As Henshaw recalled his early career at Monsanto, he
admitted to sending a letter to a head executive about what he thought needed
to be fixed within the company. He quickly learned that the way he was thinking
(fresh out of school) wasn’t the way the world really worked. “I needed to slow
down,” Henshaw said. He needed to figure out how to get people to do what he
thought was the right way, and he came to realize that you can’t tell people. You need to collaborate
with organizations and associations; let go of your ego; take advantage of opportunities, then
interact with people; and build coalitions to then build your influence. Henshaw
encouraged attendees not to accept status quo. “We need to be more
transformational,” he said. He said to be active, be present and “. . . work
with teams to engage people and be willing to compromise.”
Foulke focused on gaining trust and that showing
people that you have the knowledge to lead them will help you influence. “People
have to believe in you,” he said. “Without trust, you can never have employee
engagement.” He said that everyone has influence, but it’s not always easy to show
it. “We have to be able to articulate the message to the C suite.” Foulke also
agreed with Henshaw in that safety professionals need to be willing and able to
collaborate. “Be focused on working with people,” Foulke said, “Be able to show
your knowledge.” He added that the fact they were at Safety 2013 was
a helpful step to gaining knowledge to become more influential.
This Safety 2013 session was sponsored by ASSE's Government Affairs Committee.
