Kate, it’s a pleasure to welcome you to Congreso Prevencionar. As a professional from the UK, how would you describe your leadership journey within the field of occupational health and safety?
Thank you for the invitation to participate in the Congreso Prevencionar, which is my absolute pleasure to attend.
My leadership journey has been marked by consistent learning and development across diverse sectors and organisations. I quickly realised that possessing technical safety skills alone is insufficient to accomplish tasks effectively. It is crucial to understand the maturity of the safety culture within which one operates, and identify potential gaps before devising an improvement plan. Much of this organisational and cultural insight is embedded in the thoughts, expectations, and experiences of the executive leadership team.
I have learnt the importance of engaging with the leadership team to foster a relationship of trust, allowing me to comprehend their vision of good safety leadership. With this understanding, meaningful discussions about any necessary improvements can commence, including assessing the willingness for change. Aligning improvement plans with the overarching objectives of the organisation is essential for success in safety leadership.
Your role at Kantar, a globally influential organization in research and data, gives you a unique perspective on workplace cultures. What key leadership lessons have you learned from working in such an international environment?
Proactive engagement with the local senior leadership team is the key to success.
Leadership traits can vary significantly depending on the safety culture of a specific country and the hierarchical nature of the organisation. It is crucial to listen carefully in order to understand and evaluate the leadership situation before providing advice and guidance. Maintaining an open and approachable demeanor as a leader is essential. Asking how assistance can be provided, quickly builds trust and allows for effective support in safety leadership and positive outcomes. I have learned to keep an open mind regarding alternative cultures, working methods and when considering potential leadership solutions.
What type of leadership do you believe is most effective in promoting safe, healthy, and sustainable workplaces in large and diverse organizations like Kantar?
I believe ‘Servant Leadership’ is the most effective approach. Being a servant leader means that you use your position, knowledge and authority as an opportunity to help others improve and develop.
In my experience, using the servant leadership approach creates a collaborative and supportive environment, which in turn increases employee engagement, trust and self-confidence. Essentially you are trying to create more safety leaders.
In your opinion, what role should leaders play in building a strong prevention culture beyond mere regulatory compliance?
Good leadership is very much about foresight and delivering good outcomes. As Desiderius Erasmus said, “Prevention is better than Cure”. A leaders ‘visionary’ skills include using their experience and knowledge to avoid loss events and to steer people away from negative outcomes. Leaders have a significant role to play in helping to generate a culture where standards are raised above regulatory compliance, which is seen as a bare minimum, into the realm of best practice, raising standards and improving working lives.
From your international experience, have you noticed any significant cultural differences in how occupational health and safety leadership is approached in different countries?
In some Countries, I have noticed that leadership styles can be very dictatorial using a command and control, top down approach. This can stifle initiative and créate a blame culture, were decisions become a challenge because no one wants to “take responsibility” for fear of making a mistake. Encouraging colleagues to actively participate in discussions and decisión making is often seen as a leadership weakness but the opposite is the truth. In these circumstances, it is even more important for the leader to encourage open and honest communication, build trust and enable constructive dialogue.
At Kantar, how is preventive leadership promoted at the executive level? What strategies or practices do you use to foster this type of leadership across teams?
Kantar employs two strategies for prevention: a safe place strategy and a safe person strategy. The safe place strategy focuses on maintaining physical safety standards within work locations to prevent equipment or services failures, mainly managed by the Facilities Management Teams. The safe person strategy aims to educate colleagues about safety and wellbeing initiatives and encourages them to take responsibility for their own health and safety when not on Kantar premises, supported by the HR function. Both strategies depend on safety professionals coordinating with other functions to implement the safety management system, providing a comprehensive approach to delivering prevention practices and maintaining colleague safety and wellbeing.
Leadership also means communication. In your view, how important are active listening and empathy in leading initiatives related to health and well-being at work?
Active listening is crucial to identifying and clarifying the issues to be dealt with. As my grandmother used to say, “God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. We should listen twice as much as we speak”. Listening and questioning to understand helps to focus on the real issue rather than what we perceive at first glance.
Demonstrating empathy is the “human touch” that can often be forgotten in the business environment. However, it is essential for relationship and trust development, supporting people in many difficult or challenging situations. Safety professionals should consider which type of empathy is best in a specific circumstance. Cognitive empathy, understanding feelings without sharing them. Emotional empathy, feeling another’s emotions and compassionate empathy, acting on understanding and feelings to help. We frequently use all three during our working day but it’s important for us to know which is appropriate at the time.
Visible leadership is often mentioned as a key driver of safety culture. Can you share a practice or action from your experience that had a real impact on an organization’s preventive culture?
Visible leadership is a powerful tool to drive the correct behaviours. Leaders should practice what they preach and “walk the talk” as they say. My favourite leadership practice is to “catch someone doing something right” and then instantly reward them, reinforcing good bahaviour. The example I like to use is driving wearing a seat belt. In one organisation, I stood outside the main driveway and when I saw someone driving with a seat belt, I stopped them, introduced myself and then gave them £5 pounds to buy some refreshments, as a reward for complying with company rules. Leaders should use the carrot more than the stick to reinforce a positive safety preventative culture.
In a globalized world with increasingly diverse teams, what are the main challenges and opportunities in developing effective occupational health and safety leaders?
Developing health and safety leaders globally presents several significant challenges, including managing available time for both parties, working across different time zones, and understanding each individual’s position on their safety professional experience journey. It is essential to consider whether they possess a solid foundation in technical safety competencies and safety management.
Setting individuals up for success rather than failure is paramount. Their professional development program should be tailored to their available leadership opportunities, learning preferences, and accessible resources. The advent of virtual meeting facilities and access to international training syllabuses and ISO standards has greatly improved these opportunities.
Considering all these factors, I prefer to mentor colleagues throughout their leadership development journey to provide feedback and continuous support tailored to their specific needs.
Finally, what message would you like to share with the occupational health and safety professionals who will attend your session at Congreso Prevencionar 2025?
I am eagerly anticipating attending the Congreso Prevencionar 2025 and having the opportunity to meet new professional colleagues. It will be a great opportunity to share experiences in safety management and leadership and hopefully learn from one another as we go. After all, as Robert Noyce said “knowledge is power and knowledge shared is power multiplied”.
Razones para asistir al V Congreso Internacional Prevencionar
- Actualización Profesional: Descubre las últimas tendencias, avances tecnológicos y buenas prácticas en prevención de riesgos laborales, salud y bienestar laboral.
- Networking: Conecta con la mayor comunidad de profesionales del sector, incluyendo expertos, académicos y líderes de opinión. Una oportunidad única para ampliar tu red de contactos.
- Programación de Calidad: Disfruta de ponencias magistrales, mesas redondas y talleres prácticos impartidos por especialistas nacionales e internacionales de renombre.
- Perspectiva Multidisciplinar: Aborda los temas clave del sector desde diferentes enfoques técnicos, sanitarios y estratégicos, fomentando una visión integral de la prevención.
- Innovación y Futuro: Conoce las soluciones más innovadoras y disruptivas que transformarán la manera de gestionar la seguridad y la salud en el trabajo.
- Reconocimiento y Credibilidad: Participa en un evento avalado por años de éxito, consolidado como una referencia en el ámbito de la prevención.
- Temática Impactante: Bajo el lema “La prevención que necesitamos”, el congreso propone reflexionar sobre los retos actuales y futuros para mejorar las condiciones laborales y el bienestar de los trabajadores.
- Espacio para el Debate: Participa en debates abiertos con expertos, compartiendo ideas y experiencias que enriquezcan tu perspectiva profesional.
- Vinculación con la Comunidad: Sé parte activa de la familia Prevencionar y contribuye a la construcción de un sector más sólido y colaborativo.
- Exposición y Oportunidades: Accede a una zona de exposición con empresas líderes del sector que presentan productos, servicios y herramientas innovadoras.
- Ubicación Estratégica: Madrid, una ciudad vibrante y accesible, será el escenario perfecto para combinar aprendizaje y cultura en un entorno dinámico.
- Compromiso con la Sostenibilidad: Un evento alineado con los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS), promoviendo prácticas responsables y sostenibles.
- Certificado de Participación: Obtén un certificado que avala tu compromiso con la formación continua en un ámbito tan relevante como la prevención de riesgos laborales.
¡No pierdas la oportunidad de ser parte de este evento único!
📅 Fechas: 24, 25 y 26 de septiembre de 2025
📍 Lugar: Madrid
Inscríbete y forma parte del cambio en la prevención que necesitamos.
