Leadership isn’t born, it is built through intentional development and experience. Supervises and managers must be guided to transition into true leaders and then continue their journey. Towards greatness Just as production and quality demand coaching for success, safety deserves the same dedicated attention from leaders committed to excellence.

Let’s explore the differences between Supervisors, Managers, and Leaders:

Supervisor – Tactical and Immediate. Their core goal should be to ensure the team’s daily operation runs smoothly.

Manager – Strategic and Operational. Their core goal should be to optimize team performance while meeting organizational targets.

Leader – Visionary and Transformational. Their core goal should be creating a shared vision, developing people, and cultivating a culture of excellence.

There has been so much training, and I believe a HUGE Myth that being a Supervisor is less than being a Manager, which is less than being a Leader and that we should all aspire to be a Leader, not the others.

Let’s focus on Safety. Do we need people to Supervise, Manage or Lead in developing a world class Safety culture? The answer is Yes, to all three. Let’s not think of these titles as roles for a moment and let’s discuss taking the mindset and approach of a great coach.

Below are some of the important traits of a Great Coach. There are many more, but I believe these to be the top eight:

• Honesty
• Trustworthy
• Role Model
• Positive
• Flexible & Firm
• Confident
• Consistent
• Caring

So, what intentional development are you providing your people so they can grow these traits? If you are like most companies, not enough.

We focus our training and education on the development of great coaches of safety. Imagine instead of a safety department of a few people, having all supervisors, managers, and leaders being great coaches of safety. For one of our clients we began with 250 employees and 2 safety professionals, developing 30 great coaches of safety. Over the past 5+ years, this company has grown by 4 times and so has their coaches of safety, leading to over 8 Million Hours worked without anyone losing a workday, a total recordable rate of < 1 over the past 4 years, an E-mod of .41, and a surplus of several million dollars, with an annual cash return back into their business from their captive insurance ownership.

Whether you have an internal safety team or utilize a safety consultant I would venture to guess most of the training they deliver is technical in nature. Examples include OSHA 10 & 30 hour, Hazard Communication, Lockout/Tagout, Fall Protection, etc. While technical safety training to transfer knowledge is important, without effective leadership development the return on the investment in safety training is not maximized. Don’t you want to maximize your return on every investment?

I have heard from senior leadership time and time again that their best leaders are getting older and will be retiring soon. These same organizations spend thousands of dollars on recruiters or internally recruiting from top leaders, then pay them top dollars. How successfully has this worked within your organization?

Become intentional and develop your people into great supervisors, managers, leaders, and coaches. We have seen this yield superior results over the approach to looking outside your organization. We have developed interactive leadership development modules, that teach supervisors, managers, and leaders’ key ingredients and how to specifically apply them to safety.

Interactive Leadership Development Modules

• Inspiring Desired Behavior
• Honing Hazard Recognition Skills
• Mastering Incident Investigation for Lasting Lessons
• Employee Education Strategies
• Coaching & Counseling for Peak Performance

We customize the modules with our clients’ pictures, short video clips of work in progress, real life scenarios, and engage in live practice of key ingredients. Some examples include active listening, providing specific feedback, demonstrating care, facilitating self-discovery, and much more. We challenge leaders to self-assess the traits of great leaders and make a commitment to become intentional on improving one trait. One on one mentorship is so vital to success too.

Assess – How intentional are you being in developing your people.
Develop a Plan – Determine internal/external resources and what development to focus on.
Implement – Set quarterly goals and focus on one specific area of focus per quarter

Next Week, We Will Explore:

Safety Task Force – Empowerment and Continuous Improvement

1. Discover what is a Safety Task Force
2. Explore why it is so vital to your success
3. Learn how to create a Safety Task Force that drives continuous improvement.

In 1995, my wife and I packed up and moved west in pursuit of opportunity and the dream of building a future for our family. Today, 29 years later, our twins—our greatest pride—are beginning their own journeys at rival colleges in Arizona. They are my “Why,” the driving force behind everything I do, including my passion for workplace safety and accountability.

Over the past 30 years, I’ve worked across multiple industries as a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), leading efforts to create safer, more accountable work environments. From commercial insurance companies to some of the largest construction firms in the country, I’ve seen how accountability—or the lack of it—can make or break an organization. In 2012, my partners and I founded a safety consulting firm, built from scratch, with a shared mission to improve workplace safety.

Through it all, one thing has remained clear: a culture of accountability is the bedrock of highly successful businesses. But it’s not just about policies and procedures—it’s about engaging and empowering people to take ownership of their work and safety. It’s about showing that you genuinely care about your people. In this blog series, I’ll explore how leaders can foster this culture and, in turn, create engaged, safer, and more resilient organizations.

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