Most organizations already subscribe to the notion that responsibility for safety resides at the level of each and every employee. Yet, when the responsibility for safety communication in safety meetings is perceived by everyone else to be the unique domain of a special designee (whether the safety specialist or the supervisor) it tacitly communicates a conflicting message. [content_protector password=”meeting-rotate-07″ identifier=”meeting-rotate-07″]
There’s something about being handed the mantle of responsibility for leading a meeting and presenting a safety topic to peers and coworkers that tends to reinforce the notion that real ownership for safety, and real leadership in safety, belongs to “me” personally.
Rotating safety meeting leaders gets everyone involved, places everyone in a leadership role, and creates a shared experience that results in everyone paying more attention to and participating more actively at each meeting out of a desire to support their team members–who will eventually become members of their own audience when it’s their turn to lead the meeting! We tend to become more engaged in activities that others are leading when we know our turn for leading a similar activity is just around the corner.
Sharing responsibility for leading safety meetings enhances personal ownership for safety, makes everyone a safety leader, and creates a climate that is ripe for developing and coaching safety-leadership skills. And that last point is just as important as the first one. Handing the mantle of safety-meeting leader to someone new requires that you coach them on improvements afterwards to build leadership capability into them, and at the same ensure they too are making the meeting as engaging as possible.
That’s all the time we have for this edition of Recordable INSIGHTS. Until next time be sure all your safety talks are built in, not bolted on.
~ES
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