• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SafetyRisk.net

Humanising Safety and Embracing Real Risk

  • Home
    • About
      • Privacy Policy
      • Contact
  • FREE
    • Slogans
      • Researchers Reveal the Top 10 Most Effective Safety Slogans Of All Time
      • When Slogans Don’t Work
      • CLASSIC, FAMOUS and INFAMOUS SAFETY QUOTES
      • BIGGEST COLLECTION of WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2023
      • CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
      • COVID-19 (Coronavirus, Omicron) Health and Safety Slogans and Quotes for the Workplace
      • Safety Acronyms
      • You know Where You Can Stick Your Safety Slogans
      • Sayings, Slogans, Aphorisms and the Discourse of Simple
      • Spanish Safety Slogans – Consignas de seguridad
      • Safety Slogans List
      • Road Safety Slogans 2023
      • How to write your own safety slogans
      • Why Are Safety Slogans Important
      • Safety Slogans Don’t Save Lives
      • 40 Free Safety Slogans For the Workplace
      • Safety Slogans for Work
    • FREE SAFETY eBOOKS
    • Free Hotel and Resort Risk Management Checklist
    • FREE DOWNLOADS
    • TOP 50
    • FREE RISK ASSESSMENT FORMS
    • Find a Safety Consultant
    • Free Safety Program Documents
    • Psychology Of Safety
    • Safety Ideas That Work
    • HEALTH and SAFETY MANUALS
    • FREE SAFE WORK METHOD STATEMENT RESOURCES
    • Whats New In Safety
    • FUN SAFETY STUFF
    • Health and Safety Training
    • SAFETY COURSES
    • Safety Training Needs Analysis and Matrix
    • Top 20 Safety Books
    • This Toaster Is Hot
    • Free Covid-19 Toolbox Talks
    • Download Page – Please Be Patient With Larger Files…….
    • SAFETY IMAGES, Photos, Unsafe Pictures and Funny Fails
    • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators
    • Download Safety Moments from Human Resources Secretariat
  • Social Psychology Of Risk
    • What is Psychological Health and Safety at Work?
    • Safety Psychology Terminology
    • Some Basics on Social Psychology & Risk
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk – Prof Karl E. Weick
    • The Psychology of Leadership in Risk
    • Conducting a Psychology and Culture Safety Walk
    • The Psychology of Conversion – 20 Tips to get Started
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk And Safety
    • Psychology and safety
    • The Psychology of Safety
    • Hot Toaster
    • TALKING RISK VIDEOS
    • WHAT IS SAFETY
    • THE HOT TOASTER
    • THE ZERO HARM DEBATE
    • SEMIOTICS
    • LEADERSHIP
  • Dr Long Posts
    • ALL POSTS
    • Learning Styles Matter
    • There is no Hierarchy of Controls
    • Scaffolding, Readiness and ZPD in Learning
    • What Can Safety Learn From Playschool?
    • Presentation Tips for Safety People
    • Dialogue Do’s and Don’ts
    • It’s Only a Symbol
    • Ten Cautions About Safety Checklists
    • Zero is Unethical
    • First Report on Zero Survey
    • There is No Objectivity, Deal With it!
  • THEMES
    • Psychosocial Safety
    • Resiliencing
    • Risk Myths
    • Safety Myths
    • Safety Culture Silences
    • Safety Culture
    • Psychological Health and Safety
    • Zero Harm
    • Due Diligence
  • Free Learning
    • Introduction to SPoR – Free
    • FREE RISK and SAFETY EBOOKS
    • FREE ebook – Guidance for the beginning OHS professional
    • Free EBook – Effective Safety Management Systems
    • Free EBook – Lessons I Have Learnt
  • Psychosocial Safety
    • What is Psychosocial Safety
    • Psychological Safety
      • What is Psychological Health and Safety at Work?
      • Managing psychosocial hazards at work
      • Psychological Safety – has it become the next Maslow’s hammer?
      • What is Psychosocial Safety
      • Psychological Safety Slogans and Quotes
      • What is Psychological Safety?
      • Understanding Psychological Terminology
      • Psycho-Social and Socio-Psychological, What’s the Difference?
      • Build a Psychologically Safe Workplace by Taking Risks and Analysing Failures
      • It’s not weird – it’s a psychological safety initiative!
You are here: Home / Communication and Consultation / Walking Leadership

Walking Leadership

April 22, 2020 by Dr Rob Long 4 Comments

Brene Brown comments that ‘the best way to move information from the head to the heart is through the hands’ (Daring Leadership). I’m more inclined to think it’s more through the feet. The affordance of hands is for holding but the affordance of feet is for moving and I think leadership is about movement much more than it is about holding.

All learning involves movement of some kind and in safety the most common form of movement is a ‘walk around’ but is it viewed as an opportunity for learning?

On building sites a ‘safety walk around’ often means ‘finding things wrong and fixing them’. Whilst it’s important to fix some things what else might a walk round do? The following come to mind.

  1. For me the most important aspect of a walk around is the practice of presence. Being present rather than in an office checking boxes ought to be the primary activity of leadership in safety.
  2. The second most important thing of the walk around should be not policing but rather developing relationships. This means learning about others and movement to their interests and their perspective on how they work.
  3. The next most important part of walking around is the building of trust. Trust is the bedrock of all safety. If you can build trust across site, safety will improve.
  4. Of course, asking up and down scaffold, across site and walking in and out of alimaks should be mostly about looking and listening more than telling and policing.
  5. If you want to lead in safety on site in a walk around then develop your skills in questioning, especially open questioning. On a safety walk don’t forget that leading and interrogative questions don’t work.
  6. Remember you are in someone else’s space, you are not in the safety of your own office. When you are in someone else’s space you need to be very aware of where the power lies. Wearing an invisible hat called ‘safety police’ makes for a failed walk around.
  7. When you are in someone else’s space you are not the expert so don’t try to be one. Safety people are not plumbers, stressors or chippies but rather helpers and, the best way to help is with good questions and conversation. You don’t have to know someone’s job to build trust and create a good conversation.
  8. A good walk around is about tuning in to what matters and tuning out to petty risk, that simply pisses workers off. Nothing is more sad than a safety crusader on site with a pair of snips searching for untagged leads to cut.
  9. A good walk around that displays leadership makes mental note of mood, language and symbols. Good leadership pays attention to the invisible unconscious things and knows that is where the power lays in the development of culture.
  10. One of the most important things in a walk around is not to repeat gossip but to reframe gossip and question its motive. There is nothing more destructive to safety than triangulating information and erosion of trust.

Walking leadership is about walking to others, walking with others and walking around others. Moreso, the walking metaphor is also about learning, listening, helping and discovery. One thing is certain, that whatever sits on a checklist in the office resembles nearly nothing like the dynamic space of disruption on site.

Whenever I go to site with safety people I always want to know how much of their time is consumed at the desk. This is often one of the best indicators of leadership success.

  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
  • More about Rob
Dr Rob Long

Dr Rob Long

Expert in Social Psychology, Principal & Trainer at Human Dymensions
Dr Rob Long

Latest posts by Dr Rob Long (see all)

  • Zero is Founded on Deceit and Lies - September 29, 2023
  • Have You Had a Drink of SafeTea? - September 27, 2023
  • The Blessings of Fallibility - September 27, 2023
  • Safety as Zero, The Perfect Event - September 25, 2023
  • Validating, Endorsing and Supporting Zero - September 25, 2023
Dr Rob Long
PhD., MEd., MOH., BEd., BTh., Dip T., Dip Min., Cert IV TAA, MRMIA Rob is the founder of Human Dymensions and has extensive experience, qualifications and expertise across a range of sectors including government, education, corporate, industry and community sectors over 30 years. Rob has worked at all levels of the education and training sector including serving on various post graduate executive, post graduate supervision, post graduate course design and implementation programs.

Please share our posts

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Communication and Consultation, Robert Long, Safety Leadership Tagged With: leadership, safety walk

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. bernardcorden says

    April 22, 2020 at 10:52 AM

    Walking or goosestepping?

    Reply
    • Rob Long says

      April 22, 2020 at 1:37 PM

      Not quite sure of any connection to the silly walk.

      Reply
      • Admin says

        April 22, 2020 at 3:06 PM

        seemed like a good idea at the time – only other pics I can find showing a safety walk look like a flock of safety peacocks with clipboards

        Reply
  2. peter wilkinson says

    April 22, 2020 at 10:32 AM

    In a large Australian corporation – I tried (but failed) to replace tool box talks run by supervisors with tool box listens

    Reply

Do you have any thoughts? Please share them belowCancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Search and Discover More on this Site

Never miss a post - Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,509 other subscribers.

FREE eBOOK DOWNLOADS

Recent Comments

  • Rob Long on The Blessings of Fallibility
  • Simon Cassin on The Blessings of Fallibility
  • Rob Long on Validating, Endorsing and Supporting Zero
  • Rob Long on The Global ‘Zero Event’, This is Safety
  • Rob Long on The Global ‘Zero Event’, This is Safety
  • Matthew Thorne on Validating, Endorsing and Supporting Zero
  • rosa a carrillo on The Global ‘Zero Event’, This is Safety
  • Matthew Thorne on The Global ‘Zero Event’, This is Safety
  • Rob Long on Hopkins-Dekker on Reason and Other Laughs
  • Matt Thorne on Myth Making and Why it Matters to Safety
  • Rob Long on What’s Funny About Safety?
  • Rob Long on Perfection is Safety Child’s Play
  • Rosa Carrillo on Hopkins-Dekker on Reason and Other Laughs
  • Brent Charlton on Perfection is Safety Child’s Play
  • Anonymous on What’s Funny About Safety?
  • Rob Long on Zero Hour part 6 Knowing Yourself
  • Rob Long on Safety Cops and Safety’s Adoration of Power
  • Rob Long on Book Launch – “Zero, The Great Safety Delusion” – Free Download
  • Rob long on Don’t Be Dumb Like Me, the Typical Safety Keynote
  • Anonymous on Don’t Be Dumb Like Me, the Typical Safety Keynote

RECOMMENDED READING

viral post – iso 45003 and what it cannot do

Introduction to SPOR – FREE!!

Psychosocial Safety and Mental Health Series

Have You Had a Drink of SafeTea?

If You Can’t Manage Fallibility, You’ll Never Tackle Psychosocial Health

Embodiment, Myth and Psychosocial Risk

7 Golden Rules that are NOT Golden

Why Zero Vision Can Never Tackle Mental Health

If Psychosocial Health Matters, Stop Hot Desking

Effective Strategies in Mental Health at Work

CLLR Newsletter July 2023

Playing With Mental Health in Safety is Dangerous

STOP ‘BREAKING’ PEOPLE! The notion of Psychological Safety

More Posts from this Category

NEW! Free Download

Please take our 2 minute zero survey

Footer

Top Posts & Pages. Sad that most are so dumb but this is what safety luves

  • CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
  • Free Safety Moments and Toolbox Talk Examples, Tips and Resources
  • BIGGEST COLLECTION of WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2023
  • The Critical Outcome is to Improve Safety
  • Free Risk Assessment Template in Excel Format
  • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators
  • FREE RISK ASSESSMENT FORMS, CHECKISTS, REGISTERS, TEMPLATES and APPS
  • Road Safety Slogans 2023
  • Safety Acronyms
  • CLASSIC, FAMOUS and INFAMOUS SAFETY QUOTES

Recent Posts

  • The Critical Outcome is to Improve Safety
  • Zero is Founded on Deceit and Lies
  • Have You Had a Drink of SafeTea?
  • The Blessings of Fallibility
  • Safety as Zero, The Perfect Event
  • Validating, Endorsing and Supporting Zero
  • The Global ‘Zero Event’, This is Safety
  • If You Can’t Manage Fallibility, You’ll Never Tackle Psychosocial Health
  • Embodiment, Myth and Psychosocial Risk
  • Embodied Enactivity in Safety
  • The Meaning of Myth in Risk
  • Myth Making and Why it Matters to Safety
  • Icebreakers and Games that Safety Trainers Play
  • The Power of Safety Myths
  • What Do You Mean By Performance?
  • Hopkins-Dekker on Reason and Other Laughs
  • Perfection is Safety Child’s Play
  • Podcast – Dr Rob Long With John Morlan and The Risk Matrix
  • What’s Funny About Safety?
  • Zero Hour part 6 Knowing Yourself
  • Free Videos, Podcasts and Books on Zero
  • Don’t Be Dumb Like Me, the Typical Safety Keynote
  • If You’re Happy in Safety, Clap Your Hands
  • Safety Cops and Safety’s Adoration of Power
  • Zero Hour Part 5 – Surfacing the Unconscious
  • Zero Hour Part 4 – Zero and the Unconscious
  • Auditing the 7 Golden Rules of Zero, A Miserable Fail
  • 7 Golden Rules that are NOT Golden
  • The Non-Golden Rules for Leadership in Zero
  • Seven ‘Golden’ Rules for Zero and Yet No Ethic
  • Why Zero Vision Can Never Tackle Mental Health
  • Is this Your Safety?
  • SPoR Workshops Canberra 18-21 September
  • The Dominance of Zero as the ‘Common Denominator’ of Safety
  • Zero Hour Episode 3
  • Goal Setting and Zero
  • Zero as a Worldview
  • If Psychosocial Health Matters, Stop Hot Desking
  • Book Launch – “Zero, The Great Safety Delusion” – Free Download
  • Breach of Faith and Psycho-Social Risk
  • Zero Harm is Never Zero Harm
  • Why Would You Want to be a Safety “Geek’ or Hero?
  • The Mental Illness of Identifying as Safety
  • Zero Hour – Zero as a place holder
  • Zero Hour – Zero as a Philosophy
  • CARING ABOUT PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY
  • Care is NOT a Factor and Yes, Your Model Matters
  • Care Ethics and the Ethics of Care, in Risk
  • FEAR AND CONTROL – Dialogue in a technological society
  • Of Course, Method Matters in Safety

VIRAL POST!!! HOW TO QUIT THE SAFETY INDUSTRY

FEATURED POSTS

Who is Responsible?

Coronavirus and the Dunny Paper Effect

Censorship and Taboos in Safety

Safety Cries Wolf!

The Curse of Cognitivism

Zero Suicide and the Discourse of Denial

The New Safety Saviour – Algorithms

Models From Social Sensemaking

Day 3 SPoR in Europe

Surfacing – Making the Unconscious Conscious

Free Download – Real Risk – New Book by Dr Robert Long

Why Some People Never Achieve

A Scaffolder’s Journey in SPoR – A Podcast

Risk Psychometrics, Spin and Snake Oil

Is Choice The First Casualty in the Worker’s Compensation War?

Suffering – Sometimes There Is No Reason

Right and Wrong in Safety

Making Sense of Safety Management Systems

Independent Thinking in an Uncertain World, A Mind of One’s Own

Why Safety Controls Don’t Always Work

Like a Rhizome Cowboy

Next Free Online Studies Introduction to Social Psychology of Risk

Paperwork and Usability in Tackling Risk

Psychometric Testing and Safety

Social Sensemaking – Book Launch Dates & Venues Confirmed

The Psychic Effect of Safety

You Can’t Will Attentiveness

Psychology and safety

Actions in ‘Bad Faith’

Workshops with Dr Long – Vienna, Austria 26-30 June 2023

Visualising the EHS Role

Goals and Vision in Safety

Visual Learning and Envisioning Risk

New Video Series on Safety

Coping With Paradox and Ambiguity in Safety

Perfectionism in Safety and the Denial of Humanity

Please Don’t Try to Fix Me – I’m Not a Machine

Culture and Risk Workshop – Feedback

How Semiotics Affects The Return To Work Process

Keep Your Head In the Game

More Posts from this Category

VIRAL POST – The Risk Matrix Myth

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,509 other subscribers.

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY?

What is Psychological Safety at Work?


WHAT IS PSYCHOSOCIAL SAFETY