Richard Field
Workplace Health & Safety Expert and Former African Safari Guide
Richard Field is a keynote speaker and workplace health and safety expert whose lessons come from surviving a lion attack while working as a safari guide in Botswana. Using vivid storytelling and real-life analogies from the African wilderness, Richard demonstrates how individual decision-making drives safety outcomes and shapes workplace culture. His talks inspire audiences to take personal responsibility, make better decisions, and foster safer, more conscious workplaces.
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Richard is a renowned and memorable keynote speaker, with a specialty for workplace health and safety.
Richard Field never planned on being a WHS speaker. He was, is and always will be an African safari guide. Then at 25 he was attacked by a lion in the wilds of northern Botswana. She knocked him to the ground and eventually bit down hard and deep on the back of his head. It was then that his life dissolved.
Richard’s story is compelling. Invariably you can hear a pin drop in an audience of any size. Richard’s decision to eventually and begrudgingly take personal responsibility for the accident provided him with an epiphany. It’s not the lion that was dangerous, it was his compromised decision making – something that is within his control. This allowed him to go back and work as a safari guide, but where he was more conscious of his decision making.
From the story Richard takes each audience member on a simulated 12 kilometer walk through a wilderness teeming with dangerous animals. It is here that he is able to show people that in his line of work, the difference between life and death isn’t the elephant or the Cape buffalo or the lioness – it is what is happening inside. Complacency and assumptions of safety, fatigue, distractions and rushing are the things that could ultimately lead to the compromised decision making which is the main contributor to dangerous moments.
Richard wraps up by talking about how culture influences the decision making of individuals, but that individuals can also influence the culture of the workplace through their own example and demonstration.
Richard’s technique of keeping the stories and analogies focused on Africa’s wild places draws in each audience member and they will find their own understanding that whilst safety is also a shared responsibility, they need to take responsibility for their own decision making and therefore their own safety.
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Transforming Workplaces Through Awareness, Accountability and Action
The lion inside…
In high-risk work environments, we are often focussed and alert in challenging situations. However the real danger – the hidden lion – is inside. Complacency, assumptions, distractions, fatigue and rushing are examples of how our internal attitudes make situations dangerous. As imperfect humans, these hidden dangers often sit just below our level of awareness. The challenge is to face these “lions” head on and raise our own internal awareness. Safety is ultimately an awareness game.
Helping tradespeople and frontline workers stay safe, focused, and effective under pressure and uncertainty—especially in fast-paced, high-risk environments. Built from real-world experience and proven practices, we deliver practical mindsets, behaviors, and tools that turn everyday challenges into safe, high-performance outcomes.
In dynamic, high-risk environments, the only “safe” assumption is to assume that you aren’t safe. Anyone who believes that something bad “won’t happen to them” is inviting unnecessary risk into their work environment. As a young safari guide Richard had made the same assumption – inexperience, ego and rushing were some of the factors that resulted in Richard making a bad decision and getting attacked by a lion. The repercussions were enormous, not just for him, but for the people that he loved the most. When assumptions replace awareness, and urgency overrides caution, the potential for danger increases. Recognizing these subtle threats is key to maintaining a safe and focused workplace.
