Why All Safety Professionals Should Be in a State of Chronic Unease, with John Barclay

Feb 20, 2026

What if the real risk in safety isn’t what you see, but what you assume is already under control? This conversation challenged some deeply held beliefs about leadership, risk and effectiveness. John Barclay joined me to unpack why activity doesn’t always equal impact, why experienced organisations still face serious incidents, and why a little healthy discomfort might be exactly what keeps people safe. From exposure thinking to trust, curiosity and making the safest way the easiest way, there’s plenty here to reflect on if you genuinely want to move beyond surface-level safety and focus on what truly prevents harm.

Highlights

• Chronic unease: absence of harm doesn’t mean presence of safety
• Exposure focus: manage risk sources, not just injury numbers
• Control effectiveness: present, understood, effective, followed
• Workforce involvement: design safety with people doing the work
• Leadership curiosity: ask what makes processes difficult
• Trust and honesty: high trust drives safer decision making
• Safety investment: reduce waste and reinvest in engineering controls
• Make safety easier: safest way must be simplest way to work

Resources and actions:

• Sign up for a future Safety Roundtable: https://safetyroundtable.co.uk/
• Connect with John on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-barclay-13359b1a/  
• Connect with Christian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-harris-slip-safety/