Safety coaching is (or at least should be) a natural part of what any safety leader does on a regular basis to reinforce the safety culture. The problem, if we are honest with ourselves, is that most of us just don’t do it very well. Instead, we tend to coach spontaneously and off the cuff, going right for the jugular without even considering how it might impact the outcome. Here are a few tips to ensure our coaching interactions are both meaningful and actionable.
Eric Svendsen, Ph.D., is Principal and lead change agent for safetyBUILT-IN, a safety-leadership learning and development organization. He has over 20 years experience in creating and executing outcomes-based leadership development and culture change initiatives aligned to organizational goals, and he personally led the safety-culture initiatives of a number of client organizations that resulted in “best ever safety performance” years for those companies.
Safety coaching is (or at least should be) a natural part of what any safety leader does on a regular basis to reinforce the safety culture. The problem, if we are honest with ourselves, is that most of us just don’t do it very well. Instead, we tend to coach spontaneously and off the cuff, going right for the jugular without even considering how it might impact the outcome. Here are a few tips to ensure our coaching interactions are both meaningful and actionable. 
