Ownership and empowerment are terms frequently used in the safety arena. Teams are formed and expected to accomplish safety initiatives. The team is “empowered,” asked to take “ownership” and lead the facility population to success, often without resources.
Consider the scenario of putting a football team on the field and saying, “OK, now play and win.” They know the plays, they know the rules, they know the game and they want to win. But can they accomplish this effectively without help, guidance and reassurance? Of course not! If this were true, why would sports organizations pay such high salaries for coaches?
The “team” concept in a safety process helps to ensure employees’ participation and involvement in the safety effort. However, coaches are needed in the areas of problem-solving, decision-making, time management, resolving conflicts, delegating responsibility and helping to build the lead team and subsequent sub-teams and more.
When my company implements our cultural/behavioral safety process in a facility, we develop a lead team and determine and fill lead team positions, and we assign sub-teams and clearly define and communicate roles and responsibilities. An important position on the lead team and for the process as a whole is that of “coach.” Often, more than one coach is recruited. Coaches are chosen from the management/supervision pool because a degree of authority (especially in matters of expenditures and manpower allocation) is required to enable teams to make decisions and procure necessary resources.
What is required in the coaching effort of the safety process? What attributes and skills should coaches possess?
Commitment to allocating time for the team(s) and the process is crucial. In a cultural/behavioral safety process, the amount of time spent upfront, identifying the culture, training, establishing teams, developing the process tools and organization is essential. Those in coaching positions need to be willing to dedicate the time necessary to help get the ball rolling and keep it rolling. This includes helping procure time allocation for team members to accomplish what needs to be done.
Coaches must be willing to guide, not direct. While coaches come from the management ranks, this does not mean coaches are to strictly hand down orders. The team’s progress and the process will flourish best under a guiding hand rather than iron-fist directives.
A good way to fill the coach position(s) is through using an interview-type process. The interview is conducted by the lead team (hourly and salaried composition). This helps determine a level of commitment to the effort.