Leadership Questions

Daniel Balch, Process Safety Superintendent

2026-06-04

Daniel is one of the leaders who I immediately felt pulled to interview. Ever since he gave a safety topic/human performance byte in February of 2025 (it was about inadvertent accidents but about how can we prevent it. I’d attach it but I don’t have the rights to it). He was approachable yet serious demeanor, it’s a lost profit event but it’s also hard to hold people accountable for accidents. He walked the line perfectly. Plus, the way he knew the presentation but was calm and interacted with the individuals in the room was a moment of “wow, I hope that’s how I am when I’m presenting.”

We sat down over lunch and discussed his career and what he’d try to impart on other throughout his time.

Daniel,

I’m trying to pick different folks’ brains about leadership and how they think/go about it.

I’d love to sit down with you and discuss what you’ve learned over your career.

Here’s some of the questions I’ve have on my list, but the conversation can be more organic and free-flowing. This is just to have something to spark off of.

What’s something you wish you knew early in your career? Or what’s something that’s underestimated by others that you think is important?
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Is there a favorite failure you’re willing to share?
Which leadership skills were the most difficult to develop?
Who do you look to as a great leader (inside or outside of the company)? What about them do you admire/want to imitate? Is there a mentor you really grew under?
How do you balance holding onto good people vs helping them advance their careers in other roles?
How do you lead someone who doesn’t want to follow/be a part of the team? How do you motivate/make people feel a part of something bigger than themselves?

If you’d rather not or this time doesn’t work, please let me know and I’ll reschedule.

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I asked which position was the most difficult to move into. He mentioned his current one, it’s extremely policy oriented. Daniel (like most of us) has the tendency to skim and get the gist of what they mean but he has needed to slow down and take the time to fully read. When he took the PSM superintendent role, he knew he wasn’t an expert on every facet of the department. He had to learn to lean on the individuals who do know the subject. His style of leadership is more hands off, and he establishes early “come to me with a problem and I’ll help.” Daniel early in the discussion hit on leadership is all about the people. He even used the phrase servant leadership. He hit on how you want to feel like your leader is “willing to go into battle together” with you.

When it comes to finding his next jobs, he mentioned an old boss who told him, “take the job when it’s comes open”, because you don’t know if it will be open again for a while. Daniel’s never been a chaser of the next challenge, he believes it takes years in a role to really understand and do it the best you can. He tends to be a people pleaser who doesn’t want to rock the boat. He’s also had to learn to be more intentional about the discussion with his own boss about “okay what’s the next role.” It’s something he’s trying to be better now that he’s on the other side of the desk.

As for what next role he’s potentially eyeing, he doesn’t have anything specific, “open to exploring new opportunities”. He wants to stay at the plant but now that his kids are older/going to college, there’s some more flexibility.

##I loved that he prioritized his family/kids by going from an OE earlier in his career. He understands the plant is a job that gives him purpose, but it’s not the be-all end-all.

I was curious how a Superintendent thinks about culture and who can really change it. Daniel highlighted how front-line work is still where the most important actions are and that has an outsized impact on how the rest of the site/company feels. In conjunction, your own boss can either damper or support you. That can change your own outlook on the culture.

##He mentioned “don’t hire a bunch of people like you.” It’s always easier to see your own skills but you want to ensure the people below you are able to cover your blind spots and support you

For a “favorite failure” he mentioned a fire when working in Port Arthur. Not that fire was good, but it’s given such strong perspective for everything since. When other people feel the sky is falling, he can feel calmer and know not everything is that bad.

Another moment he mentioned was during turnarounds. These can be extremely stressful with long days and no weekend breaks. Be extremely intentional with you people and notice when they may be getting overwhelmed. Sometimes your check ins of “how’s everything going?” won’t give you anything but if they seem off, you prevent a safety incident by stepping in.

Lastly, he mentioned when people under you have ideas, trying not to shut them down. Think “Will someone get hurt? Will the plant shut down?” If not, it’s worth giving them the space to try. It will either succeed or they will learn and be a better individual because of it.

When I asked about how he approaches ‘holding onto talent in his team vs growing them’ Daniel did mention the book, Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go. If they are going, he wants to help them. I asked about how to not play favorites or always pick the go-to person for projects. Daniel said, “experience is not always the right choice.” Some of his best decisions were going with someone less knowledgeable but was a go-getter rather than the safer choice. When it comes to general office/team rules, consistency matters! Aka don’t let people go home early unless everyone can go home early.

One of the best tips he got early in his career was about write-ups and discipline. When Daniel was deciding if a person’s action was write-up for their file worthy or not (like attitude), his boss said, “that’s a desk file.” It’s something you document but not significant enough to do the whole HR hassle. In the future if have a 1on1 with that person about other issues, you can bring up the receipts. Real instances can help them see and change behavior for the future.

I wanted to know if there’s something underrated by folks early in their career. Daniel said confidently, “getting out in the field.” You learn so much and understand the plant so much better. He enjoys seeing young engineers walking back into the office with a hard hat.

Two mentors he really admired were Nick Graham and Davis Turner. Nick was notorious for the “Graham Slam” a battering of questions. But Daniel learned Nick was really trying to help him understand what to consider/know for next time. That way you can pre-empt the questions and the effort goes better. If they keep asking for something, you need to be able to anticipate it the next time. Davis was a friendly approachable leader who you always felt was on your side.

##One thing he mentioned was you learn things from every boss, and oftentimes it’s the bad bosses or the ones you don’t like that you learn to do the opposite. I really appreciated when Daniel was talking about these two and how he looks up to them as men of faith and family oriented men. It was another aspect of their character he admires.

Lastly for person/marriage/life advice, he mentioned that “People will remember, verbatim what you say. And then repeat it back to you years later.” He mentioned one time that he was proud like a dad for seeing the operators have success and years later they mentioned how he called them “kids.” He doesn’t think he did but they took it that way and held the grudge. Your words and actions have lasting impacts.

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