Blame, Shame, Retrain: Why the Old Model Isn’t Working Anymore

In many high-risk industries, the default response to incidents has long been: Find who’s at fault; make it known who the culprit is; then implement a training requirement so ‘it’ doesn’t happen again. On the surface, it may seem logical. It’s quick, decisive, and satisfying. But beneath that veneer, it does little to improve safety and often worsens it.

Blame cultivates a fault-finding mindset. It doesn’t solve broken systems or flawed processes. It just masks them. When people fear retribution, they stop reporting near misses, cover up mistakes, or hide issues until it’s too late. That’s not safety. That’s silence, and silence kills.

Research confirms this. Harvard Business Review reports that blame is “the most lethal behaviour in workplace relationships,” and more destructive than other forms of criticism. Teams experience a boost in performance and engagement where mistakes are acknowledged and learned from, while blame suppresses critical information flow.

High reliability organisations like aviation, nuclear, and healthcare have shifted from blame culture to just culture. The focus isn’t on who made the mistake rather, what in the system allowed it. Drawing on systems thinking, it acknowledges human fallibility while holding people accountable when needed. 

Sidney Dekker, a trailblazer in modern safety theory, coined the term Safety Differently and asserted that people are assets, not problems to control. This restorative just culture goes beyond discipline. It repairs trust, encourages reporting, and builds resilience in teams.

This isn’t just strategic. It’s profoundly personal. As a safety leader, your response to incidents triggers the entire system. Do you react with blame or curiosity? Do you ask, “Who messed up?” or “What broke down?” A survey from the National Safety Council found that organisations with strong safety cultures reported a 70 percent reduction in incidents. That’s the payoff for intentional leadership.

Cultivating psychological safety is essential. Professor Amy Edmondson of Harvard says this is the foundation of high performing teams, as people raise concerns and contribute ideas in an environment where they feel secure.

Here’s how to lead in a way that breaks the blame cycle and creates safety:

1. Pause Before You Respond to regulate your reaction. Chat openly about your own mistakes to de-escalate fear.

2. Shift from Who to What. Instead of asking “Who’s at fault?” ask “What allowed this to happen?” 

3. Debrief with Curiosity. Treat near misses like invitations to learn. Listen intently. Document and analyse process level gaps.

4. Anchor Accountability Properly. Distinguish between human error, at risk behaviour, reckless actions and inadequate systems. Respond accordingly, coaching delivers learning; discipline delivers standards.

5. Reinforce Reporting. Celebrate when someone flags a near miss. It’s a signal that your culture is safe enough to speak up.

   
   
   
   

Blame, shame, and retrain is a form of action. But it’s action in the wrong direction. It creates fragile safety and brittle teams that break under pressure. 

Replace it with resilience building action. One rooted in trust. In learning. And, above all, in leadership. That’s where real safety lives.

Which approach do you have?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.