Take the Coaching Approach During Your Next On-Site Meeting
Using a coaching approach during on-site safety meetings fosters a learning environment that encourages awareness, shared experiences and behavioral change.
- By Kai Gransee
- Aug 15, 2024
Globally diminishing returns in safety performance have been reported by leading boards such as NEBOSH. Influential attendees of health, safety and environment (HSE) conferences and key figures in the world of safety mutually echo the same sentiment; there’s a need for a shift in leadership and mindset to bring awareness to, and counteract the behaviors that lead to near-misses, injuries and incidents.
Stand-down meetings have been the standard operating procedure that’s brought people on-site together post-near-miss or incident, with the intention of bringing a proactive mindset and awareness to the situation. Traditionally, these are usually one-way “conversations”, often judgmental, repetitive in terms of messaging and with little to no learning.
The challenge at hand is to view safety from a non-traditional lens.
This would be one in which, for example, stand-down meetings aren’t fear-driven or blame-led as they often can be but instead cultivate an environment of shared learning, behavioral change and, ultimately, awareness.
“Awareness is curative” is a seminal quote from Sir John Whitmore, a pioneer in the coaching world. His coaching approach is an effective way to imbue stand-down meetings with awareness, and in turn, cultivate positive behavioral change on-site.
The Coaching Approach in Action
During a project in Saudi Arabia in March of 2022, an incident nearly occurred when a contractors’ truck left at 6PM, which was peak time for commuter traffic.
Loaded on its platform were some large and heavy steel pipes. Seconds before the truck merged into a busy, congested highway, one of the pipes broke loose from the trailer. If only seconds later it happened on the highway, the consequences could have been very significant.
The site manager immediately asked for a stand-down meeting. Response to this event was critical for the further development of the cultural journey. This near-miss was an opportunity to integrate a coaching approach.
“Gentlemen, we have a decision to make,” I began the meeting. “Do we want to blame or do we want to learn? Because we can’t do both. So, what are we going to do?”
There was a pause; the men looked at each other. Surprised, one man broke the silence, “...learn?” The others chimed in, “Yeah, okay, let’s learn.”
“Then let's learn. But as soon as we start blaming, the process ends and we lose the opportunity to learn. So let's focus on learning.”
There was a paradigm shift among the men. They were used to taking the blame but not used to openly learning, sharing experiences, and collaborating to come to a collective and mutual solution.
For the following hour, the men shared insights, anecdotes and personal expertise as to what could have prevented the highway near-miss occurrence.
Compellingly, the two involved in latching the steel pipes were also very active in the conversation. Their body language was free of guilt or shame, and a transformational mindset shift occurred on site.
When the session ended, a few of the men approached the site and me. One of them elatedly said, “I’ve been working in construction for many years, and as you’ve guessed it, I’ve attended dozens of ‘stand-downs’, and this by far has been the best one.” Another continued, “I couldn’t believe the stories I heard from the guys. I never knew conversations like these could be so useful! There was no blame, or fingers pointed. I truly felt that we’ve learned something.”.
“Safety” up until this early stage of the project was words on paper, procedures and presentation slides for the managers and contractors involved, and for the men on-site at large. Throughout their careers, “command and control” was the way these were implemented. But on that day, during that “stand-down,” awareness of safety and the procedures and behaviors they encompass became part of their mindset.
How to Leverage the Coaching Approach On-Site
When approaching projects with the traditional safety lens, it’s oftentimes possible to perceive people with one of two mindsets, especially in high-pressure environments or tight timeframes: “This person is a problem” or “This person has a problem.”
However, the coaching mindset challenges the individual to interface with the approach of “This person is on a learning journey and full of potential.”
This mindset and approach allows interaction with people on-site in a way where they’re encouraged to lean into their potential and fulfill safety procedures with presence and responsibility.
Pay close attention to the ideas, perspectives, and sentiments of those on-site, be present when they communicate, and actively paraphrase and reflect upon what they say.
This bolsters the relationship and trust with people while bringing insight and awareness to what’s happening during the project, potential hazards at hand, potential changes to be made, blind spots, opportunities and more.
- Ask, don’t tell (i.e., focus on “open-ended” questions).
Try to avoid “top-down” instruction which tells people what to do (they usually know more than expected). Instead, ask questions that prompt those on-site to think critically and creatively about their approach to safety.
An example of a powerful “open-ended” question is: "What is one thing you could do to make your work even safer?” This allows the person being questioned to take ownership of their processes and continually optimize their approach with awareness.
Check-ins consist of conversational follow-up questions such as “What has happened since we last spoke?”, “What did you learn since then?”, and “What are you doing with your learnings now?”
Adapt these questions, with a focus on non-judgmental tonality. Check-ins further facilitate and develop the safety awareness of those on-site, while naturally integrating a sense of collective accountability.