Early on, Ted Lasso identifies Roy Kent as a leader. With purpose, Ted devises ways to give him opportunities to demonstrate his skills and grow. From handling interpersonal conflict to one-on-one coaching to simply walking away and letting Roy do his thing, Ted’s intent is purposeful. When season three ends, it’s no surprise that Roy is ready to take on the role as head coach of Richmond. Oy!
Who in your organization is ready to take on the EHS head coach role? To help you answer that question, here’s what I have learned about developing safety leaders:
HR & OPERATIONAL LEADERS:
- Recognize that leaders should ‘get their tickets punched’ in a high influence role; make safety part of that planned development.
- Provide a rotational assignment in safety. The great ones will figure out the technical side of the job. The real development will be figuring out how to influence.
- Develop safety leadership competencies as part of the way leaders are evaluated.
SAFETY LEADERS:
- Know each team member’s “Super Power” and find ways to let them shine.
- Find your replacement today and build them into great leaders.
- Take succession and replacement planning seriously.
- Be purposeful about assignments and challenge your team to grow while you support them.
- Use frequent performance reviews and After Action Reviews as opportunities to give valuable developmental feedback.
- Don’t be afraid to stretch your team beyond what you think they can do. They will surprise you!
EHS/SAFETY PROFESSIONALS
- Recognize that your technical knowledge will only carry you so far; it’s the influencing skills that will make you great.
- Ask for feedback on your influencing skills and build them over time.
- Identify your “Super Power” and use it to shine.
- Take a developmental assignment that stretches you.
- When a line leader takes a developmental assignment in EHS, help them with the technical side of safety and learn from them on the interpersonal side.
Like a head coach, EHS leadership is a difficult role. What makes EHS so difficult is the amount of influence required to succeed. It must be purposefully developed and nurtured. Just like Coach Lasso did with Roy.
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!
SafetyAnd Consulting Associates, Inc.
National Safety Council
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