many hours trying to understand the challenges of those in harm’s way, all while providing instruction and encouragement on how to stay safe. Oh, how I wish I had a magic wand that would keep everyone safe. Maybe if they could see the world through my eyes, they’d understand what was at stake.

Although I still have not found that magic wand, I believe I have found the closest thing. In 2020 I began delivering safety leadership moments for my organization’s operations conference calls. No one had asked me to do this; it just seemed right.

My goal was to inspire leaders to take ownership for safety, make it uniquely their own and most importantly to act. Beyond that idea, I had no specific strategy for where this might go, how I would sustain it, or for that matter how well-received it would be. Over the weeks, feedback from our leadership team began to come in, all positive and some emotional. Six years later, I’ve accumulated numerous stories, some based on my life experiences, some from great leaders who set an example and many from the great teacher, history.

My goal was to inspire leaders to take ownership for safety, make it uniquely their own and most importantly to act.

I had a recent aha moment in my quest for the magic wand of safety. A leader who had transformed safety performance in his district was asked, “What made the difference?” After carefully reflecting, he gave a one-word answer: “ownership.” That got me thinking. What if ownership was the missing ingredient in a successful safety effort? On a personal level it is a decision to make safety part of our identity. At a group ownership level, it becomes part of the team DNA. On a company level it becomes a unifying force that aligns performance. I’m convinced it’s a key part that many overlook in their quest for zero incidents.

So how do we gain ownership? By realizing that despite what we may think or say, everyone has the capacity to make safety personal. There are many examples from history that support this fact. Alexander the Great took the refusal of his request to enter the city of Tyre as a personal insult. He then spent seven months building a massive causeway to besiege the city. Harry Truman took things personally when he coined the term “The Buck Stops Here” when accepting full responsibility for dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. After her daughter was killed by a repeat drunk driver, Candy Lightner took things personally and founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving which fundamentally changed the laws in the U.S. for drunk driving. These examples demonstrate ownership in action. But what creates it?

I believe that leading in safety comes down to two words: “I decided.” But it’s staying decided that is the challenge. To stay decided we need constant inspiration and reminders of what good safety leaders do. That’s where the stories come in.

All of us were created to love stories. When my kids were young, story time was our favorite time of day. To this day we hold many of these stories in our hearts. This is exactly what we need for safety leadership lessons that inspire and motivate.

Science supports the use of stories for learning. When telling a story, the listener’s brain mirrors the storyteller’s and neural coupling occurs, making us open to new ideas. Stories can trigger a neurochemical cascade of cortisol when a story introduces tension, hazards and problems thereby increasing attention. When a story introduces human struggles and vulnerabilities, oxytocin increases our connection and trust. When the story is resolved we release dopamine which provides a cognitive reward that connects the learning to long-term memory.

While speaking to a large group of contractors about safety, I asked for a show of hands of how many had a safety story to tell. About half the hands in the room went up. I suspect that many of you have an amazing heartfelt safety story to tell, perhaps about a tragedy. That experience made an impression on you, so why not share that story and the lesson you learned?

The Heart and Soul of Safety and Owning The Heart and Soul of Safety, contain over 150 foundational stories for leaders to customize, engage and inspire others and make safety personal. It’s entirely possible that you could be the catalyst for someone deciding to own safety, just by telling a story.