Developing Non-technical Safety Skills

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Anna Keen, a consultant who began her career recruiting safety professionals and now focuses on developing their non-technical skills so they can become even more effective at making workplaces safer.

Anna’s had a front-row seat to safety’s recent evolution, so is perfectly placed to analyze the EHS professionals’ changing personality type, role, and skill set over the last two decades.

The profession has (mostly) moved on from the safety cop mentality based on rule enforcement, blame and fixing, as organizations seek deeper learning, greater collaboration and more proactivity to ensure workers go home safely.

But how do safety managers, who have previously focused on technical skills, develop the capabilities to support this transition?

In this forward-thinking conversation, Anna shares practical insights on how EHS professionals can develop the human attributes - including emotional intelligence, curiosity, self-awareness and influence - to support modern safety leadership.