Last night I was able to tune into an episode of treestuff.com’s free webinar series in which the mighty Travis Vickerson spoke on developing a culture of safety. This is in some ways a contemplative recap on the things that Travis so passionately spoke about.

There was a theme that developed towards the end of the presentation when Travis talked about our ability as arborists to control the culture of safety; to not let the demons of production dictate the decisions we make in our processes and procedures; in a sense, to be true master’s of our trade, we must be essentially master’s of our universe.

I couldn’t help but to think of an article that surfaced a few weeks earlier in which Mark Bridge penned his perspective on breeching a seemingly common veneer of competency in the industry-in other words touching on the theme of ‘talking the talk’ versus ‘walking the walk’ (I’m respectfully watering down a great article), and how this could potentially play out in the workplace for better or worse.

I see an emphasis here on a few things after being exposed to these great topics: mastery, mentorship and maturity.

There is an evolution we experience as arborists throughout our careers in which we pass through many phases. We are, in a sense, mosaics of our experiences. We learn the work, we learn the business, we learn the life, and then we attempt to apply it. But then again, our experience is far more dynamic than that. The culmination of a career is the process of navigating maturity and a coming of age for the yeoman arborist. Some may call it The Way. Every experience we have becomes a part of us, and like a quilt made of many separate blocks, we become a blanket of the things that make us: lessons, mentors, successes and failures. One stitch at a time we build, and our maturity, depending on how far along the quilt is developed, can either keep us safe or expose us to danger.

Beware, beyond the veneer of maturity there is a deeper struggle which becomes very personal as well. The echo of the Ego pings in the basement as we struggle to become better, smarter, faster, essentially more and more productive. We chase the fallacy of mastery in linear contexts of speed and time equaling the velocity of our actions and successes. Deranged, we stumble towards money or more success or more admiration. To support a growing business, or a struggling business, or a dying business; how about a growing ego, a struggling ego, or a dying ego. But mastery is not a linear process, and in reality happens in many different dimensions. Mastery is a transcendental process in which we gain the ability to view things from both within and without through the scope of wisdom and our professional networks. I hope it wouldn’t be too cliche to admit that mastery leads to a higher consciousness. And therefore, a higher rate of success.

The great film maker Michael Snow said that “speed is a way to escape consciousness and just act.” John Travolta reminded us in 2018 that speed kills.

Travis mentioned something very important, that we have a responsibility to one another, whether we are climbers, owners, employees or supervisors-we can’t sacrifice the accountability for one another’s safety for production. Mentorship and teamwork are two major factors the bring us to the job site, and that bring enjoyment to the job site. You have a right to excellent mentors and teammates. Even if you’re dropping in, working together becomes a sacred process of respect and balancing our vulnerabilities. Tell the truth with yourself, and tell the truth to each other. This will be greater than any top you send or block you snatch. Nothing is worth more than the truth.

We can also take a long look into the accountability mirror ourself. I recall Ray Dalio’s excellent book Principles, in which he emphasizes the extreme importance of constantly asking ourselves the question: how do I know what I know is right? How often do we re-examine the knowledge we’ve acquired? Our practices and procedures come from the trials and tribulations of others, traced over our own. Our standards come from people’s mistakes. Looking into the mirror of accountability and re-examining the things we know can teach us a lot about ourselves, and a lot about the growing process. And the learning process.

The culture of safety in arboriculture is a topic constantly on the front lines of content on social media, in training workshops and throughout the industry at large. But the truth of safety lies somewhere else beyond that veneer deep inside the heart of every arborist. Before every mistake or mishap or worse, there lies doubt. And doubt is the farthest thing I can think of from mastery.

The modern arborist has the opportunity to do something timeless. In terms of mastery, mentorship and maturity.

In building a culture of safety, we can all help turn the beat around.