When I first started in the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) field I was a very dogmatic person. I saw everything as black or white and my actions reflected that point of view. I acted as a police officer on patrol would, by pulling people over giving tickets and setting up stakeouts. When I was busy doing paperwork or inspecting equipment in a remote location, I was sure people were breaking the law. After a period of time I began to develop a policeman’s attitude. That is not to say that all law enforcement officers have bad attitudes, it’s just that being exposed to the underbelly of society will eventually cause you to become more pessimistic or guarded. Like them I got to a point of continuous disappointment and I did not trust people to do the right thing without being forced.

This attitude was an unexpected outcome, as it was contrary to my original motivation to enter the field. Because before starting in OHS I was a combat medic then a interdenominational minister, where my personal calling is to save or improve the quality of people’s lives, OHS seemed to fit well with my passions.

It was at this waypoint in my career when I contemplated leaving OHS.. But first I decided to sit down and do a root cause analysis in order to figure out how I had found myself so dissatisfied. It was then I realized I was using my head and not my strongest attribute my heart to lead me. Because I do genuinely care about people and their families, my behavior wasn’t fulfilling that need in my life of service. I now am an advocate of heart centered safety, where we emotionally invest in each other to generate a caring culture, interdependent on every member. I want to foster an environment where leadership actively seeks out ways to understand their workforce and where everyone accepts there role in every incident, with the vision of living a safe lifestyle by incorporating safety into the value stream.