For emerging safety professionals, transitioning from a field-based role to a leadership position is both an exciting and challenging milestone. Moving into leadership is an important phase in many safety professionals’ journeys, but what are the best ways to support early-career professionals as they make this change?
Field experience is the foundation of safety knowledge. It fosters practical understanding, strengthens hazard recognition, and builds credibility with frontline workers. However, when a professional moves into an office-based management role, the responsibilities shift from direct oversight to strategic planning, compliance management, data analysis, and leadership—requiring a different skillset and focus. This transition is not always straightforward and often challenges emerging professionals as their daily tasks shift and their role becomes more analytical.
From our own journeys and conversations with early-career professionals, three common challenges stand out:
- Shifting from Reactive to Proactive Thinking: In the field, safety professionals often respond to immediate hazards. In management, the focus expands to trend analysis, policy development, and long-term risk mitigation.
- Developing Communication and Leadership Skills: Management roles demand the ability to influence executives, lead meetings, and communicate across departments—a different skillset than field coordination.
- Maintaining Field Credibility: It is crucial not to lose connection with field teams. Regular site visits, continuous engagement, and a willingness to listen ensure that safety policies remain practical and grounded.
Support during this transition—through mentoring, training, and leadership development—can make a significant difference. Academic resources like this one, and many others, also play a vital role in helping EHS practitioners advance their careers and step into management roles. By offering access to academic research, case studies, and best practices, these resources empower professionals to turn experience into expertise and take confident steps toward leadership.
The Emerging Professionals Committee is grateful to be part of this vital conversation. We hope the dialogue around this topic continues to grow, and by fostering these discussions, we can help shape and empower the next generation of safety leaders.