The future of safety and risk: Insight from Kieran Doona

When it comes to health and safety, much attention is given to safety leadership – inspiring people to act safely, influencing attitudes and creating a strong safety culture. But what about safety management? Surely that’s just as important for maintaining a safe workplace.

To understand the relationship between the two, we need to clarify what each brings to the table.

Safety management is a structured, systematic approach to controlling risks and ensuring compliance with laws and standards. It focuses on processes, systems and procedures – things like risk assessments, audits and incident investigations. This approach provides consistency, accountability and clear measures of success. However, it can become overly bureaucratic or reactive if not supported by leadership.

Safety leadership, on the other hand, is about people – building trust, motivation and a shared sense of responsibility. It focuses on leading by example, empowering workers to speak up and creating a culture of care. Strong leadership drives engagement and intrinsic motivation but can lack structure without robust management systems.

Ultimately, management provides the foundation; leadership brings safety to life.

From these definitions, it’s clear that management ensures compliance and structure, while leadership inspires and sustains safe behaviour. Compliance alone can be repetitive and uninspiring – that’s where leadership keeps safety relevant, personal and proactive.

A 2020 Forbes article, What Is Your Management-to-Leadership Ratio?, suggests most executives spend around 80 per cent of their time managing and only 20 per cent leading. Many health and safety managers might relate to this, yet managing the day-to-day tasks is essential for preventing incidents. If housekeeping, maintenance checks, fire drills and training aren’t completed, unsafe conditions quickly develop. The key is balance – keeping compliance routines running smoothly while maintaining the vision and motivation that leadership provides.

Many managers struggle with the idea of being leaders. Generic leadership training can even heighten this anxiety. Leadership is situational and can be developed through reflection and self-awareness. Encouraging managers to log examples of when they’ve shown leadership – such as advocating for long-term safety improvements or engaging teams in open safety discussions – helps them see their impact. Tailored, department-specific leadership development is far more effective than a one-size-fits-all approach.

The truth is that leadership and management are intrinsically linked. Leadership without management may inspire for a short time but risks losing momentum without structure.

Management without leadership ensures compliance but may not drive continuous improvement or engagement.

Effective safety performance depends on both – management to minimise foreseeable risks, and leadership to inspire the behaviours and attitudes that elevate safety from mere compliance to genuine excellence.

Safety leadership turns systems into culture, while safety management keeps that culture grounded and sustainable. Together, they form the twin pillars of a truly safe workplace.