POSITIVE CORNER #27: Systems That Prevent and Take Care
First, the concrete, positive development in our global coexistence:
According to a recent WHO report, the global number of road deaths fell by 21 percent between 2011 and 2025, despite more than one billion additional vehicles being on the roads.
This is remarkable for several reasons, as the development also points to a deeper principle of responsible human action. It is not based solely or primarily on individual changes in behavior, but on systems that are designed to be both preventive and taking care of people's well-being.
A key concept in this context is the safe system approach . It starts from the simple fact that people sometimes make mistakes. Therefore, all essential components of a system (for example, roads, vehicles, rules, rescue systems, etc.) must be designed and interconnected in such a way that errors do not lead to severe accidents or problems. This highlights the central, human responsibility of those who develop and operate the systems for our communal living and working.
All societies and organizations are based on such systems, consisting of rules, structures, interfaces, technologies, decision-making processes, and established norms. If these systems only function when no one makes a mistake, they are highly vulnerable and dangerous.
The ω-dimension of leadership therefore does not focus on questions of individual guilt or innocence. The central question is: How do we design systems and frameworks in which people act responsibly, but are also adequately protected from the consequences of an unintentional error?
The positive news from road safety is therefore more than just a statistic. It shows that we don't have to simply let mistakes happen. Where leadership also means care, and systems are designed to be human-centered, adaptable, and tolerant of errors, living and working will improve for everyone.
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