10 Myths of Safety Leadership Development

What the research says and why it matters for your organisation.

Myths on Closing the Knowing-Doing Gap

Myth 1: Training is development

The Reality: Training is an event. Development is a process. Single-event training produces short-term knowledge gains that decay rapidly without reinforcement.

FEFO helps organisations discover-design-embed learning and development practices. We do this by enabling reflection, reinforcement and application.

Research:  Pfeffer & Sutton (2000); Kolb (1984); Mezirow (1991)

Myth 2: If they know better, they’ll do better

The Reality: The knowing-doing gap is not a knowledge problem, it is often related to motivation, identification, habit or environment. More information alone does not close it.

FEFO help close the gap by enabling effective learning.

Research:  Kennedy et al. (2004); Pfeffer & Sutton (2000)

Myth 3: Leadership capability is fixed — you either have it or you don’t

The Reality: Leadership is a set of learned behaviours, not a personality trait. Fixed mindset thinking about leadership is itself a barrier to change.

Our Elevated Safety Leadership program is designed to overcome fixed mindsets and enable high performance.

Research:  Dweck (2006); Boyatzis & McKee (2005)

Myth 4: One programme fixes it — and completion means it worked

The Reality: Sustained change requires sustained conditions, not a single intervention. Behaviour change is a continuous process, not a destination.

Equally, completion is not transformation. Attendance and quiz scores measure exposure, not change. Behavioural commitments with feedback loops – not certificates, are the real indicators of development.

Our Elevated Safety Leadership program goes beyond the individuals to include systemic human and organisational factors to enable high performance.

Research:  Clear (2018); Zimmerman (2000); Locke & Latham (1991)

Myth 5: Technical safety expertise makes a good safety leader

The Reality: The competencies that produce technical excellence in safety are distinct from, and sometimes in tension with those that make an effective safety leader.

Research:  Sutcliffe (2011); Boyatzis & McKee (2005)

Myths Preventing the Right Safety Leadership Program Design

Myth 6: eLearning is an efficient way to develop safety leadership capability

The Reality: eLearning transfers knowledge and tests compliance efficiently. It does not replicate the social interaction, real-time feedback, psychological safety, and contextual practice that leadership behaviour change actually requires.

Research:  COMPASS Model (2024); Specht & Sandlin (1991); Kolb (1984)

Myth 7: Engagement and wellbeing are soft — safety is hard

The Reality: Leaders operating in sustained dissonance – stress, burnout, emotional disconnection – create measurable risk in the people around them.

In safety-critical environments, this is not a culture issue. It is a risk exposure.

Research:  Boyatzis & McKee (2005); Sutcliffe (2011)

Myth 8: Self-directed learning means unstructured learning

The Reality: Self-direction is not the absence of structure; it is the presence of internal ownership within a well-designed framework. Structure and autonomy are not opposites.

Research:  Garrison (1997); Zimmerman (2000)

Myth 9: Programme design should focus on what to learn, not how people learn

The Reality: Two programmes covering identical content can produce radically different outcomes depending entirely on how that content is engaged with.

A ‘what’ focus informs leaders.
A ‘how’ focus changes them.

Research:  Kolb (1984); Mezirow (1991); Specht & Sandlin (1991)

Myth 10: Aggregating self-assessments tells us how our safety leaders are performing

The Reality: Self-assessment is perception, not measurement. Aggregating individual self-reports produces a portrait of collective self-perception and not a valid measure of actual safety leadership behaviour across the organisation.

Research:  Zimmerman (2000); Locke & Latham (1991); Dunning-Kruger (1999)

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