Who owns safety? We do, of course. Right?
Think about your daily commute. Each day, we navigate through a dangerous gauntlet, doing everything possible to manage risks and stay alive. We buckle our seatbelts, steer clear of crazy drivers, follow traffic laws, and keep our mobile devices well out of reach. By the time we finally pull into the hangar, maintenance shop, or office, it can feel like we’ve already survived the riskiest part of the day.
By some miracle, we’ve made it unscathed despite the many reckless drivers on the road. We wonder if we’re the only safe driver out there and vow once again to move closer to work. The hard part is over. We relax a bit because we’re now at work. Our company understands safety, and we have a solid program. We feel safer than we did just a few minutes earlier on the highway. One of the most dangerous parts of the day is behind us, and we breathe a sigh of relief.
But here’s the catch: during that moment, pulling into the parking lot or stepping onto the hangar floor, did we subconsciously hand over some of our safety control, and by extension, our safety ownership? It’s true that we must rely on coworkers to help make our workplaces safe, keep aircraft airworthy, and ensure missions are successful. Safety is never a one-person job.
Still, that doesn’t absolve us of responsibility. We must never stop owning every aspect of safety, no matter how much actual control we have. You might ask: how can we own safety if we don’t directly control it? Can we really retain ownership? The answer is yes. And sometimes, the best way to understand this is through a more vivid example.
Imagine being asked to ride a 1,500-pound rodeo bull. We all know we can’t control the bull. We’ve seen what happens to professional riders who try. A quick risk assessment tells us the likelihood of falling is high, and the severity of the fall could be catastrophic. So, what do we do? We own our safety by simply refusing to get on that bull in the first place. Duh.
That’s an example of Avoidance, one of the five options in the STAAR model of operational risk management that I first learned during my time in the Coast Guard. STAAR refers to structured options you have when confronting risk: Spread Out, Transfer, Avoid, Accept, or Reduce. You choose the best course of action to protect safety while pursuing mission success. There are other models that share the same basic principles. Choose the one that works best for you, but most importantly, own your safety.
Is the bull-riding example unlikely and extreme? Absolutely. But that’s the point. Ownership is not always about control. It’s about attitude and accountability. This concept, which Jocko Willink and Leif Babin call Extreme Ownership in their #1 bestselling book, applies directly to safety. As Jocko reminds us: “Take ownership of everything in your world, the good and the bad. Take ownership of your mission. Take ownership of your job, of your team, of your future, and take ownership of your life. And lead.”
So, let’s bring that mindset into aviation. Let’s commit to an attitude of extreme safety ownership every day, through all phases of flight planning, maintenance, and operations. When we practice extreme ownership, we don’t just reduce risk. We build trust, strengthen teams, and reinforce a culture where safety thrives.
At the end of the day, extreme safety ownership is more than a mindset, it’s a source of power. And when we embrace it, we don’t just protect lives. We power up our life.