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Strategic Leadership Lessons from Bob Edwards on Georgina Poole’s “Leading Sagfely” Podcast
In a recent episode of Leading Safely, host Georgina Poole sat down with Bob Edwards for a mentoring conversation that blended candid personal stories with strategic insights leaders can put into action. Bob, widely recognised for his work in human and organisational performance (HOP), unpacked how leadership decisions, humility, and curiosity shape safer, stronger workplaces.
The discussion felt like a private mentoring session, the kind where hard-earned lessons and unfiltered reflections come through. And for leaders serious about making an impact, the takeaways are gold.
Leadership is a Practice, Not just a Title
Bob didn’t sugarcoat how much the sudden move to virtual work during COVID threw him. “I actually call it the computer hole… I hate it,” he admitted. Instead of forcing himself to become a polished, on-screen presenter when it didn’t feel like ‘him’, he leaned on his colleague Andrea Baker whose knack for virtual delivery kept things engaging and organised.
That decision says a lot about what leadership really is. It’s not about holding the title or knowing all the answers, but recognising when someone else’s strengths outshine yours and making space for them to lead. Bob didn’t lose authority by stepping back, he gained credibility, and the team gained results.
The Power of Humility and Partnership
Georgina and Bob’s conversation kept circling back to trust and partnership.
“When we train in person, either one of us takes the lead. But when we’re in the virtual world, I would just chime in with stuff and try to be clever and she was so organised.”
Bob said of working with Andrea.
It’s an approach that requires humility, recognising where someone else’s strengths eclipse your own and then letting them lead. While leaders often feel pressure to have all the answers, Bob’s career shows that asking questions and drawing on others’ expertise can lead to stronger outcomes.
Listening is More Than Hearing
Bob challenged the traditional approach to leadership, stressing that the goal isn’t to fix people but to learn from them. While many leaders treat conversations as problems to solve or boxes to tick, he saw them instead as a rich, untapped source of intelligence.
In HOP, active listening sits at the centre of high-performing cultures. The quiet details in an incident report, the throwaway line during a toolbox talk, the unfiltered comment over coffee, these moments are often dismissed as background noise. Bob’s perspective flips that on its head. They’re the breadcrumbs that reveal how work is really done, where risks are hiding, and where the system is quietly eroding. Leaders who notice and act on them are the ones who shape resilient, adaptive organisations.
Curiosity as a Leadership Tool
Curiosity threaded its way through the entire mentoring session. Georgina reflected on the shift that happens when leaders start asking better questions not just the easy ones, but the ones that challenge assumptions. Bob summed it up simply:
“Stay curious, not judgemental.”
Curiosity changes the chemistry of a conversation. It keeps the other person talking when they might otherwise shut down. It pulls new information to the surface and sometimes the kind you didn’t know to look for. In high-stakes work environments, it can expose risks early. And in human-focused moments, it builds the trust and psychological safety that keep people engaged.
Building Cultures Where People Speak Up
Georgina and Bob were frank about the realities of fear and silence inside organisations. Speaking up is rarely the default. Bob said:
“You can’t expect people to share openly if they believe there’s a cost to telling the truth.”
Creating a speak-up culture means changing more than policies. You have to start changing reactions. Leaders have to prove, over and over, that honesty won’t be punished, concerns must be met with visible action, and when someone takes the risk to be candid, they should walk away certain it was worth it.
Shifting from Blame to Learning
Blame is quick and deceptively satisfying. But as Bob pointed out,
“If we only focus on what went wrong and who’s at fault, we miss the much bigger question: how does our system allow this to happen?”
That question reframes the entire conversation.
Asking this question pushes leaders beyond the individual mistake and into the deeper work of examining design, processes, and context. System thinking sharpens accountability. The aim isn’t to excuse errors but to build the kind of resilience that stops them repeating.
Mentoring as a Leadership Responsibility
While this was a mentoring conversation for the Leading Safely podcast, it was also a lesson in why mentoring matters. Georgina drew out Bob’s reflections with empathy and curiosity, and Bob shared not just wins but challenges and mistakes.
For leaders, mentoring is one of the most effective ways to build capability in your team, retain top talent, and ensure your culture outlasts your tenure. Whether it’s through formal programs or everyday conversations, the responsibility to guide others should sit at the top of your leadership priorities.
Listen, Reflect, Apply
The beauty of Georgina’s conversation with Bob is that it leaves you with both inspiration and practical steps:
- Be honest about your own strengths and weaknesses.
- Lead with curiosity, not judgement.
- Replace blame with learning.
- Create environments where it’s safe to speak up.
- Mentor intentionally, even when it’s not “your job.”
Bob’s approach to leadership centers on curiosity and frontline engagement.
“The only way to get buy-in and engagement is to ask them… what can we do to make it fun and engaging for them?” he explains.
He points to real innovation coming directly from those doing the work:
“That [tear-away glove] idea came from a worker. And once again, they did it together, not to each other or for each other.”
For Bob, leadership is about creating space to listen and understand:
“Somebody said to me, ‘Bob, it seems like you’re on their side.’ That is absolutely a compliment, because it means people on the frontline identify with me.”
Small, thoughtful actions, he argues, often drive the biggest impact:
“Learning themes are free… sometimes all it takes is bringing people together and listening.”
If you haven’t yet listened to the full episode, it’s worth setting aside the time. Beyond the leadership insights, you’ll hear two experienced professionals navigating the realities of organisational life with humour, humility, and a genuine desire to see people succeed.
Catch up on Georgina Poole’s fresh take on safety in our blogs People Aren’t the Problem, They’re the Solution and Beyond the Blame Game, where she flips the script on blame and shows how focusing on systems and human insight drives real change.
Go further and watch our recent webinar Are You Measuring the Metrics That Matter?, where Georgina challenges the numbers leaders rely on and reveal how measuring what really matters can transform safety outcomes.
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