JMJ CEO Jeff Williams on the leadership behaviors that shape safety culture
In his latest Forbes Councils article, Jeff Williams reflects on how everyday leadership behaviors and conversations shape safety performance.
The article, A Culture Of Safety Is Built On Conversations, Not Assumptions, explores how effective safety leadership is evolving beyond a focus on rules and procedures alone. Drawing on JMJ’s experience across major projects and high-risk industries, Jeff explains why sustainable safety outcomes depend on leaders creating the conditions for open, honest dialogue, especially when people need to speak up about what isn’t working.
It examines the role of psychological safety, the impact of human performance on results, and why leadership behaviors remain central to safety excellence, even as organizations adopt more advanced digital and AI-enabled tools.
Through real-world examples from organizations such as Alcoa and Shell, Jeff highlights what modern safety leadership looks like in practice and why culture is built one conversation at a time.