Let’s be real for a moment. Have you ever signed off on a safety procedure thinking, “Well, that ticks the box,” but deep down wondered if it’s actually being followed out in the field?
You’re not alone.
In every industry, from construction to healthcare, energy to logistics, there’s a familiar and often uncomfortable truth: there’s a gap between how work is prescribed and how it’s actually done.
That gap? It’s where risk lives. It’s also where the opportunity lies.
“Work-as-imagined” lives in our procedures, checklists, permits, and policies. It’s how we believe work should be done. It’s tidy, structured, and well intentioned.
“Work-as-done” is what actually happens on the floor, in the field, on the front line, with all its adjustments, trade-offs, and adaptations.
That difference is not a failure of discipline or a lack of caring. It’s a natural outcome of working in dynamic, pressured, and often unpredictable environments.
And here’s the kicker: bridging that gap isn’t about getting people to just "follow the rules better." It’s about understanding why that gap exists in the first place.
There are a few key reasons:
No matter how well we plan, real-world conditions, weather, time pressure, equipment issues, and team dynamics force people to adapt.
Most paperwork is written by people who don’t actually do the job. If the document doesn't reflect the reality of the task, workers have no choice but to improvise.
And thank goodness for that. Workers adjust, stretch, and make it work, often keeping operations running and safe despite the constraints.
If you’re a manager or supervisor, you might feel responsible for ensuring things are done “by the book.” That’s understandable. But when we focus only on compliance, we risk missing what really matters: How are people actually keeping things safe, despite the system?
The gap matters because:
It can mask emerging risks.
It creates confusion and frustration on the front line.
It reduces trust when workers feel they must “work around” the system.
It undermines learning, especially after incidents.
Here’s the good news: You don’t need to eliminate the gap. (In fact, you can’t.) But you can reduce its risk and learn from it.
Spend time seeing how work is actually done. Ask open questions. Don’t just audit — learn.
Ask: “Can you show me how you usually do this task?”
Follow up with: “What makes it tricky?”
Resist the urge to solve or correct right away. Instead, invite stories, insights, and ideas from the people closest to the work.
Try: “If you could change one thing about this process, what would it be?”
Procedures should evolve. Involve frontline workers in updating documents so they reflect reality, not just theory.
Ask: “Does this match how you do it? If not, why not?”
Instead of measuring how well people follow the procedure, measure how effective the procedure is in supporting safe, efficient work.
Let’s shift the goal.
Instead of asking: “Are people following the paperwork?”
Ask: “Does the paperwork help people do their job safely and effectively?”
That’s the test. If the answer is no, the procedure might be perfectly written, but practically useless. And that’s something we, as leaders, can change.
The gap between paperwork and practice isn’t just a problem; it’s a window.
A window into the realities of your business, the challenges your people face, and the resilience of your frontline teams.
Smart leaders don’t try to close the gap with tighter controls. They listen, learn, and lead with empathy — and in doing so, they make safety real, not just documented.
If reading this made you pause and reflect, even briefly, then you’re already doing something important, you’re being curious.
You don’t need to launch a major initiative or rewrite all your procedures tomorrow. Maybe just take one small step: spend time where the work happens, ask a few open questions, or invite your team to tell you how things really get done.
Let your curiosity lead.
Because the best leaders aren’t the ones who have all the answers, they’re the ones who create the space for others to share theirs.
Let’s learn more about the work, not just the paperwork. Let’s close the gap, not with pressure, but with partnership.
We’re all in this together.
Many thanks to our significant influencers, Dr David Provan, Prof Sydney Dekker, Dr Eric Hollnagel and Prof Dave Woods.