F*** the rules, it’s time to focus on risk.

Anyone with a vintage similar or older than me grew up in safety focused on following the “rules”. Tick the box, stick to the process, don’t step outside the lines. For a long time, that was the gold standard. But real work doesn’t happen in a controlled environment. It happens on worksites, factories, in the bush, on the road - in the mess and unpredictability of the real world.

Think about parenthood for a second. If our kids reach adulthood and can’t navigate life without us hovering over their shoulder, we’d consider that a failure. Our job as parents isn’t to supervise every move forever, it’s to build their confidence, judgement, and ability to make good decisions when we’re not around. Sure, they might come to us for the big stuff, the hard stuff, but by and large, they can support themselves. They know how to spot life risks, weigh up their options, and act wisely, even when things don’t go to plan.

So why do we take a different approach in WHS? Why do we act like the only way to keep people safe is to supervise, instruct, and enforce rules at every turn? If we want people to be safe, we need to stop training our people to blindly follow rules and start building their capability to dynamically manage risk. Because life doesn’t hand you a work instruction when things go sideways. It hands you a problem, and you need to be able to think, adapt, and make good decisions in the moment.

Here’s the real shift: when people truly understand risk, they’ll follow the “rules” anyway BUT they do so voluntarily and with a sense of autonomy. Not because they’re scared of getting in trouble, not because someone’s watching, but because they get why the rule exists. They see how it manages risk, and they make smart choices, even when no one’s looking. That’s the kind of culture that makes safety actually work.

Rules have their place, but they’re not the end game. The real goal is to help people understand risk, what it looks like, how it changes, and what to do about it. That means giving people the skills and confidence to speak up, to pause and assess, to ask questions, and to make a call when the situation isn’t black and white.

It can be comforting thinking that work happens “by the book” when you’re at the top of a business, and I understand why leaders are attracted to this thinking, but it is a false economy. When, as leaders, we focus on “doing it by the book,” we miss the nuance and the practical reality our people face day to day. If we focus on rules, we don’t build capability in our team to dynamically manage risk, and our people become afraid to use their judgement, or worse, they don’t even realise they have permission to. That’s not safety, that’s just compliance theatre.

If you want a culture where people genuinely manage risk, you need to change the conversation. Move away from “Did you follow the rule?” and start asking “How did you assess the risk?” “What did you notice?” “What would you do differently next time?” Build capability, not just compliance.

This week’s growth challenge

Next time you’re out with your people, ask someone how they manage risk when things don’t go to plan. Listen to what they say. Are they relying on rules, or are they thinking on their feet? Use it as a chance to start a real conversation about risk, not just process.

Remember, rules are a starting point. Real safety comes from building people’s ability to see, understand, and respond to risk no matter what the situation throws at them.