Many companies introduce new tools, procedures, training that may elicit good results. But this doesn't always work out to the satisfaction of organizations. Many times safety leaders reflect frustration that their companies have either squandered resources in ill-advised interventions or that they have not realized the full potential benefits of actions taken and programs implemented. Or, as one corporate safety director said, "I can't help but feel we're leaving money on the table."
Currently, many organizations operate in a resource-tight environment. There is often an underlying sense of uncertainty for numerous companies and professionals, where the biggest thing they can count on is that resources are contracting—budgets slashed, time allowed cut, staff riffed, and travel and other expenses reduced. Many report they are working harder just to keep performance above water, to barely hang on.
In this kind of milieu, strategic leadership is critical for maximizing gains from new interventions and being able to maintain positive forward safety momentum.
Of course, even after separating the wheat from the chaff, there are numerous leadership ideas and philosophies that might be of help in current conditions. But attempting to implement many approaches can be jarring, overwhelming or counterproductive. Some may even neutralize others out, further contributing to wasting time and resources, missing potentially here-today-gone-tomorrow opportunities, losing credibility—and possibly endangering career development.