This past February, the American Society of Safety Engineers sponsored a professional development symposium in Las Vegas titled, "Best Practices in Safety Management." While the title reflects the popular use of the term "management" in the safety field, I think we need more "leadership" in safety.
In this article, I'd like to consider six specific differences between safety management and safety leadership. This is not meant to belittle management. We do, though, need more leadership in safety - and this is not the same as management. But managers can be leaders, too!