S13Ep12: Revitalize Leadership & Safety Culture with SafeLead Refresher Course

Unlock the secrets to benefitting from the SafeLead Refresher course. Learn how to rejuvenate your leadership approach to human factors. With any new skill set, you get a lot of tools to go in your toolbox. The SafeLead Refresher course brings all of the tools out of the toolbox to ensure they're being used to their full potential. This episode explores the myriad ways this process empowers leaders—boosting confidence in team communication, learning how to use the learning loops and refining relationship-building techniques. 

Host: Danny Smith
Guest: Teena Blount

Chapters

• 0:08 Safe Lead Refresher Program Benefits
• 8:55 Leadership Development Through Refresher Training
• 14:44 Enhancing Skills Through SafeLead Refresher

Transcript

Danny Smith Host

00:08

Welcome back to SafeTalk with SafeStart. I'm your host, Danny Smith. With us today is another of our consultants, Teena Blunt. Many of you have probably met Teena in the past on-site with some of her work with the clients, or perhaps you know her from the previous podcast that she's been featured on. Today we want to spend a bit of time talking about the SafeLead Refresher An important note here. This is different than the SafeStart Refresher Challenge. If you're a SafeLead client who has also used SafeStart and implemented the SafeStart or SafeStart Now process, I'd encourage you to take a look at that as well, but that's a different subject for a different day. Today, we really want to focus in on our SafeLead Refresher. So, Teena, welcome back. And why don't we start with the quite obvious question here what is the SafeLead Refresher? 

Teena Blount Guest

00:59

Danny, the SafeLead Refresher is a three-hour class where we take people who have completed the SafeLead program process and we just sit down and we go through the modules whether it's six or seven depending on if they're a SafeStart client and we just go back and review and we refresh the information that we talked about. We look at the skills that we asked them to work on while they were going through SafeLead and even after SafeStart we talk about are they still having touchpoints with their managers. And it's just a really good. Let's go back and talk about everything again. You know, in a short period of time, look at what we're working on, look at what's been positive, maybe some things that we need to tweak or work on that we haven't worked on in the past. 

Danny Smith Host

01:51

So, now that we know a bit about what the refresher is, I guess the next question would be why would clients want to do that? What would be some of the benefits and some of the takeaways for them for doing this? 

Teena Blount Guest

02:03

Oh, I think the takeaways are numerous to mention. But as we go through SafeLead again we're going through six or seven modules we're giving them a lot of information, a lot of skills to work on. right, they pick the ones that they think they would benefit the most from, the ones that maybe they're not so good at, and they practice working on those over the course of the training and then, as they move out of the training and just kind of going forward, trying to get better at their skills Well, there's also other skills that maybe they didn't pick to work on that they could start working on now and again. The refresher helps bring all this material back up, brings the skills back up. 

02:45

We go back and review the human factors framework. We talk about the importance of the organizational and the individual learning loops and what their role is in all of that. So, I think with any program that you go through, any skills that you learn, going back and refreshing them is a very, very important part of development. So, if we're wanting them to continue to develop as leaders, then we need to go back and review. You know, what have you been working on, what haven't you been successful at, what have you been successful at, and not only for the organizations and the people who go through SafeLead but for us as consultants. It also helps us to see what skills people are really needing to work on the most and how we can help them. 

Danny Smith Host

03:33

Now this is very individual in nature. Right, you're going back through and you're spending time with the supervisors, much like you do with the initial modules of SafeLead, right? Contrast this, if you would a little bit the refresher versus the human factors review that we do a bit after the initial Safe Lead program has been implemented and everybody's been through the modules initially. What's the difference between the human factors review and the refresher? I guess is what I'm asking. 

Teena Blount Guest

04:03

Okay, well, the human factors review. We go in usually about six months after we've completed SafeLead and we sit down with the organization and we talk about what's changed, what's gotten better, what have they seen. Are they doing touchpoints? We try to meet with as many of the participants as we can again how it safely benefited you, how have you changed the way that you supervise or lead your people? So, we take that, and we look at the organization as a whole as to how has the organization benefited. How have these new or even people who have been supervisors for a long time, how have they gotten better at their role as a leader for a long time? How have they gotten better at their role as a leader? But with the refresher, we're sitting down with again two or three people at a time and we're talking specifically about what they've been working on, what they've gotten in their opinion, what they're good at now, what they've changed in the way that they lead, or they supervise. 

05:05

So, I think the human factors review is more from the organizational side as a whole organization. What have you improved on? What benefits have you seen? You know from your supervisors? But with the refresher it's more, it's an individual thing. You know, what have you as an individual been working on? What do you still need to work on? How can I help you develop these other skills that you need to work on too? So, I think that's the difference to me. One is more organizational, where I think the refresher is very individual. 

Danny Smith Host

05:39

So, the ideal candidates for going through the SafeLead Refresher would be the folks who have gone through the modules, completed that, and then had that time to go out and to begin working on those skills. Does that sound right? 

Teena Blount Guest

05:53

Yes, most definitely. Once they complete the modules. Yeah, then you know they're still going to work on skills, they're going to have touch points, so anyone who has completed it would be a great candidate to go back through for the refresher. 

Danny Smith Host

06:06

So, what does the schedule look like when you're doing the refresher, including or I'm assuming there are floor walks included in this as well, right? 

Teena Blount Guest

06:16

Yes, typically when we do a refresher it may be one to two years after the initial training, just depending on the client's needs. I always think the one year is a great time to do it. You move it out two years. It may be a little bit harder to get them more engaged or to remember what they worked on. So, again, a year or so after they've gone through SafeLead, then we'll schedule the refresher. Just like with SafeLead, it's a three-hour session refresher. Two to three people is what we typically have in a session. 

06:51

You're going to spend anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours in the classroom, and that is going back through and touching on all of the modules, looking at all of the skills, talking about what they individually have been working on. Again, what have they gotten better at? What maybe aren't they real comfortable with? Maybe they haven't been doing a lot of safety training on their own. Maybe they haven't been doing the safety meetings or team meetings or toolbox meetings for their group. That gives us something to think. 

07:23

Okay, how are we going to develop this skill? Then? We like to spend somewhere around an hour or so, depending on what we have out on the floor, having them practice those skills that maybe they're not so good at. So, if we have somebody that's not real good at maybe asking open-ended questions, we'll go out on the floor and we'll have them practice asking some open-ended questions. So that way, as a consultant, we can watch them use that skill and then, if they're struggling, give them some things to help them develop the skill better. So, its classroom, its floor exercises, it's taking the skills that you're maybe not so comfortable with and just going back out and practicing them again like we did with SafeLead. 

Danny Smith Host

08:10

I love it Sounds very prescriptive, person to person, as you're going through right Very individual. What would you say would happen if a client chooses not to do the SafeLead refresher? It sounds to me like the obvious one is they're probably just missing out on some learning loop opportunities. What else could they be missing out on there if they choose not to do this? 

Teena Blount Guest

08:33

Well, it's just like with anything any new skills that you learn and one of the things we usually tell them in SafeLead is I'm going to give you a lot of tools to go in your toolbox Now, right off the bat. If they're not really good at building relationships, that's something they're probably going to work on, and they'll continue to work on that and get good at it and get more comfortable. But they may forget about those other tools that are in their toolbox because they didn't need to use them right then. So, the refresher helps to bring all those skills back up, to get them to think about okay, you practiced this, this, and this as we went through safely. 

09:10

You didn't work on these so much Did you forget they're there? Have you not had an opportunity? Or maybe you just need a little bit more work on those? So, again, you can have all the tools in the world, but you're not going to use them all on a daily basis. Most of the time You'll use what you need when you need it, but we don't want you to forget about the rest and if you don't go back and refresh those, then there's a real good chance that those will remain in the toolbox and not be used. And we want our leaders to continue to develop the skills and to me that's the whole reason behind the refresher is getting them back out there, getting them talking to people. Let's practice the skills and let's keep moving forward. 

Danny Smith Host

09:53

Yeah, maybe I should have asked this before when we were talking about the benefits and takeaways, but can you think of anything specific in some of the refreshers that you've done already? What are some of the takeaways that you've seen from individuals where they've said, oh wow, I have worked on this, but maybe I need to work on something else? Can you think of any? Specifics there that you can recall.

Teena Blount Guest

10:16

I think the ones that kind of stand out are when we have maybe new supervisors, or it could be people that's been leading for a long time who aren't really comfortable building those relationships. Getting them out there, getting them to talk to people, getting them to learn their team what a difference that makes over time. Because when we go back and do the refresher, I'll hear them say things like you know what, after going through SafeLead, I really can watch my people. I can see them when they walk through the door in the morning. I can tell when they're not their self and that gives me an opportunity to intervene, talk to them, try to make sure that whatever's going on isn't going to affect how well they can do their job and how safe they can do their job that way. So that's probably the one that I've seen a lot in the very beginning with SafeLead. Others that kind of standout are people who aren't comfortable getting up in front of their group and, let's say, doing a toolbox meeting, giving them those guidelines of how to do one, include a with them, all those things that we talk about and then when we come back it's like, yeah, I do my toolbox meeting every week now. Safety just gives me a subject. I'm good with doing them. So, you see that development and just seeing how people develop and how they get more comfortable, and they get really proud of what they're doing, it's just real exciting for me. 

 11:42

So, the takeaways there's always something different each time, but those have been pretty consistent. 

11:49

Learning how to use the organizational learning loop and the individual learning loop has also been probably a really good takeaway. How clients will say that you know when something undesirable happens, regardless of what it is, instead of just saying, okay, who made a mistake? What mistake did they make? It's more now, okay, this is what happened from the organizational side. What did we do or not do that created the environment for this to happen? And when we look at the individual now, instead of saying you know why'd you do it, you know like it's more of a blame. But instead of asking, ok, what can we do to help you to prevent this going forward, not just that person, but the whole organization going forward, not just that person, but the whole organization. So, I think that's been another really cool takeaway. When people talk about the organizational learning loop and things that they change where, before they may, would maybe not have even thought about looking at that side. 

Danny Smith Host

12:50

You know, I think it was John Maxwell who famously said everything rises and falls on leadership Kind of shifting gears on here a little bit. What can senior leadership do to help support a safe lead refresher implementation? 

 Teena Blount Guest

13:07

I think senior leadership from the beginning has such an important role in making sure that the touch points are being done on a regular basis meeting with the participants in the class, helping them, helping to break down barriers and roadblocks that they run into, helping encourage and set things up so they can be successful. And then, when we start talking about a refresher again, it's just that support that they give for the touch points, it's the support that, hey, you're going through a refresher, we're going to have some new skills, we're going to work on some different things. How can I support you? The senior leadership has got to be the push right, helping our employees, especially our frontline leaders, to get better at their job. 

Danny Smith Host

13:55

Anything else you'd like to add about the SafeLead refresher? Just in closing. 

Teena Blount Guest

14:02

I think it's a great addition to SafeLead. I know when we go through SafeLead we really learn a lot. I know as consultants, we learn something every time we go through a session. But to come back to a refresher and people actually sit there and tell you know what I used this, this, this and this and it made the biggest difference I really can, you know, communicate with my people better. I'm good at having those difficult conversations because I use the guides that you all taught us how to use. That just makes this job so awesome to hear people are really benefiting and getting better and our organizations are getting safer just through going through SafeLead. And the refresher is just a great tool again to go back and review that help them to review and get better. And again, it helps us as consultants to motivate us and help us to get better at what we do. 

Danny Smith Host

14:58

That's awesome. Thanks so much. And thanks so much for being here with us today and talking about this, and I know you're really, really passionate about SafeLead in general, but the passion and obviously for the refresher comes through as well, right? 

Teena Blount Guest

15:14

Oh yeah, it's, great. 

Danny Smith Host

15:16

So, thanks for everybody for being with us today. Again, thanks for Teena for joining us as well. Hopefully, this podcast gives you a bit more insight into the SafeLead Refresher and how that can be helpful for your supervisors, for your organization as a whole, For SafeTalk with SafeStart. I'm Danny Smith. Thanks for joining us and have a great day.