Case Studies

Can you tell us a little about your career and the path that led you to health and safety?
I first started out in health and safety in 2012, when I was recommended by a former colleague for a global role in the HSE Culture Change team at a large oil and gas company. I had no health and safety background, but strong communications credentials, facilitation expertise and fluency in 5 languages. So I hit the ground running, engaged with the people in the many workshops I delivered, and learned lots about health and safety along the way.

You took your first NEBOSH qualification, the National General Certificate, in 2013. Can you tell us:

•  Why you choose this qualification?

One year into the role, I decided I need to have more of a technical health and safety basis for the discussions I was leading in my HSE Culture Change sessions. I wanted to deepen my understanding of the challenges people were facing on the ground, so decided to do the NEBOSH General Certificate.

• How you found the course?

I absolutely loved it because it gave me what I would call the essentials of health and safety in a short space of time.

• If it was useful in your role?

The course really helped me because suddenly I was able to overlay some essential health and safety knowledge on the discussions we were having, both as a health and safety team, and with the employees who took part in the culture change sessions. It was also very useful to do the practical assignment based on my own company, where I visited one of our sites and was able to recommend technical improvements.

You have held numerous health and safety roles, with a key focus for you always being to bring about positive change to safety cultures and behaviours. What appeals to you most about this aspect of health and safety?

I love working with people and helping them create forward momentum. People work best when they are set up for success and to tap into their unique strengths. Working on the cultural and behavioural side of health and safety allows me to bring all I know about people to the fore. For me, effective health and safety is about setting people up to be able to work safely and easily and inspiring them to get involved. Building the right culture is key to both.

In May 2018, you took the plunge and set up your own organisation, Leaderlike Limited. What do you enjoy most about the work you do now?
What I like most about working for myself through Leaderlike Limited is being able to be completely myself, do the work I love, and hopefully help and inspire people along the way. With everything I do I look to help the entire health and safety industry embrace their innate people skills to get the best out of others, and all with the ultimate aim of saving lives. It’s an inspiring mission, saving lives, and I guess I found that place in it where I can uniquely be myself and add value based on my unique strengths.

Earlier this year you completed your NEBOSH National Diploma:

• Why did you choose to complete your Diploma now?

I had planned to complete my NEBOSH Diploma for years, and it kept getting sidelined because of the demands of my business and being a parent. In the end I decided to bite the bullet and sit the first exam because I knew it would help me take my technical health and safety to the next level. Once I had done the first one, and enjoyed the learning process, signing up for the second one got easier.

• How have your studies benefited you?

Studying the NEBOSH Diploma has helped me consolidate what I already do well in health and safety and identify the areas where I could get even better. It forced me to widen my health and safety knowledge to broader areas such as hazardous substances and also deepen it in more basic areas like risk assessment. All of this has helped me in my role because what I do on the culture change side of health and safety does not stand alone – it needs to integrate with the processes and procedures – and knowing what I am integrating with is key.

• Would you recommend the qualification to others and why?

I would highly recommend this qualification because it forces you to really reflect on the health and safety profession in its entirety. It not only gives you the breadth of knowledge, but also the important underpinning principles which you could then take into any role, in any industry.

What do you enjoy most about being part of the health and safety profession?
The best part of being in the health and safety profession is the people. Everyone is so passionate about what they do and keeping people safe that I find it one of the most supportive and collaborative industries I have ever been a part of. Since my book People Power effectively put me on the health and safety map in 2021, I have been overwhelmed with the support and friendships I have made. I have been welcomed for what we have in common, and for my differences, and have collaborated with some great people on our shared mission.

When you look back at your career so far, what are you most proud of?
I am most proud of the TEDx talk I delivered in July 2023 entitled ‘The Two Questions That Could Save Your Life’, because it was the result of a great deal of hard work, and when I look back at it, I know that I delivered it to the best of my ability, and in my own unique way. And because the talk will be out there for years to come, it has the potential to quite literally save a life, if someone is inspired by it and decides to incorporate my two questions into their daily rituals.

What would your advice be to anyone who aspires to build a career in health and safety?
I would say go and talk to a few people in the industry and ask them why they work in health and safety. Health and safety is saving lives every day, but we don’t hear about it, because we only tend to hear when things go wrong. Get people to tell you about the good work they do, the successes, and what happens when it goes right, because this work is truly inspiring. And when you get the bug, you will find your way in. Look at me – I didn’t come in through the traditional route – and you don’t have to either. Maybe you have some unique skills that the health and safety profession really needs right now.

What would your top tip be to fellow professionals who are striving to ensure that health and safety is always considered in their business?
I would say sell the value that health and safety brings to the business, and not just the stuff it seeks to avoid. While the latter is important, it is the value to the business that will get you buy-in and the resources you need to make a difference. Health and Safety brings value to the business every day, in terms of employee engagement, wellbeing, productivity, quality, customer satisfaction and more, but not everyone has the data to back this up. Go find the data and tell the story that will completely flip the script on health and safety being a cost and turn it into the best investment your company ever made.