Keely, the entrepreneur in Ted Lasso, responded to a comment about self-promotion being bad. She replied “that’s not how it works anymore. It’s all about promoting your own brand.”
Almost all the safety professionals I meet are dedicated professionals. They know their stuff. They are hard workers and are dedicated to eliminating injuries. Unfortunately, those characteristics are not enough to succeed.
You need a brand. A ‘superpower.’ Not only do you need a superpower, but that superpower needs to be known as a benefit to the firm and its leadership.
Defining your superpower doesn’t have to be difficult. I was speaking to the safety leader of a geoscience services firm. He knew the business cold. He could describe what was happening and quickly identify the strategic safety needs of the business.
A business leader who was a West Point graduate has a gift of very clearly and efficiently explaining his expectations. When he speaks, it’s clear what he wants. A newly appointed safety leader in a manufacturing plant knows his people and has built deep relationships with them. He has immense trust and rapport within the workforce.
A former head of safety at an airline is wicked smart and gets things done with her drive and determination. The VP of safety at an oil company knows everything about oil exploration and production. All of these are examples of terrific superpowers.
My superpower is engaging clients from the C-Suite to the frontline so changes become sustainable.
Superpowers are critical to success. Safety leaders need to know their superpower and articulate it in terms of how they approach their role. They need to tell the successes stories through the lens of their superpower. Ultimately, when it’s promotion time, the superpower needs to be valuable enough to seal the deal. Conversely, when it’s layoff time, the superpower needs to be clear so that decision makers can’t lose your superpower.
This is not about being braggadocios. It’s about searching for, defining, and articulating your brand. It’s about becoming indispensable because your superpower is needed.
Listen to Keely. It is all about building your brand!
SafetyAnd offers unmatched safety expertise. We are collaborative and engaging consultants that achieve sustainable risk and safety improvements in record time! SafetyAnd offers safety program creation, C-Suite workshops, front-line supervisor training and the Safety Professional’s Academy.
If you have safety professionals who require coaching, give me a call!
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