ABSTRACT
LEAD brings together many different ideas about safety leadership and puts them into a package. Not only does LEAD integrate, it advances things forward. LEAD introduces the idea that the mode of safety leadership needs to change based on the type of work that people are undertaking. The LEAD model neatly builds on this work and instead treats safety leadership as general leadership behaviours applied in the workplace as people go about their different work activities, and trying to manage safety at the same time. LEAD takes the best ideas from general leadership theory and applies them to the safety setting. LEAD explains ‘what and when to apply’ safety leadership, namely, what we might call ‘situational leadership’. Situational leadership proposes that successful leaders adapt their approach based on the requirements of the work situation. Safety leadership is much broader than a single theory – transformational leadership is just one of many general leadership theories that have been applied to safety.
