October 16, 2024Dee Arp, Chief Quality Officer at NEBOSH says leadership needs to be more than policy and regulation.
Safety in today’s fast-changing world of work requires visible, felt leadership. More than ever, our workplaces need emotionally intelligent leaders who can make a human connection with the people they are duty bound to protect.
Credit: Alamy Stock
Why is this?
In a word, culture. The importance of organisational culture to the safety and health of people at work is very well documented. People must be pulling in the same direction in an organisation for the responsibility to be truly shared.
Such a culture cannot be shaped, however, with old-style command and control leadership. A strong culture that looks after people at work calls for engagement and empowerment. Indeed, this year, we are seeing more evidence of this link, with survey findings that underline the correlation between wellbeing and employee engagement.
Traditionally, safety was seen as policies and procedures to follow. Not surprisingly, it gained a reputation for clipboards and checklists. Not any more. Today, we are seeing a model of safety emerge that demands a set of skills that is as much about winning hearts and minds as following the process.
A safety culture is the shared values, attitudes and behaviours that shape an organisation’s approach to safety. It’s about how people feel, what they do and how the organisation operates in relation to safety. It has become clear that engineered safeguards and formal management systems will not suffice if we are to keep people safe and healthy at work. We have seen the dawning realisation in leadership teams that winning the commitment of the workforce is equally crucial.
To achieve this commitment, we must have leadership that can be both seen and felt. This is leaders being actively present, accessible and demonstrating genuine care for their employees’ well-being. This approach builds trust, encourages open communication and inspires employees to prioritise their and their co-workers’ safety.
This is not an exhaustive list, but here are key components of visible felt leadership:
Dee Arp, Chief Quality Officer at NEBOSH
At EHS Congress London in December, we will explore this theme further. Visible felt leadership can have a profound impact on an organisation’s safety performance and overall success. It can build trust and morale, enhance organisational resilience and improve safety performance. More than that, it is seriously good for your reputation as an employer.
When NEBOSH developed its Certificate in Health and Safety Leadership Excellence with HSE, we knew it was important to have a focus in that qualification on the links between health and safety leadership and culture, and on how leaders can build effective relationships with their workforce.
In its own guidance on effective health and safety leadership, HSE states: “Leadership is more effective if visible board members can reinforce health and safety policy by being seen on the ‘shop floor’, following all safety measures themselves and addressing any breaches immediately.”
This year, the best leaders of safety will be the ones who are most authentic and most able to win the trust of their teams. To achieve this, their leadership will be visible and felt.
* Dee Arp’s keynote session, Visible felt safety leadership, will take place on Day 1 of EHS Congress London, 3-4 December, which is co-located this year with Anticipate London at ExCel London. Register for EHS Congress London here.
