A rather well-known “management consultant” back in the ’70s and ’80s was Forrest H. Kirkpatrick and Mr. Kirkpatrick wrote a poem about leadership that hangs on my office wall. It pretty much sums up what being a safety leader is all about – even though Mr. Kirkpatrick meant for it to be a message to all managers.
Bottom line, it is one thing to “preach” safety and an entirely different approach when one “LIVES SAFETY”.
Safety Professionals MUST LEAD by EXAMPLE in ALL that we do, both at work and at play, but especially at work. Mr. Kirkpatrick sums it up all too well in these 10 lines: