What kind of Health and Safety Professional are You?
I luvved this recent blog post by Wild Rose Safety Systems – SEE IT HERE – which one of these are you?
See also ODE TO THE SAFETY PROFESSIONAL
In your networking of safety professionals, have you noticed any Safety Archetypes in those people you interact with? I have, and I’ve compiled a quick list of the types of people I’ve encountered. Maybe you have other examples – and I would love to hear about them. And this is all in-fun so any resemblance to people real or imaginary is completely intentional – I mean totally coincidental.
The Safety Cheerleader
The safety cheerleader has limitless, positive energy in their message delivery: “Rah-rah Safety!” Sometimes the safety cheerleader can start a safety wave but keeping that wave going can be a challenge. The message delivery can get annoying, especially when the message is lacking in substance.The Safety Professor
The safety professor can cite all the latest statistics and obscure authors and studies that prove some point or another. Though they have that “factual basis” nailed, sometimes it is a challenge to translate that learning into something a general (and sometimes under-educated) workforce can understand.The Safety Psychologist
Safety psychologists are all about figuring out that black box of human behavior. They always seem to be taking notes. They tend to be focused on staff’s motivations and sometimes offer psychoanalysis: “You had an accident? So, tell me about your mother… I see… Was she too controlling when she told you to look both ways before crossing the street? How did that make you feel? Very interesting.”The Safety Ghost
The safety ghost is seldom seen in the office or in the field, but they are always very busy as evidenced by their ever-full calendar. Often they are too busy to attend meetings or walk-the-floor. However you know they exist because from time to time a new practice or procedure materializes from the aether that is mandatory for staff to follow. These documents don’t always reflect how business or the task is actually done.The Safety Bully
The safety bully is always right. He/she uses belittling and humiliation to get their message across. If a colleague doesn’t get it, it must be their limitation, and they must be singled out for public ridicule. Sometimes the safety bully will send out questionable information and expect staff to come to exactly the same conclusion. He/she is adept at the use of persuasive, popular writing. Staff will often do the right thing just to stay off the safety bully’s radar.The Safety Salesman
“Come one! Come all! Step right up! I have a new safety program, never before seen by western eyes! Fresh from the exotic orient where Shinto monks developed this ultimate weapon over hundreds of years for the battle of effective safety performance! You need this! You want this! It will solve all your health and safety workplace problems.” Often times the safety salesman is gone before the smoke clears and that value is (un)realized.The Safety Coach
The safety coach is either loved or hated. They’re either the person with the plan that keeps the team focused, or they’re the person that just won’t stop yelling at you for not following the plan. Either way, the safety coach is a mentor with tons of valuable experience and proven success under his/her belt.The Safety Advisor
The safety advisor is very learned and/or innovative when it comes to advising anyone on the vision, planning, or execution of health and safety programs. They know all the best practices and standards and can tell you how to apply them. The trouble with the safety advisor is that they don’t always take a position on an issue – because they’re not in a position to tell you what to do and how to do it. If they did that then it wouldn’t be advice…The Safety Grandfather
The safety grandfather (or grandmother) is that old, wizened safety professional that knows everyone and everything that has ever been attempted. They are the keepers of the corporate knowledge. They easily fall into story telling about “back when I was a young whipper-snapper” that can get just as easily tuned out after you hear the same story 100 times. Usually there is a lot of reverence for the old-timer that can turn to questioning relevance or utility. Just because something has been done a certain way for 20 years doesn’t necessarily make it the right way for today.SEE THE REST HERE
Do you have any thoughts? Please share them below