Alive and Well at the End of the Day, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 22MAKING A DIFFERENCE

It’s easy to make a buck. It’s much tougher to make a difference.

—Tom Brokaw

You’ve reached the end of the book: now it’s time for you to make a decision.

Alive and Well began with a simple observation: because no follower wants to get hurt, and no leader wants to see any follower being hurt, managing safety should be easy. But in the real‐life practice of leadership, sending every follower home alive and well at the end of every day may well be the toughest undertaking by any leader. Standing in the way of that noble goal is a formidable set of safety leadership challenges. Dealing with all those challenges—it really is all, as a leader doesn’t get to pick and choose which ones to take on and which to ignore—is the job of the leader. Managing safety performance is the most important thing every supervisor, manager, and executive has to get done.

Followers are the biggest beneficiaries of safety performance—they go home alive and well at the end of the day—but it falls to their leaders to make that happen.

What you have learned in the first 21 chapters are answers to the questions you need to lead and manage safety performance.

• What is leadership?

The Leadership Model shows you the answer. Followers make you their leader. As their leader, you return the compliment by leading through words and actions. In the opinion of your followers—which is the only opinion that matters—your actions speak louder than your words.

• When do I lead?

Once your ...