In the recent Legitimate Leadership Safety Webinar, Sean Hagger related a story of a senior leader who’d started a new role in a factory that manufactured rockets.

‘For 30 years, part of the process in this manufacturing facility was to drill a hole in the solid fuel propellant of the rocket in order to fit a device.

‘The new manager was aghast when he saw this part of the process and he challenged it. He asked why this was being done. The employees replied, “Well we’ve never had a serious incident before.”

‘But he insisted that they find another way of doing it.

The answer classically came back that there wasn’t another way, and he replied, “find one”.

‘And they did – they formed the propellant around a die, thus creating the desired orifice to fit the device.

‘This story isn’t about throwing your weight around in a new job and pretending to people that you’re super-interested in safety. The manager had told his people, “If you can find a better way of doing this I will support you”. That sends out a strong message – because there might have been 30 years without an incident, but maybe there would not be 31.

‘The best leaders continually raise the bar on safety by challenging us to be better than we were before. They look at every situation as an opportunity to improve.’