Denver — The age-old challenge of how to sell safety and health initiatives and investments to upper management was addressed by Brian Fielkow in a Tuesday morning keynote speech here at the National Safety Congress.

It’s important for executives to understand that leadership drives behavior, and leadership creates the work environment that is either psychologically safe or alienates employees, said Fielkow.

Don’t dump your problems on the boss’s desk, he said. Come with solutions and examples of how your ideas or plans can work. And give execs a preview of what you want to discuss before getting your time in the front office.

That time is often a short window. Fielkow says he would use it to urge safety to be on the agenda of every management meeting and the need for leadership to be visible in supporting safety values. He would also recommend leaders be part of post-incident reviews and include safety and health in strategic decisions.

Stress the importance to leaders of the three “Ts,” said Fielkow: treatment, transparency and trust. This is how leaders connect with the frontline. Let employees know that they are cared for; give explanations for decisions made about safety and health; and build trust by ensuring employees feel secure and can freely speak up.

And also remind execs that communication with the workforce is critical, frequently misses the intended message, and is not a matter of what is said, but what employees hear you say. Ask for instructions to be repeated back to confirm understanding.