Tag Archives: leadership

How to Drive Business Transformation through Heightened Collaboration

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Collaboration Drives Business Results

One of the qualities of critical thinkers, particularly in the business space, is to apply creative thinking either to solve business problems or identify opportunities. This ability to “reject standardized formats for problem solving” can be of great benefit, particularly during unpredictable times.

To say that 2020 brought about serious challenges to business leaders would be an understatement. From developing business continuity plans to doing a complete overhaul of their business model, these individuals have had to channel their ability to respond quickly, be agile, be resourceful and be confident in their decisions.

With over 85% of executives attributing the lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures, many leaders have looked at people-focused approaches to solve current challenges.

This brings us to the objective of this blog: to examine how some leaders used collaboration as an engine to maintain productivity, drive employee engagement and boost employee morale.… Read more...

L2L: How To Have a Productive Dialogue with Senior Leadership

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Leaders Productive Dialog
In this episode, our Health & Safety leaders discuss how to create a productive dialogue around health and safety with senior leadership.

Health and Safety is changing. It is now more complex and dynamic than ever. In addition to traditional concerns over safety, today’s professionals must deal with everything from individual mental wellbeing to global environmental citizenship. It is anything but simple.

In episode 8, we hear that while one of the greatest challenges faced by Health & Safety leaders is how to communicate with senior corporate leadership in a meaningful, productive way, it also is one of the most productive things an HSE professional can learn to do.

Paul Darby, Global Head of Health & Safety – DHL Global Forwarding, counseled, “If you have an overall business strategy, don’t have a safety strategy that looks completely different.” Make sure your safety strategy lines up with the business strategy, he … Read more...

How to Make Your Mark as an Influential Leader in the EHS Space

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What Makes a Great EHS Leader

While being a good leader takes work, being a great leader comes naturally to some, but for others, it takes a combination of dedication and insight. This applies to leaders across the board – the fields of environment, health and safety (EHS) are no exception.

So then the next question becomes: What makes a great leader?

Initially, EHS leaders were hired for their technical expertise. Now, they are being perceived as a part of the larger operational team, which can include human resources, finance, operations, quality and more.

As the role of the EHS leader has evolved, both in terms of breadth and depth, the role has become one that has greater influence and impact on the business. For this reason, companies look at the strength of these leaders, not only to help the business meet its EHS objectives, but also help it meet business objectives by engaging … Read more...

Data Never Sleeps: The Role of Big Data and Leadership Analytics in Shaping Safety Management Programs

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Data in Safety Management Programs

A wise man once said: “You can have data without information, but you cannot have information without data” (in this case, the wise man was Daniel Keys Moran, a US-based computer programmer and science fiction writer).

In this day and age, you don’t have to be a scientist to understand the power of data. It is everywhere from our work environments to our personal lives. Let’s face it—how many of us would be willing to change our habits when it comes to our smart phones? That being the case, it should come as no surprise that data has found its rightful place in safety management as well.


What the Experts are Saying


But don’t just take my word for it. Safety expert Chuck Pettinger, Ph.D., Process Change Leader for Predictive Solutions Corp. is a long-time champion of data-driven safety management programs. According to him, there is a need for safety … Read more...

L2L: How Do You Get Executives on Board with Health & Safety Initiatives?

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Engaging leaders in EHS is key to changing workplace culture.

Safety leaders from five companies met in the UK as part of our new Leaders2Leaders programme, a new series of videos, content and resources for health and safety professionals. They discussed a number of topics, including the impact of technology on health and safety, regulatory compliance, barriers to visibility, maintaining a safety culture, dialogue and buy-in with executives, bridging organisational siloes and what health and safety professionals should focus on as a matter of priority. While these topics all are interconnected, the experts had a lot to say about each one.

Episode 4 of the Leaders2Leaders video series focuses on how to better engage key executives from across your organisation. How and what you communicate with executives should be predicated upon their role in the company.

Messaging Counts with Executives

In this episode, Paul Darby, Global Head of Health & … Read more...

Transforming Theory into Practice: The Importance of Highly Engaged Leadership in Managing the Mental Health of their Employees

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In the words of clinical psychologist and author Noam Shpancer, “Mental health is not a destination, but a process.”

This process varies from individual to individual and is directly impacted by environment and personal circumstances. More importantly, it’s not a journey that can always be solved alone—whether in your personal life or at work.

While it is complicated and multi-faceted, it warrants taking the time to understand it in depth.


The Current Definition of Mental Health


Historically, the definition of mental health was myopic in nature. Today, however, it has transformed into something broader. According to the World Health Organization, the definition of mental health is “more than just the absence of mental disorders or disabilities. Peak mental health is about not only avoiding active conditions but also looking after ongoing wellness and happiness.”

Now that we have a more accurate view, let’s take a look at how serious an … Read more...

OSHA Safe and Sound Week: Using Data to Make Decisions

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It is a pivotal part of the safety process to have everyone involved, and more importantly, have them engage.

As we celebrate OHSA’s Safe and Sound Week focusing on the theme of management leadership, finding and fixing hazards and increasing worker participation and engagement, I recognize that at Intelex, we are closely aligned in this mission with our software platform.

At Intelex, our clients are experiencing great success in protecting their employees by using data to make decisions that help keep the work environment safe. Fundamental concerns like auditing, training management, risk assessment and reporting safety hazards – along with being able to prioritize, track and eliminate such issues – can now be controlled within an electronic centralized safety management system.  

With that said, there’s a side of safety management that OSHA called out in this year’s campaign that has long been elusive for some: worker participation. As a … Read more...

Why the Human Factor is as Important as Your Technology

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In 1979, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) held a workshop at which it presented research demonstrating that the root cause of most aircraft accidents was human error and worker performance relating to poor critical thinking, lack of leadership, and miscommunication. The presentation was a response to the crash of United Airlines Flight 173 in Portland, Oregon in 1978, in which a landing gear problem forced the crew to circle the airport prior to landing. The captain focused on the landing gear problem for over an hour, missing frequent communications from his crew that the fuel supply was running low. The captain only realized his lack of situational awareness moments prior to the plane running out of fuel and crashing only a few miles short of the runway. Two crew members and eight passengers were killed. 

NASA therefore developed the practice of crew resource management (CRM). CRM addresses the human factor in teams … Read more...

Change Your Culture by Making Employees a Part of Safety Strategy

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New webinar explains why employees support proposals and programs they help to create and offers guidance on achieving employee buy-in for your safety management initiatives.

For excellence in any operational category to be recognized, it is imperative employees make decisions and behave in alignment with the intended strategic direction. Strategy is a framework of choices an organization makes to determine how to capture and deliver sustainable value. How value focused are your efforts, and do the customers of your safety strategy agree with this? 

In a new September 25 EHS Today-hosted webinar, sponsored by Intelex, Terry Mathis, the founder and CEO of ProAct Safety, an international safety and performance excellence firm, explain why safety is not a standalone strategy within a business; it must be an integral part of the overall operational plan. The webinar is scheduled for 2 pm on Sept. 25, and registration is open now.

Mathis … Read more...

Flip the Leadership Pyramid

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There’s much to be said for the “power of We.”

Over the past several years, I have written articles and lectured on numerous occasions about effective leadership and management systems. There’s inherently one important idea always floating in the back of my mind, and it serves as the foundation for most any actionable content I create.

I learned about the inverted leadership pyramid on the first day of my first corporate-level job in the mid-1990s. I had assumed the role of Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) leader for a large chunk of the company’s business portfolio. My boss, a guy who would become a mentor and coach, sat me down and drew a triangle that displayed Vision & Mission / Strategy & Goals.

It looked like this: 

It was the standard pyramid used to explain the organizational structure. He drew dividing lines; splitting the triangle with the upper one-third reserved … Read more...