I have something to confess: I am not a great speller. Letters get jumbled up in my head, and I have a hard time writing things correctly. “I before E, except after …” — well, you get the idea. I mean, it took me a while to realize there’s “a rat” in separate. I mix up there and their all the time when typing. If you ever watched me type, you’d see it firsthand. My elementary teachers would definitely back me up on this.
But my secret has mostly been safe. Thanks to spell check, I can usually catch and fix my errors. So, it’s all good … or is it? Every now and then, one slips through — and suddenly, my secret is out. Maybe you can relate. Maybe you have something in your life that you’ve gotten really good at managing — something you’ve developed systems to cover, correct or hide before anyone else notices.
Recently, I was talking with a very smart man who said something I’ll never forget:
“Sometimes we can be so good at managing our problems that others find it hard to identify them as problems.”
The more I thought about that, the more it stuck with me. This idea applies to every area of life. Take speeding, for example. Maybe you’ve got a lead foot. But with a good radar detector (and maybe even a good lawyer), your insurance never finds out. No problem, right? Tell that to the nearly 12,000 lives lost due to speeding in 2023, according to the National Safety Council.
When a problem is hidden, minimized or simply managed, several things begin to happen. First and foremost, the problem never gets solved. It’s impossible to fix what you refuse to fully acknowledge. Managing a problem is not the same as eliminating it.
Think about the workplace. Most people have seen this play out. It might be a simple hazard, like a sharp edge of metal that you make a mental note to steer clear of — until the new employee doesn’t. Or a piece of equipment you hope holds together “just one more season” (even though you’ve been saying that for years). You’ve become skilled at working around the issue. But at what cost? What time, energy and focus are being wasted just to compensate for something that should have been fixed long ago?
Safety isn’t just about what we can see, it’s about what we choose not to ignore. Just because a problem is managed or hidden does not mean it doesn’t exist. Too often, warning signs are overlooked or quietly pushed aside until it’s too late. Denying a problem exists only allows it to grow, increasing the risk to people, property and overall well-being. It can also create a false sense of security, leading others to lower their guard and miss critical opportunities to act. In many cases, small issues left unaddressed become much larger and more dangerous over time. Sadly, I’ve heard far too many people say, “I wish I had only known,” after the fact. These words echo in stories shared again and again with friends and family, serving as a reminder that true safety requires awareness, honesty and the courage to address issues before they escalate.
A culture that consistently manages problems instead of solving them becomes toxic over time. It drains team members, distances leadership and creates “trust breakers” that erode confidence across the organization. Employees end up exhausting themselves working around issues rather than fixing them — like using a wrench as a hammer. It might get the job done, but it takes more effort and often comes at a cost. In these environments, leadership can be perceived as cold or uncaring, when in reality, problems may be so well concealed that leaders aren’t even aware they exist. Regardless of the cause, the result is the same: a divided workplace where expectations and performance slowly drift apart. Trust breakers take hold when actions don’t align with words — for example, when a company claims, “Safety is our priority,” yet allows unsafe practices to continue in order to maintain production.
Human nature is to cover up our issues and hide from the fallout — it’s been that way since the dawn of time. However, organizations need leaders who are willing to interrupt that pattern, confront problems head-on and take responsibility for addressing them.
The solution is to build a culture rooted in transparency, accountability and action. Leaders must actively seek out problems, create safe channels for employees to speak up and respond quickly when concerns are raised. Addressing root causes instead of temporary fixes not only prevents repeat issues but also demonstrates integrity. When leadership consistently aligns actions with stated values, especially around safety, it rebuilds trust, strengthens engagement and brings expectations and performance back into alignment.
Dean Alling is the safety director for Ray-Carroll Co-op in Richmond, MO (deana@ray-carroll.com, 817-932-1000).