15th September, 2021

Today begins with multiple connected concerns about safety. There is a revised university policy to reemphasize the use of masks indoors at a time where recent history is set to repeat itself. In other words, extra caution is needed to avoid rising COVID cases leading to the university doors being shut again. Beyond that, I’ve also been organizing the next phase of ongoing work to clear out ancient, derelict, and dangerous legacy equipment from our lab. At the top of that bill today, removing and replacing a drying oven lined with…(drum roll please)…white asbestos.

For the mask situation, I’ve reinforced the new directive with a more personal message on our group’s project management platform. For the now obsolete oven, I’ve turned it off and am ensuring there’s nothing more subtly dangerous than the asbestos lurking there, before allowing any of our team to help clear it out. For all such things in connection, there is an imperative to frame safety as more than a bureaucratic necessity. Good safety culture and practice is how you truly live up to the privilege of having team members in your care. Your leadership is as much about getting your team home safe as it is motivating them to rise to the best versions of themselves.

As I’ve discussed more fully on my other safety-focused podcast channel, the results of any accident might play out over a much longer term than the instant in which an accident actually occurs.

To lead by example, yes, you’re setting the tone, laying out the guidelines, but you’re doing more than that. It’s not all ‘top down’. As much as you may set and question the safety-related behaviors in your team, they - together or individually - have to be able to to question you.

To truly rise to the privilege of having a team in your care requires more than a passing thought about how you are truly going to care for each and every member.

Safety is a multidimensional catch-all, and I’ve focused here on physical safety, but psychological and mental safety is also vital.

So, whether you’re working in the physical sciences (like me) or not, consider what elements of safety need to feature in your leadership style.

If you have a question for Marc, upload an audio recording for it to be featured on a later Q&A episode!