Slashing Our Greatest Saboteur 

Ever walked into a safety meeting confident… and walked out frustrated, misunderstood, or ignored?. 70% of EHS professionals struggle to get buy-in in safety meetings — and it’s rarely a lack of technical knowledge.

Be water, my friend

Be water, my friend a phrase widely attributed to martial artist and philosopher Bruce Lee. Water flows. It fills gaps. It shapes itself to the container. Communication should be the same.

But many safety conversations don’t flow like water —
they spill. Flood. Crash.

Why? Because when we speak without clarity or intention, we dump ideas like a waterfall of mixed feelings, opinions, and technical detail. Instead of persuading, we overwhelm.

The good new is that you can avoid this by pausing, selecting and properly articulating words and flow, with clarity, good pace and of course shaping and filling voids and gaps that will clear out doubts and engage people as you spoke.

What takes confidence away when speaking about safety?

Communication in safety is not just information. It’s influence, clarity, presence, and connection. We are translators between field and leadership — and translation requires water-like flow.

So ask yourself: What limits your communication when talking about safety?

• Losing the message mid-conversation?
• Clarity?
• Confidence?
• Emotions getting in the way? 

From excitement to frustration

We have the capacity to process our emotions and thoughts and translate them into words that convey meaning. Yet, even when we are capable, our words can sometimes confuse, complicate, or simply dissolve the message into a puddle of unnecessary “words” that add neither meaning nor relevance to what we are trying to communicate.

We start excited about an idea, eager to share it, but as we elaborate, our words can work against us. Isn’t that frustrating? We become our own greatest saboteurs. Frustration takes over, confidence drops, and impostor syndrome sneaks in. Mastering clarity in communication can make a significant difference in both your personal life and your career.

We, as Safety and EHS professionals, need to develop a clear strategy for communicating our thoughts and ideas, as well as organizational procedures and regulations. We become the chain link — the translators — between different levels of the organization. Our communication should flow and adapt like water.

It won’t happen to me, he said.

I have seen many EHS Pros at meetings where communication gets stuck.  Sometimes they have a good start but then, it is like they are just waiting for someone to throw them a life saver and take over the conversation. I remember this happening to an Area Safety Manager with whom I worked with several years ago and this is what we can learn from his experience.

A missing opportunity

Back then he already had +10 years of experience, he was knowledgeable of the standards and company procedures very good eye to to find unsafe conditions and to catch risky behaviors, little he knew about influence or how to convey a clear message, nor rules of engagement because until then he just didn’t need it, because he was “the safety person”… until that day.

That day, he and the other area managers gathered in the meeting room to discuss progress, just another progress meeting like every month, to discuss high lights, low lights, corrective actions, support needed, etc. This was his oportunity to communicate safety better and here is how it unfolded:

Deconstructing the communication

He started by sharing the safety violation, less than a minute in, tension was rising, another minute rambling to support the finding with emotional comments about threats of inspections, level of the violation, audits with non-conformances written down and how terrible all was. Half of the room leaned in. Half tuned out.  

What happened

We become our own greatest saboteurs. He walked into the meeting ready to present his findings, but somewhere along the way, he forgot he was part of a team — an organization with shared values and a common purpose. Focusing solely on the problem, he lost sight of the outcome he truly wanted: alignment and a collaborative path to a solution.

As he spoke, the room shifted. Concerned faces, side glances, and distracted attendees made him nervous. In an attempt to regain control, he named individuals and added unrelated EHS issues, hoping to add urgency, but it only confused the group.

Questions flew from all directions — some fair, some driven by frustration and pride. He froze. Reporting hazards had always been his role, but leading, engaging, and drawing others in to solve problems together was new territory. He wasn’t lacking technical skill; he was missing the communication and leadership approach needed to transition from safety specialist to safety leader.

What would you do to communicate safety better?

Some people say there is always another project after this one, or another company so relations don’t matter much, or they jump from facility to facility, plant to plant, job after job, etc.

Some will hide this gap behind authority with mind games, power or dominance, gaslighting, blaming, etc. Or simply will move to the next job showcasing the name of the companies they have worked for in the past, but in the long term  they either will get stuck at their roles or sooner than later the gap finds them, and they start to be left aside, pass over promotions, etc. Here the only solution is to grow. 

Where are you in all this? I truly, sincerely hope you are far passing this stage. For some it takes years for others, unfortunately many others have a much tough time, accepting, identifying the gap and learning the skills to resolve and grow. 

Final thoughts

To develop fluid communication, you will need, among other things, to speak eloquently, be authentic, build awareness, practice active listening, and communicate with care and empathy. This is what it takes to communicate safety effectively — to deliver the message clearly and create momentum across the organization.

Communicate like water by practicing these few tips:

• Pause before speaking.
• Choose words with intention.
• Engage, don’t lecture.
• Translate technical info to meaningful impact.
• Adapt your message to the audience.

“Start practicing today: take 5 minutes before your next meeting to plan your words and flow. Comment below on what works for you.”