Here are some safety leader ideas from Lenessa Bannister, VP of Lennox Stores at Lennox International. I took the notes for you:

• Strike a balance of communication. Don't have too much information nor too little. Our corporate team has a Safety Engineer while we brought in resources to prove we deeply care about safety.
• The Safety Mindset succeeds when communication and consistency are cornerstones of our approach. You will never be perfect. Even at a time of ZERO recordable, maintain your safety culture.
• Best ways to communicate safety programs surround campaigns, use characters, and has to be in short bits to respect the time of the employees. 10 to 12 minute increments. Entire team has to be consistent with the message. Each zone personalize it with the needs of the team.
• Mobile communication helps with a distributed workforce. Walk throughs, safety training, video walk-throughs when auditing our safety protocol - even during a pandemic.
• Events help with communication initiatives. Specific to Power Lift we had them sign the poster and take pictures of them signing it. Shared a collaborative video that "We are committed to safety."
• It's important for Leadership to engage and give a face to involvement. Lennox does a tiered approach where everyone completes training. Involvement is posted and leaders show they stand with everyone else to go through training. Leaders are asked to bring up the safety training on their team meetings and team calls.
• All recordables lead to constant improvement.
• We have a peer to peer recording structure to ensure everyone feels safe to share without punishment from a higher-up. This increases the transparency. No one will be penalized for recording an incident.
• We call it a "Priority" not an "Initiative." We find this helps our safety numbers and even helps our bottom line. A single injury in a two person store, we know that productivity goes down when there is an increase load on the other person
• Customer service is consistently getting better with reduced recordables.
• Our work won't be done even when we get to zero.
• Making Safety Training interesting, we do competitions. Part of their role is sales we make sure it is a fun competition. Training is rolled into the point they get. Still has to be delivered in short bits. If there is an hour content module, then we split that into four short bits.
• To keep safety a priority, it's human nature, we want to be part of a celebration.
• We develop a playbook for safety initiatives, process change, recognition, ideas for our systems to stay strong.

Talk About It. Live it. Celebrate it. 

Here's a quick BREAKTHROUGH video on how to approach a "system" that is not working.

With the backdrop of a swimming pool that cost hundreds of dollars to throw possible solutions to getting it 'balanced' - the ultimate solution was to drain the pool and start over. With systemic failure in organizations, institutions and even relationships, the higher the complexity the more a "start over" approach may be the best solution. Clearly, this can be a painful process. In this isolated case, draining the pool was costly but, in the long run, less costly than a series of chemical additives, backwashing and water loss. Oh, and the physical labor involved in washing away the persistent algae with gallons of muriatic acid and the safety protocol involved makes it even more arduous.

BUT - still - necessary.

If you're in a position of influence to change a system, you may find yourself in a similar situation. "Draining the pool" is a metaphor of cleaning house. Which is a metaphor for wiping the slate clean. Which is a metaphor for starting over. Enough mixed metaphors already.

Get honest with the system you are a part of. Can you influence the courage necessary to start over.

It will be painful, costly and taxing, but you will find it is worth it for those who want to play in your pool later. (ugh.... another metaphor ;-) Reach out to us if you need help with the tactics necessary to start over. Leaders, this is your chance for change.

Welcome Greg Kiraly with his decades of experience in the corporate world and especially with leadership in the safety space. Greg is a leadership speaker, coach and consultant along with his REBEL LEADER podcast. Greg is an experienced executive in all aspects of electric systems operations. He has demonstrated expertise in safety strategies, system reliability and cost controls.

Greg dives into various topics and ideas for safety leaders:

• What is the data telling you about what things could go wrong and how to reduce incident rates?
• Employ innovative approaches to the emotional connection for employees. For example, at Hydro One they used a Safety Brand that was "For Family, For Life." 
• Build a program around your Safety Brand and emotional connection while you consistently look for opportunities to support that brand.
• Employee engagement works best if it has those employees involved in any and all initiatives. 
• Reentry happens best when communication is the tip of the spear.
  • Do the right thing immediately. Ie Tylenol being pulled off the shelf by Johnson and Johnson during the tampering scare.
  • Give updates that are meaty, frequent and confident
  • Ensure employees trust there will be permanent change, for good.
• It is always a mistake to make too drastic of a swing when reacting to a crisis or an issue. Keep it measured by continuing to engage with your employees in the conversation.
• Leaders need to be seen where the work is. Don't just sit in your office. Try to do what an employee does. This will elevate the respect that they have for you. Be sure to have insight on what they go through. 
• Ensure there is a leader in every companywide safety training course. Do this consistently.
• When it comes to safety:
  • Challenge Everything (especially established norms)
  • Set the Bar Incredibly High (ie Zero Incident)
  • Execute Relentlessly (employees want to see action)
• Pride is the deadliest of the seven deadly (corporate) sins because then you're not open to change.
• Cynics can hijack safety initiatives. The solutions is to pull them aside and ensure you spend time with them. Get their input. Do what it takes to turn them around.
• The "Cowboy" mentality is a frontline employee or leader who throws caution to the wind and sets a bad example. This can be a cancer in a culture. If they can't change their ways, then they need to be let go.

Radical safety is being able to have patient safety in the front line of making sure that we all come together in a safety protocol.

The neuroscience of safety is not about checking a box. It's understanding the human condition, and that's tough.

Think of a time when management drove towards a goal but not everybody was fully invested in the process towards that goal. How did that work out for you?

So here's the opportunity to have people invested in the process, which the ultimate goal of patient safety. The often overlooked FIRST STEP in setting up patient safety is not protocol. Nor is it explaining the mindset necessary for patient safety to occur. It is a personal connection of each hospital or facility employees' deep seated goals and drivers that align with the patient safety objectives. The single greatest approach is involves an experiential methodology infused into the onset of training. It is NOT just a motivational talk. It is NOT just a compelling speaker or leader. It involves a presenter who leads an experience that Velcro's the exact messaging attached to that experience.

Leaders, I'm talking to you. People never forget a profound experience. You too, never forget a profound experience. In turn, if you deliver a profound experience to your people, they will not only be impacted by the content you're determined to deliver, they will be influenced to execute flawlessly.

Put is this way, the ratio between the conscious and subconscious mind is the exact same ratio between an ant and an elephant. The ant is the conscious mind on the back of the subconscious elephant. And your ant is making decisions.

We're going in this direction. Where are we headed? We're headed this, I'm in charge, I'm in control, this is where we're headed. We're going West. What if the elephant is headed East? Which way does the ant think he's going? West, ending up East. And we end up in a different place all together.

Examples include: We need to meet compliance or OSHA regulations. Or let's DO these steps towards patient safety, these are our safety procedures. But when you have transformational change, you have behavioral change when people's ant and elephant are headed in the same direction.

To have that kind of alignment, to have that kind of alignment of somebody having an emotional connection to why they're going in the direction they're going, it's a game changer.

How important is focus in a patient safety program?

It's absolutely essential because then you shift from the push of behavioral change to the pull of peak performance in any patient safety culture. To the leaders and managers micromanaging every step, change the focus directly on empowering every healthcare provider in the organization.

Be the rising tide and clear the way for them to do their jobs and walk in a controlled and aligned way. It's when our employees are empowered to have a radical patient safety mindset, is when they truly understand the cost of settling for a conventional safety mindset.

But it's the mindset that beliefs, attitudes, and truths that will sustain longterm change. We will have issues if we are just going from actions to results. These actions create these results. Parents do it, you know we look at our teenagers and say, you know what these results aren't where we need them, we need to be able to change our actions. But it's really BAT the JAR, it's the beliefs, attitudes, and truths that set up our judgments, which setup our action, which will setup our results. And until we focus on this cognitive model, we're going to have issues.

Three years after I competed in the Olympics, my dad passed away. When he was diagnosed they gave him three weeks to live. Yet, we had a year together. We had a quality of life.

And when I say we, I mean WE. Yes, my dad was the patient but we were at his side. Yes, you made a difference in my dad's life, but you made a massive difference in my mom's life.

You make a difference in communities' lives. You look beyond the transaction the bed number to the person, that point on the end of the wall, what matters. You don't take your eyes off the difference you make in people's lives.

I can say for a fact you made a difference in our family's life. And we will never forget that, ever.

Empower your staff and managers to work together. This takes us from a conventional safety protocol to a radical safety program. And that's where everybody's invested. The tide indeed rises and we all rise to have a superior patient safety culture.

Much like Apollo 13’s urgent and calculated need for a specific reentry trajectory, we need a safe and specific reentry into The New Abnormal, post-pandemic work life.

While there’s a practical set of standards we all must follow, your organization will be making a mistake if it does not lead with the personal set of standards for reentry. Allow your practical standards to be more effective and embraced company wide.

Let's start with looking at a radical change from the behavioral change bias that exists in most conventional safety cultures. Instead of starting with Behavioral Change, think about Peak Performance Before Behavioral Change.

As an Olympian and Team Leader for Expeditions in the Himalayas, I find myself scratching my head when safety professionals lead with behavioral change. I’m not arguing that behavioral change isn’t important. In fact, it’s essential for a vibrant safety culture to institute behavior change initiatives to reach the elusive goal of zero incident. But, what if we can create a world-class safety culture with optimum safe behavior (without starting AT the behaviors themselves)? This is where peak performance can radically improve the adoption rates of safe, post lock-in behaviors.

Continuing to wash your hands, six-foot physical distancing, open spaces over enclosed environments, optimum foot-traffic lanes and even face masks are all practical applications of minimizing the spread of any kind of virus. Yet, peak performance is a function of a deep sense of connection to the outcomes you desire. For an athlete, it’s winning a race or competition. For a musician, it is an epic performance or song. But how does that translate into a peak performance for a fork-lift operator or a technician who spends a third of his or her time in a vehicle? The secret is in The Emotional Buzz.

A number of years ago, a large American Oil Company was struggling with tragic deaths and severe incidents as pipe was being laid in remote parts of Columbia. No matter of ‘Behavior Change Messaging’ was getting the desired effect. Senior executives took a radical approach to messaging from a different angle. According the team leader at the time, “We took our message to the spouses of the construction workers. Essentially, we said to the wives,

‘Hey, do you want your breadwinner to make it home tonight? Let’s remind them how important it is to you that your husband is careful and conscientiously being safe at all times.’

Immediately we saw a reduction in the severity and frequency of recordable incidents. We learned to approach the problem from the heartstrings and not just to the eyes and ears.”

The Emotional Buzz is a catalyst for internal motivation. It is what North is on a compass. When an individual has an Emotional Buzz attached to her or his everyday life, there is a clear attachment to behavior that is aligned with the outcomes sought. 

First, establish the Emotional Buzz for your employees and you will have an easier time attaching behavioral change in a world-class safety culture. 

Jim Hudson is a consummate safety leader who now focuses his attention on reopening safely. His expertise in building leadership confidence and operational profitability dive into tough questions like: If only 40% of customers are willing to shop and you're only allowed 50% capacity, how will you make money with a net of 20%?

As a Leadership Expert and consultant to companies dedicated to systems thinking driven by the creativity of your people, his client list reads like a Who's Who?

His company, SaferNation has a specific approach to a safe and profitable business:

I met a young man in a war-torn part of the world.

HIs father was killed by 'the other side.'

His sister was killed by 'the other side.'

He said, "I have every reason to hate the other side."

Then he voiced a realization I'll never forget.

"When you choose a side, you become part of the problem."

A powerful statement. Yet, a question lingers.

Can you choose a side and become part of the solution?

Yes.

If you choose hate, you are part of the problem.

If you choose love, the problem goes away.

Don't choose a side.

Choose love.

You have a choice to live in one simple question.

How will I serve with love?

Deliver experiences that put everyone in the front row.

Whether your virtual event has 10,000 people on it or 100, follow these highly effective approaches to have maximum impact and lasting influence. I've been doing video production for years (starting with a vampire movie when I was 12 to documentaries to live feeds for World Championship Olympic Wrestling, etc). Couple that with me award-winning presentation skills and I know you'll benefit from this video. Meeting planners and C-Suite leaders agree that their most valuable asset, human capital, needs to be educated, entertained, and motivated for a successful online event. Watch this 1.5-minute video to make the most from your virtual meeting.

1. Go Spielberg, Not Fosse

Think production not theater. Use multiple cameras for a dynamic experience.

2. Hire a Production Host

Your IT Guy Aint' THE GUY. A Production Host knows Tech AND Production

3. Hire Presenters to Set Momentum and Tone

Pro Speakers Keep the Energy High. Execs Lead the Way.

 4. Assign Moderators for Optimum Flow

Ensure you have PreSet Polls, Q&A Plants and Meeting Rooms

5. Entertain, Educate and Motivate

Ensure each session has a healthy dose of each. 

6. Turn Your Panel into an Interview Festival

Assign 3 interviewers per panelist. Make your audience the hero.

7. Pre, During, Post Engagement Tools

Set the stage with Pre Event Materials that come-to-life during and after the event.

Check out this Safety Leader to Safety Leader interview with Brenda DeBerry

Safety Leaders get your notebook handy.

Brenda DeBerry

• Texans NFL team-medic for 8 seasons

• Alaska as a captain’s apprentice,

• Fire fighter and EMT,

• and Safety Manager for 14 years as it began in 2006 with Saipem America

• currently with Scientific Drilling International

She has managed safety in aspects of:

• Upstream Oil & Gas from subsea ROV’s (submersibles),
• subsea construction,
• Inland Rigs, to
• Offshore Rigs,
• and Trainer for RigPass, First Aid & CPR,
• Forklift Operations, and many Safety programs.
  Learn how "no more head shots with a Nerf Gun" to "waving a magic safety wand to get senior leaders to come into the safety workshops" are part of ensuring maximum safety impact.

Everybody's running around trying to do what the competition's not doing, especially when there's chaos. Here's how to have a competitive advantage.

Instead of trying to do what the competition's not doing, imagine your competition is the highest performers, that person that does what you do, and instead of doing what that person's not doing, try this. Do what the competition is not willing to do. What is that high performer not willing to do?

Typically, those are the things you're not willing to do either. The biggest advantage of virtual presentations is we're creating a dialogue, people communicating better. The biggest mistake is we're taking a bucket of content and dumping it on people's head and hoping that it sticks. The only way content is gonna stick is through an experience, and it's especially true with virtual presentations.

For you, I've created a virtual presentation for you that accomplishes three things.

First, that it's ENTERTAINING. The people are engaged in the story because of storytelling. This recreational skier to Olympian in four years is also the motivational piece.

The second piece, being MOTIVATED to move forward and to be inspired by someone else's story that draws them in to that experience.

The third piece is the CONTENT, the content that gets inside their head that's both innovative and counterintuitive. The people go, "Okay, that's a great idea. "Hadn't thought of it that way." 

For example, use a gold dot is a trigger for your emotional buzz. I put them everywhere. On the back of my cell phone. On the odometer in my car. On the bathroom mirror. On my toothbrush. A gold dot triggers that emotional buzz of where you want to go.

When you have an emotional quotient attached to where you want to go, your people are going to get exceed their goals faster than you ever thought possible.

Listen, bring in a professional speaker. As an Olympian, a "New York Times" best-selling author, and Hall of Fame speaker, I'm able to take people on an unforgettable experience in a virtual presentation where they're engaged. It sticks for a lifetime. The best part of my virtual keynotes is they are interactive.

We had a comment the other day, the attendee said, "I felt like I was in the front row." Put your audience in the front row of this virtual presentation and given them an experience. We had zero people drop off the call. Zero. Zero people because they were entertained, educated, and motivated all at the same time.

Let's do those three things within your virtual presentation.