16 - Leading with Heart: Why Kindness in Safety Leadership Saves Lives with Tom Johnston

On this episode of On the Front Line: The Safety, Learning & Operations Podcast, Dr. Gina Anderson speaks with Tom Johnston, Safety Manager at Keizer Management, LLC, who's spent nearly 30 years proving that the best safety culture isn't built on enforcement—it's built on empathy.

Tom shares why safety leaders must reject the "safety cop" mentality, how his role as a caregiver for his wife shaped his leadership philosophy, and what the transportation industry gets dangerously wrong about driver home time and mental health. His open-door approach and habit of daily kindness have earned his team multiple National Safety Council awards—not through rules, but through genuine connection.

If you're a safety manager, operations leader, or anyone responsible for people in high-risk work, this episode will challenge how you think about compliance, culture, and what it really means to bring everyone home safely.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why the "safety cop" approach fails and what works instead
• How caregiving experience translates to better safety leadership
• The #1 thing Tom would redesign in the transportation industry to reduce accidents
• Why letting drivers talk isn't a waste of time—it's a safety strategy
• How to identify team strengths and position people where they'll thrive
• Tom's advice for making kindness a daily leadership habit

Connect with Tom on LinkedIn HERE.

Want to learn more about Tom’s work? Check out the Keizer Management, LLC website HERE.

Check out the Luma Brighter Learning website HERE.

Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply HERE.

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