Many factors contribute to being capable and effective in process safety roles. Certainly, understanding of engineering and process safety is desirable to establish basic technical competence. Ultimately, true capability and career success also requires the ability to work within an organization to help achieve superior and effective performance. This article discusses how to be effective in a process safety role by developing a strong foundation of technical knowledge and capability, by learning to influence the organization, and by thinking and communicating independently. The result should be career success as well as improved process safety performance, helping to prevent serious injuries and incidents. (c) 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf, 2012.