Leading and Learning Through Safety

In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French continues the Back to Basics series by exploring how adult learning theories can help leaders introduce meaningful change while maintaining a sense of safety, security, and predictability in the workplace. Safety is more than freedom from illness and danger. It also involves creating an environment where people feel secure, f...

Change is essential for organizational growth, but why do employees often resist it, even when the change is designed to protect them? In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French continues his exploration of the fundamental definition of safety and its relationship to human motivation, organizational change, and leadership. Safety represents our desire for freedom from...

In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French goes back to the fundamentals of safety, motivation, and leadership to explore a deceptively simple question: What does it really mean for people to feel safe? Using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as a starting point, Mark examines safety as more than freedom from physical injury or danger. Safety also includes the desire for an...

In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French challenges a common approach to measuring safety performance: relying on OSHA recordable injuries and other lagging indicators as primary measures of success. Using the simple example of water on the floor, Mark explains how the same hazard can produce dramatically different outcomes. One person may walk through the water wit...

In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French explores how the tasks leaders assign can influence employee engagement, leadership credibility, and the effectiveness of workplace safety programs. Drawing from research published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology , the episode examines the concept of “illegitimate tasks”—work employees perceive as either unne...

In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French explores how statistics and risk prioritization can help safety professionals focus limited resources on the hazards that matter most. Using an example from his career in a chemical plant, Mark describes an unusual incident in which wind carried a small particle of dust around an employee’s safety glasses, ultimately resultin...

Safety systems are more than tools for preventing injuries—they can become the foundation for how an organization operates and improves. In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French explores how organizations can build effective systems from the ground up, particularly during startups and turnarounds. The process begins with reliable data. Organizations need to understa...

Going to where the work actually happens sounds simple. So why can it be so difficult? In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French explores Gemba , the Lean management practice of going to the “actual place” to observe work, interact with employees, and understand what is really happening. Building on previous discussions about learning design and the Analysis phase of...

What makes workplace training meaningful? It may have less to do with the presentation itself and more to do with what happens before the first slide appears. In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French continues the discussion on learning design by exploring the Analysis phase of the ADDIE instructional design model. Drawing from interviews conducted as part of his do...

Safety training can check every regulatory box and still fail to connect with the people who need it most. In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French explores one of his longtime professional interests: how to transform required workplace training from a compliance exercise into meaningful learning that employees can actually apply. Drawing from a recent experience at...

This week on the Leading and Learning Through Safety podcast, Dr. Mark French examines two tragic workplace fatalities that highlight a common issue: the critical role of training, hazard recognition, and collaborative safety leadership. The first incident involves a 20-year-old worker who died after becoming engulfed in a grain bin. While grain bin hazards are well known, Dr. French emphasizes th...

In this episode of the Leading and Learning Through Safety podcast, Dr. Mark French explores an often-overlooked leadership skill: ethical decision-making. Rather than focusing on major ethical failures, this discussion examines the small, everyday moments where leaders decide whether to speak up, look the other way, or take action. Drawing from a recent Journal of Applied Psychology article, Dr....

In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French explores the concept of the Dark Triad of personality—narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy—and examines how these destructive personality traits can undermine leadership effectiveness and workplace safety. Drawing from organizational psychology research, Dr. French explains that while these traits may occasionally pr...

In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French reflects on a recent verbal de-escalation training experience and shares key lessons that extend far beyond conflict management. The training focused on how workers who interact with the public can safely navigate tense situations, recognize potential dangers, and communicate in ways that reduce rather than increase conflict....

In this episode of the Leading and Learning Through Safety Podcast , Dr. Mark French examines two tragic workplace fatalities that highlight the critical importance of hazard recognition, machine guarding, emergency preparedness, and personal accountability in safety leadership. The first case involves a bakery employee who was fatally pinned between a malfunctioning conveyor and a stainless-steel...

In this episode of the Leading and Learning Through Safety podcast, host Dr. Mark French explores the nuances of organizational risk management and seasonal workplace dangers . Balancing Public vs. Employee Safety Dr. French begins by discussing two uncommon, nearly identical workplace fatalities occurring within the same week at typical lumber and home goods stores across the United States, where...

In this episode of Leading and Learning through Safety , Dr. Mark French reflects on his recent experience at the Tennessee Safety Conference in Nashville, a premiere event he has attended for numerous years. As a multi-time speaker, he emphasizes the high caliber of research and expertise shared at the conference, noting the value of learning from those who live these safety experiences daily.  L...

In this episode of the Leading and Learning Through Safety Podcast , Dr. Mark French explores how leaders can turn good intentions into real behavioral change in the workplace. Drawing on research from the December 2025 issue of the Consulting Psychology Journal , the discussion focuses on practical, evidence-based strategies for helping people move beyond simply understanding safety practices to...

In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French examines a tragic news story out of Michigan involving two young workers who lost their lives due to hydrogen sulfide exposure while performing well maintenance. What initially appears to be a confined space incident reveals something deeper: a failure of basic training, hazard recognition, and rescue preparedness. The worker...

In this episode of Leading & Learning Through Safety , Dr. Mark French explores new research from the February 2026 Journal of Applied Psychology examining how safety training contributes to workplace safety. The featured meta-analysis reviews numerous studies to evaluate the true impact of safety training on knowledge, skills, attitudes (KSA), and overall safety outcomes. Dr. French reflects...

This episode explores storytelling as a powerful driver of safety, learning, and meaning at work. Drawing on academic research and real-world examples, the discussion explains how personal stories—especially near-misses and close calls—can overcome the “it won’t happen to me” mindset that undermines risk awareness. Key themes include: The difference between storytelling for entertainment vs. story...

In the first episode of Leading & Learning Through Safety for 2026, Dr. Mark French explores a challenging but critical topic: organizational dehumanization and its direct impact on leadership, safety, and human dignity at work. Drawing from a December 2025 Journal of Applied Psychology article titled “Seeing the Good in the Bad: A Self-Affirmation Model for Organizational Dehumanization,” the...

In this end-of-year episode of the Leading & Learning Through Safety Podcast , Dr. Mark French reflects on seasonal safety challenges and why December consistently brings unique risks to the workplace. While safe driving remains a recurring concern due to holiday scheduling, distracted motorists, and increased roadside work, Mark places special emphasis on a rising and more troubling trend: wo...

In this episode of the Leading & Learning Through Safety Podcast , Dr. Mark French explores the psychological importance of the home-to-work transition (HWT) — the intentional process of mentally and physically unwinding after a workday. Drawing from a recent article in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology , Mark examines how continuous activation of stress systems throughout the work...

In this episode of the Leading & Learning Through Safety Podcast , Dr. Mark French continues his exploration of how organizational culture is built through both action and inaction. Drawing from research published in the Consulting Psychology Journal (APA, Sept. 2025), he highlights that while values are abstract, culture becomes real through observable practices—what people actually do every...