That Makes Sense; I Can Support It

On a global chemical company project, they wanted to help all people-leaders be more effective in their role, specifically by coaching employees on safety behaviors. They looked to our Leadership Safety Coaching workshops.

As we collaborated with leadership on how to best customize the approach and experience for maximum returns, I discovered something interesting we could use.

Sales-driven individuals led this company. At most levels, promotions occur based on sales performance. New salespeople to the organization attended a week-long training session on how to coach the customer to close the sale, which was a novel approach to sales training. When looking at the coaching methodology used, it was appropriate. I knew introducing ProAct Safety's coaching models and methods could create more confusion, so I had a proposal - use the internal coaching models to show leaders how to extend this to coaching for employee safety behaviors.

As we eventually rolled this out through the company, when introducing why we were there for this one-day workshop, leaders would ask, "Remember the sales coaching training we all received? We are going now to use those skills to coach in other areas." Attendees immediately got it. It made sense. Coaching wasn't an entirely new thing to teach leaders; it was an evolution of what they already knew and an opportunity to exercise these coaching skills in other areas. It was wildly successful.

By leveraging existing skills and knowledge in sales coaching, we successfully introduced Leadership Safety Coaching throughout the company.

The familiarity of the approach made it easier for leaders to adopt and implement, resulting in a smooth transition and positive outcomes. This experience highlighted the importance of building on existing foundations to drive effective change and achieve desired results.

If you want to minimize resistance to change, look for ways to minimize the perception of it. Unless in crisis, busy people tend to support evolution over revolution.

"The shock of the way I mix patterns and fabrics can be disconcerting, but what I am trying to do is provoke new ideas about how pieces can be put together in different ways." - Jean Paul Gaultier

"Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."" - Sun Tzu

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Shawn M. Galloway is CEO of the global consultancy ProAct Safety. He is a trusted advisor, professional keynote speaker, expert witness and author of several bestselling books on safety strategy, culture, leadership, and employee engagement.