The importance of effective leadership in improving EHS performance and to disseminate these findings to other organizations seeking to develop new or tailor existing EHS initiatives. Several important findings have emerged from this research effort:

The importance of effective leadership in improving EHS performance and to disseminate these findings to other organizations seeking to develop new or tailor existing EHS initiatives.

Several important findings have emerged from this research effort:

❱  Leadership style Effective EHS leaders have the ability to inspire others to behave safely,

recognize the connection between good safety and good business practices, possess up-to-date

EHS knowledge, and have the communication skills to convey it. Furthermore, a combination of

transactional and transformational leadership styles brings about remarkable achievements in EHS

performance.

❱ Accountability Senior line management has ultimate responsibility and accountability for EHS

policies and incidents. Effective leaders take the time to regularly relay messages of safety through various channels. Leaders also integrate EHS into performance reviews via leading and lagging indicators to demonstrate their organization’s and personal commitment to worker safety.

❱ Worker empowerment Worker empowerment regarding the development, distribution,

and enforcement of EHS messages and policies is important for obtaining worker consensus and

compliance. Equally important are leader-member exchanges and the encouragement of safety

citizenship behavior to involve workers in safety initiatives.

❱ EHS and its role in business decisions EHS factors into all major business decisions,

such as new product development, mergers, acquisitions and contractor relations.

❱ Leadership training Leadership training is essential to ensuring that EHS leaders are grown

within an organization. Such training focuses on the “soft skills” of effective EHS communication in

addition to technical safety training.

❱ Safety climate and culture Safety needs to be a value, not just a priority, if it is to be firmly

embedded within an organization’s culture. It is a leader’s responsibility to recognize and celebrate safe

behavior to emphasize the central role of EHS in the organization.

This comparative analysis described EHS leadership as a multidimensional construct with the following key components:

❱ Personal commitment and accountability at the highest organizational level;

❱ Comprehensive leadership training of managers and executives;

❱ Integration of EHS into performance measurement plans using relevant metrics; and

❱ Worker empowerment.