Why Safety Culture Isn’t Enough: Driving Real Change Through Behavior and Leadership

For years, companies have been told that “safety culture” is the solution to reducing incidents. Posters go up, slogans get written, and programs are rolled out in the hope that culture will fix everything. But culture isn’t the cause of safe operations; it’s the result. Real safety comes from how people behave day to day, and those behaviors are shaped by leadership, accountability, and preparation.

At Promethean Energy, we’ve seen firsthand that merely discussing culture doesn’t prevent incidents. What matters is how leaders prepare their people, set expectations, and hold teams accountable for making the right decisions, especially in the high-risk world of oil and gas.

Culture Is the Outcome, Not the Driver

Culture is often described as “the way things are around here.” But hanging banners or launching programs doesn’t change what actually happens on the front line. If people cut corners, take risks, or prioritize speed over safety, then no amount of culture talk will change the reality.

A strong safety culture emerges only after consistent behaviors are reinforced. When employees are properly trained, motivated, and supported to make the right decisions, the outcome is visible in the workplace; that’s when culture shows up.

Incidents Come Down to Decisions

Every incident can be traced back to decisions. A wrong decision at the wrong time results in an accident. A right decision at the wrong time is a near miss. A wrong decision at the right time is risky behavior that may not cause immediate harm but sets the stage for future failure.

People naturally make mistakes, and they’re often willing to take risks to satisfy a boss, meet a deadline, or protect their livelihood. That’s why leadership has such an important role: to lower risk tolerance, to provide clear expectations, and to reinforce the importance of making safe choices even under pressure. This is embedded in how we plan and execute Decommissioning projects; clarity in decision-making directly impacts safety and efficiency.

The Boss Gets What the Boss Wants

One lesson from years of offshore operations is simple: people will always respond to what leadership values most. If supervisors reward getting the job done faster and cheaper, workers will find a way, even if it means cutting corners. If leaders instead make it clear that safety is non-negotiable, then employees will align their decisions accordingly.

Safety programs on their own don’t shift that equation. Only consistent management engagement does. Leaders must be present, visible, and accountable for ensuring their teams are prepared and motivated to do their jobs safely.

Why Programs and Slogans Don’t Work

Posters, safety days, incentives, and banquets are common in the industry. They make safety visible but rarely change behavior. People quickly learn that programs come and go, but what really matters is what their immediate supervisor expects and tolerates.

That’s why at Promethean, we don’t invest in “safety theater.” Instead, we invest in preparing people with the right knowledge, equipping them with the right tools, and holding them accountable for their decisions. Safety is not a side program; it’s woven directly into how work gets done.

Management Engagement, Not Commitment

Commitment is easy to declare; engagement is harder. Engagement means leaders are actively involved in shaping behavior every day. It means they don’t just set policies; they walk the line, ask questions, and reinforce expectations.

In our work across late-life assets, from Decommissioning to Operatorship of Late Life Assets, safety is not managed through posters or campaigns. It’s managed through leadership presence, clear communication, and follow-through.

Preparing and Motivating People to Make the Right Decisions

There are only two real root causes of incidents:

1. Events beyond human control.
2. Management’s failure to prepare and motivate employees to make the right decisions.

Everything else falls into these categories. If a worker isn’t properly trained, that’s management’s failure to prepare. If shortcuts are tolerated, that’s management’s failure to motivate. If expectations are unclear, that’s a leadership issue, not an employee issue.

This principle applies across technical and operational domains. Whether building abandonment designs through Engineering Studies or executing offshore interventions, we know performance is driven by how well people are prepared and motivated.

Behavior Creates Culture

Strong safety cultures aren’t built by slogans — they’re built by consistent safe behaviors. When supervisors and managers prepare their teams, reinforce expectations, and hold people accountable, behaviors change. Over time, those behaviors solidify into “the way things are around here.” That’s what culture really is: the outcome of disciplined leadership and consistent action.

Real-World Lessons

Consider a simple offshore example. An employee once solved a costly problem without requesting the expensive equipment we had budgeted for. He improvised a solution and got the job done. On the surface, it seemed resourceful — and he was even praised for his initiative. But years later, it became clear his chosen method could have cost him his life.

What does that tell us? It shows that people will take risks to please their bosses, avoid costs, or complete a job faster. If leadership doesn’t actively manage that behavior, unsafe decisions can be rewarded instead of corrected. That’s why management engagement is so critical.

From Safety Culture to Operational Excellence

At Promethean Energy, we don’t separate safety from performance. Operational excellence and safety are two sides of the same coin. A workforce that is well prepared, well led, and motivated to perform with discipline will also be a safe workforce.

That’s why our strategy is built around integrating safety directly into execution. It’s not an add-on — it’s embedded in how we manage projects, from Our Strategy to day-to-day offshore operations.

Stop Chasing Culture — Focus on Behavior

Safety culture isn’t the starting point; it’s the result. The starting point is behavior.

• Equip people with the skills and knowledge they need.
• Lower workplace risk tolerance through leadership presence.
• Why Safety Culture Isn’t Enough: Driving Real Change Through Behavior and Leadership. Clear expectations and enforce accountability.
• Reward safe decisions, not just quick results.

Do these things consistently, and culture will take care of itself. Ignore them, and no amount of slogans or programs will prevent incidents.

Final Word

The industry has spent decades chasing safety culture as though it were the answer. It’s time to flip that thinking. A strong culture doesn’t create safe behaviors; safe behaviors create a strong culture. Safe behaviors are built through leadership that prepares, motivates, and holds people accountable.

At Promethean Energy, that’s how we approach every project. Curious to see how our approach can reduce risks and deliver results? Contact Us today to learn more.