Early in Ted’s tenure at Richmond, he runs into personnel issues. Nate is getting picked on. Jamie and Roy don’t like each other.
Ted refuses to ‘fix’ the problem. Instead, he looks to emerging leaders to fix their own problems. It works. The team eventually comes to Nate’s support. Roy and Jamie become great friends.
Often, safety leaders think they have to fix everything. However, there are things you DON’T HAVE TO FIX!
Look for emerging leaders and give them a challenge. Engage them to help them SEE the challenge, FEEL the impact and plot the CHANGE.
An auto parts supplier wanted to reduce hand and finger injuries. I solved nothing there. Instead, we ran a hand/finger safety Kaizen. The teams were educated, they saw the impact of injuries in an emotional way. They then went to the shop floor to identify and implement ways to reduce risks.
Here’s the point. Ask employees to solve their own problems. Offer support and guidance, do some organizational blocking and tackling and get out of the way.
Be patient. Not all risks are reduced in a single day. Find creative ways to get people to see through different eyes. I have two favorite techniques for doing this.
- Engage employees and ask four questions;
1) What can get you hurt around here?
2) What keeps you from getting hurt?
3) Is it working?
4) How do you know? This conversation gets people thinking about risk differently. It inevitably leads people to recognize and solve their own safety issues. - Have folks do a simple risk assessment. Once a risk is identified, get them to identify frequency and severity. Pull the team together and ask them to find ways to reduce their own risks.
These approaches move you from the ‘fixer’ to a skilled and respected ‘coach’ and ‘capability builder.’ Maybe you’ll even get to lead the Greyhounds!
If you are interested in developing your safety team, consider running the Safety Professional’s Academy. Contact me to have a conversation.
If you have safety professionals who require coaching, please give me a call!
