There is not just power but also types of power, all exercised differently, according to context.

Power is very much socially recognised and socially felt and is about capacity to enact something. This is why when Safety Differently talks about ‘capacity’ and ‘harnessing’ it’s talking about power. It’s just the same old safety ‘will for control’ packaged in different Discourse, but the philosophy is the same. Nietzsche would be pleased (https://ia803205.us.archive.org/27/items/FriedrichNietzscheTheWillToPower/Friedrich%20Nietzsche%20-%20The%20Will%20to%20Power.pdf ).

There are 10 types of power in Safety, these are:

But there are more than just types of power there are personality types that are attracted to particular power types.

In all of my research across 25 years of workshops and type diagnostics, Safety, Policing, Engineering and the Army are dominated by a few particular personality types and temperaments. Indeed, it is not uncommon to find many retired army and police in Safety. This is why non-Safety Differently loves the idea of the Lean Green Safety Machine (https://safetyrisk.net/no-place-for-military-metaphors-in-safety/) and the language of ‘capacity’.

The ‘sensate judging’ type dominates the safety industry.

According to my work, up to 75% in the safety occupation are this ‘type’. Those of the ‘intuitive feeling’ type are there but don’t last long. It is worth reading Rosa Carrillo’s book Voices From the Resistance (https://safetyrisk.net/ohs-voices-from-the-resistance-rosa-carrillo/) to get a feel for how types in safety feel about the power of Safety.

This is why the dominant Discourse across all forms of Safety is dominated by Behaviourism and Engineering. The favourite word in safety is ‘controls’.

Yet, the key to conducting any effective conversation, engagement or observation in safety is to relinquish power and control.

You never read about this anywhere in safety because its modus operandi is ‘telling’, ‘lecturing’ and ‘controlling’. In any people helping profession it is the opposite.

Without relinquishing power and control, there will never be trust, truth-telling or relationship.

Unfortunately, the safety curriculum fosters a command-and-control approach. There is nothing in the safety curricula from the helping professions and so Safety training mis-prepares people for the workplace. When psychosocial health is called ‘hazards’, no wonder Safety deems humans the problem (https://safetyrisk.net/and-the-enemy-of-safety-is-humans/). And that problem is power!

This is because the focus of Safety is on objects: hazards, regulations and controls. It’s very rare that you read in safety about personhood, ethico-political discourse and social psychology.

If you really want to conduct effective safety observations and conversations, the first step is to know what kind of power you have and then to relinquish it. This is a tough ask and can only be achieved after extensive education and training in people-skills.