Illuminating the Full Spectrum of Food Safety Leadership

My sister recently gifted me a suncatcher — a clear, multi-faceted crystal that hangs in my window, reflecting light, separating it into individual colors and scattering rainbows around my living room.

Similarly, I’d like to think of this issue of the magazine, which we’ve dubbed The Leadership Issue, as a prism, illuminating the many components that color the full spectrum of food safety leadership.

Food safety leadership is too complex to sum up in one article; it takes many perspectives to paint a holistic picture. Maybe that’s because it’s more art than science — a sentiment that stuck with me from Mary Weaver Gertz’s recent Food Safety Summit keynote speech.

“Now, don’t get me wrong, you need the science,” said Gertz, chief food safety and quality assurance officer at Yum! Brands. “But really, where the magic comes in is with the art, and proving your technical expertise isn’t always necessary.”

Fictional soccer coach Ted Lasso would likely agree. In our cover story, writers Jill Stuber and Tia Glave view lessons learned from Lasso through the lens of food safety leadership.

Food safety leadership is too complex to sum up in one article; it takes many perspectives to paint a holistic picture.

“Ted could just focus on team skills, game strategy and player acquisition — the technical aspects of the game,” they write. “Instead, he recognized that his role as head coach extended beyond technical oversight to include team culture.”

We also invited our readers to weigh in on the topic through a survey on leadership development. Those responses are depicted in the charts accompanying our cover story.

Other perspectives come from Austin Welch, who describes how leaders can drive positive behavioral change in the workplace, and Darin Detwiler, who reflects on leadership in the fast lane, navigating technology advancements, demands for transparency and global supply chain challenges.

Meanwhile, the legacy of leadership is exemplified by CDC stalwart Robert Tauxe, who meditates on more than 40 years in the industry.

When you hold food safety leadership up to the light, its many hues shine through. It’s a blend of technical expertise and emotional intelligence, art and science, courage, transparency and steadfastness. It’s about embracing a team mentality, believing in the skills of yourself and others. As Gertz put it in her speech, “Food safety is not a function. Food safety is a movement, and you’re all a part of it.”