Leading and Learning Through Safety

Do you want to engage your culture? Safety is the first step to creating the motivation needed for people to perform their best. Each day, we have the chance to lead our teams and learn more about our people through an understanding of our safety climate. Through looking at current issues in HSE, we chat about creating cultural value through safety. Your host is Dr. Mark French, CSP, SPHR aka The Safety Dude.

Leading and Learning Through Safety is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 214 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Leading and Learning Through Safety, a business show with 214 episodes published.

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  Leading and Learning Through Safety

  Episode 211: Learning Motivation

  Aug 14, 202620 min

  Safety training can check every regulatory box and still fail to connect with the people who need it most. In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French explores one of his longtime professional interests: how to transform required workplace training from a compliance exercise into meaningful learning that employees can actually apply. Drawing from a recent experience attending an eight-hour regulatory certification course, Mark examines why technically accurate training can still fall short. Stock images, regulation-heavy PowerPoint slides, and worst-case scenarios may communicate the rules, but they do not always reflect the reality employees experience in the field. When training and real work do not align, employees may begin questioning the credibility of the message and underestimate the risks around them. Mark introduces the ADDIE learning model—Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate—as a practical framework safety professionals and leaders can use to improve training. It begins by understanding the audience: Who are they? What do they already know? What knowledge or skills are missing? From there, instructors can design and develop training using relevant workplace examples, hands-on activities, discussion, and actual equipment rather than relying solely on generic materials. Finally, effective training requires evaluation. Did employees learn something useful? Can they demonstrate it in the workplace? Did the training actually address the problem? The lesson is simple but powerful: meaningful training starts with understanding who you are teaching and what they truly need to know.

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  Leading and Learning Through Safety

  Episode 210: Knowledge and Learning

  Jul 31, 202620 min

  This week on the Leading and Learning Through Safety podcast, Dr. Mark French examines two tragic workplace fatalities that highlight a common issue: the critical role of training, hazard recognition, and collaborative safety leadership. The first incident involves a 20-year-old worker who died after becoming engulfed in a grain bin. While grain bin hazards are well known, Dr. French emphasizes that familiarity can create overconfidence, especially among experienced workers. He discusses the importance of ensuring employees truly understand the risks rather than assuming prior knowledge and stresses the need for rescue equipment, emergency planning, and community outreach to equip both workers and local responders for these high-risk events. The second story focuses on a 24-year-old welder who was fatally injured when a sealed paint drum exploded as he used a plasma cutter to remove its lid. Dr. French explains that hot work safety extends beyond controlling sparks and surrounding combustibles—it also requires understanding what is inside a container before cutting or welding begins. He encourages organizations to incorporate collaborative hazard reviews, checklists, and questioning into their work planning so hidden dangers are identified before work starts. Throughout the episode, Dr. French reminds listeners that safety leadership is about creating an environment where people continuously learn, ask questions, and challenge assumptions. Effective training, teamwork, and thoughtful planning help organizations recognize high-energy hazards before they become tragedies. By working together and remaining curious, leaders can better protect their people and prevent similar incidents from occurring.

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  Leading and Learning Through Safety

  Episode 209: Ethical Voice

  Jul 24, 202620 min

  In this episode of the Leading and Learning Through Safety podcast, Dr. Mark French explores an often-overlooked leadership skill: ethical decision-making. Rather than focusing on major ethical failures, this discussion examines the small, everyday moments where leaders decide whether to speak up, look the other way, or take action. Drawing from a recent Journal of Applied Psychology article, Dr. French discusses the concept of "sharing as ethicizing" —the idea that discussing workplace ethical dilemmas with trusted family members or close confidants strengthens our willingness to act ethically at work. Those conversations help clarify our values, reinforce our sense of responsibility, and make it more likely that we will speak up when something doesn't feel right. Using personal experiences from his career in safety and human resources, Dr. French reflects on times when difficult conversations felt easier to avoid than confront. He explains how experience has taught him to replace simple "ignore it or discipline it" thinking with a more thoughtful leadership approach that balances consistency, influence, and accountability. The episode introduces two practical mental frameworks leaders can use whenever they face an ethical crossroads: "Would I be proud to tell this story to my family?" and "What would an exceptional leader do in this situation?" These simple questions help remove emotion from the moment and provide a clearer path toward doing the right thing. Whether you lead safety, HR, operations, or any team, this episode offers practical tools for strengthening ethical leadership one decision at a time.

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  Leading and Learning Through Safety

  Episode 208: The Dark Triad

  Jul 3, 202620 min

  In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French explores the concept of the Dark Triad of personality—narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy—and examines how these destructive personality traits can undermine leadership effectiveness and workplace safety. Drawing from organizational psychology research, Dr. French explains that while these traits may occasionally produce short-term results, they ultimately erode trust, silence employees, and create environments where safety and ethical decision-making suffer. The episode begins with narcissism , highlighting leaders who believe they always know best, dismiss employee input, and quickly shift blame when problems arise. Dr. French emphasizes the importance of organizational accountability, consistent enforcement of policies, and creating cultures where mistakes become learning opportunities instead of opportunities for punishment. The discussion then turns to Machiavellianism , describing leaders driven by power and control who manipulate people, hide information, and may even compromise safety or ethics to achieve personal success. Dr. French stresses the need for meaningful performance metrics, transparent documentation, and leadership oversight to prevent manipulation and ensure that safety performance reflects reality rather than appearances. Finally, the episode addresses psychopathy , noting that while these individuals are less common, their reckless behavior and disregard for others make them particularly dangerous within organizations. Throughout the episode, Dr. French reinforces a central message: safety is a reflection of leadership. Leaders who genuinely value people create workplaces built on trust, accountability, and psychological safety, while toxic leadership ultimately puts both employees and organizational success at risk.

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  Leading and Learning Through Safety

  Episode 207: Empathy vs Ego

  Jun 26, 202620 min

  In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French reflects on a recent verbal de-escalation training experience and shares key lessons that extend far beyond conflict management. The training focused on how workers who interact with the public can safely navigate tense situations, recognize potential dangers, and communicate in ways that reduce rather than increase conflict. One of the biggest takeaways was the importance of practice-based learning. Dr. French emphasizes that effective training is not simply about transferring knowledge through lectures—it must provide a safe environment where participants can ask questions, make mistakes, receive feedback, and build confidence through realistic scenarios. He highlights how hands-on learning creates deeper understanding and prepares people to apply skills in real-world situations. The episode then explores one of the most powerful concepts in verbal de-escalation: setting aside ego. Dr. French explains that many conflicts escalate because individuals become focused on being right rather than resolving the situation. Successful de-escalation requires empathy, active listening, and the ability to understand another person's perspective without immediately defending your own position. Using examples from construction and safety environments, he demonstrates how acknowledging frustrations, listening sincerely, and responding with empathy can help reduce tension and create safer outcomes. The discussion reinforces that leadership, safety, and effective communication are deeply connected. By replacing ego with empathy, leaders and frontline workers alike can build trust, reduce conflict, and create environments where people feel heard, respected, and ultimately safer.

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