The Shortcut That Changed Everything
Jeff Espenship spent his career flying at the highest levels, as an Air Force fighter pilot and later as an airline captain. Precision, pressure, and performance were part of everyday life. But one choice, a shortcut altered everything.
He once told his brother to skip a step in a routine procedure. Just this once. It seemed harmless at the time, but that decision became the spark that later led to tragedy.
What followed reshaped his mission. Today, Jeff dedicates his work to helping leaders and teams understand one truth: shortcuts can cost lives, and safety culture in the workplace begins with the choices leaders make.
When Skipping Steps Becomes Normal
The incident happened after an air show. A storm loomed, the crew was drained, and Jeff made the call: skip the five minute engine check. His brother hesitated but followed his lead. Nothing went wrong that day. The flight ended safely.
Weeks later, however, the same shortcut had devastating consequences. Same plane, same missed step, but this time his brother didn’t survive.
“That was the moment I understood how easy it is to normalize cutting corners,” Jeff recalls. And once shortcuts are accepted, they spread silently until they’re no longer survivable.
Why People Stay Quiet
So why don’t team members speak up when they notice risk? Jeff points to hierarchy, trust, fatigue, and the dangerous belief of “it’s always worked before.” In industries where the stakes are high, silence can be as dangerous as the shortcut itself.
“You can ignore it for days, months, even years,” Jeff warns. “But eventually, that one moment arrives and someone says, ‘I knew this would happen.’ The goal is to find those moments now, not after the fact.”
Safety Is More Than Checklists
Rules, checklists, and compliance systems are essential. But Jeff argues they’re not enough. True safety culture in the workplace has an emotional core. People don’t just need information, they need to feel the weight of consequences.
That’s why his talks mix humor, pain, and honesty. They stick because they’re human. Real safety isn’t enforced through pressure, it’s modeled by leaders who show vulnerability, listen with respect, and encourage people to speak up.
“Leaders set the tone,” Jeff explains. “The most effective ones don’t just direct behavior, they inspire it.”
Lessons from the Cockpit to the Jobsite
Drawing on aviation, Jeff teaches a five part approach that applies to any high risk environment: plan, brief, execute, debrief, and learn. In the Air Force, every mission was flown five times through this process. The final step, passing on lessons was the key to breaking cycles and preventing repeated mistakes.
Now, Jeff brings those lessons to crews and organizations everywhere. His mission: transform his brother’s story into a message that saves others.
The Leadership Shadow
Jeff emphasizes that his story isn’t about guilt, it’s about responsibility. Leaders cast shadows bigger than they realize, and every shortcut they endorse, even silently, ripples outward.
At its heart, his message is simple: safety culture in the workplace isn’t about the absence of accidents. It’s about the presence of leadership, the kind that does the hard thing, the right way, even when no one is watching.
