Safety Leadership

by Jerry Pounds

The shelves of America’s largest bookstores are being continually stocked with new books about leadership. It has become a national preoccupation – management consultants, corporate trainers and public workshop providers are very busy selling leadership interventions. America is hungry for leaders and there is a leadership theory that fits every perspective. Companies seeking to turn managers into leaders will find a consultant or workshop that suits their taste.

Donna Armstrong, Values Based Safety Coordinator, BSMART, Foster Wheeler (Houston)

Donna Armstrong is our Safety Champion at Foster Wheeler in Houston, Texas. Foster Wheeler, an engineering and construction company, began designing their BSMART (Behavioral Safety Management and Recognition Techniques) process in 2006 during a period of rapid expansion for the company. Donna has been invaluable to the company’s challenging implementation process from the start.

Nora Buchholz, Safety Manager for Western Energy at The Rosebud Mine, near Colstrip, Montana, is a true Safety Champion. Implementing the Values Based Safety Process at a large surface coal mine has proven to be both incredibly challenging and rewarding for Nora. The mine operates 24-hours a day, with four rotating shifts of employees.

by Jerry Pounds

In his blog “New Positive Reinforcement Strategies”, Jerry writes:

If you don’t have people skills, if you are a manager or supervisor who is perfectionistic, impatient, and thinks that employees should do what they are paid to do without any need for motivation or positive reinforcement, then you are among the 75% of managers who feel the same way. But, don’t feel that you are doomed to be at odds with all the management development initiatives and consultants that ask you to positively reinforce your employees for improvement, extra effort or outstanding achievement.