FROM MANAGER TO LEADER: Rethinking our purpose.

Let’s explore leadership through a different lens. 

We all agree that leadership plays a crucial role in advancing workplace safety. But beyond skills and tools, what about the intention behind the leader's actions? What about their relationship with themselves—and with others? 

This reflection is rooted in a strong belief: the evolution of a group begins with the evolution of the individual. We can’t expect others to change if we’re not willing to change ourselves first. When I shift, I create a ripple effect. And when everyone engages in that shift, transformation happens—quickly and deeply. 

I started my career in 2003, on the ground, in environmental health and safety. Over the years, I moved into roles such as HSE manager, performance manager across six industrial sites, and eventually site director. Each step of the way, I experienced a personal transformation—from manager to leader, from technical focus to relational focus, from control to trust. 

Over time, key questions emerged: 

What is my true intention when I engage in safety and prevention? 

Why am I doing this, really? 

Personal drivers like the need to contribute, protect, perform, or convince deeply shape how we lead. My own leadership style evolved—sometimes naturally—from a directive stance to a more open, empathetic, and empowering approach. The Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership model helped me understand how important it is to adapt our posture to both context and people. 

Hersey-Blanchard model - Situational leadership Source: SLII Training: A Situational Approach to Leadership | Blanchard

But there’s a nuance that’s especially relevant for EHS professionals. 

Because EHS managers are often deeply committed and technically skilled, they can be unintentionally overlooked in leadership development efforts. They’re expected to “carry” safety, so we assume they don’t need support themselves. But they do. They may even neglect their own growth, focused entirely on helping others progress. 

And yet, they face the same daily challenges, tensions, and resistance as any other leader—if not more. Through field coaching and programs like Train the Trainer, we’ve seen that EHS leaders are just as in need of purpose, clarity, and balance. They, too, walk a fine line between expertise and influence, between operational demands and human connection. 

That’s why I advocate strongly for EHS managers to be fully included in leadership and personal development journeys. Not just to sharpen technical skills, but to explore their deeper intentions, nurture their emotional intelligence, and create space to care for themselves—just as they care for others. 

Here’s a core belief I want to share: 

Change begins with me. 

Not as a solo mission, but as a dynamic process. When I shift my mindset, my attitude, and the way I connect with others, I create space for change across the organization. Leadership, in this sense, isn’t a job title—it’s an inner stance. 

This inner shift is what moves a safety culture from compliance to maturity. 

According to the Bradley Curve, overly technical leadership can lock an organization in dependency, slowing progress toward autonomy and shared responsibility. That’s why it’s essential to embrace and adapt between the four leadership styles—directive, persuasive, participative, and delegative—as living mindsets, not fixed tools. 

Ask yourself: 

Where am I today in my leadership posture? 

What is my new intention? 

Where do I feel uncomfortable—and what might those discomforts be teaching me? 

Turning discomfort into growth is at the heart of personal and collective transformation. 

Developing our inner selves—through reflection, emotional regulation, deep listening, and presence—isn’t a bonus. It’s the essence of leadership. And it can change everything. 

Because in the end, safety isn’t just everyone’s business—  It’s each person’s responsibility—for all.