Leadership: The Clearest Predictor of Safety Performance
Strong leaders are critical for sustained injury and fatality prevention at all organizational levels. Through what they do and what they choose to focus on, leaders shape the culture that drives performance, and influence the systems and processes that create safety outcomes. Our research in safety leadership effectiveness has resulted in the creation of a success profile that has predictive validity for leaders who are involved in corporate- or site-wide safety efforts. BST's executive coaching for safety leadership is a developmental coaching approach that draws on this proven model.

Individualized Development
BST's safety leadership coaching is a one-on-one process in which the leader and the coach work together to enhance the leader's power to accomplish shared organizational objectives. Coaching may be tightly focused on a specific target or have a broad scope. The process consists of connecting the leader's objectives and concerns about the organization's objectives with who the leader is and how he or she leads. It is action oriented, focuses on what the leader can do to make a demonstrable difference, and results in a leadership coaching plan of actionable items and new leadership behaviors. A typical coaching process includes:

The BST Leadership Model

Individual Leadership Profile • The BST Leadership Diagnostic Instrument (LDI) assesses a leader against safety leadership best practices (what connects the leader to culture) and leadership style (how they connect). This assessment may include interviews with peers, managers, team members, direct reports, and others selected by the leader and the coach. Assessment findings and recommendations are compiled in an Individual Leadership Profile.

Coaching Action Plan • Based on the Individual Leadership Profile, the coach and executive work together to identify specific leadership practices and actionable items to begin enhancing his or her influence on the culture.

Ongoing support • The coach and executive meet several times over six to twelve months to reinforce and stabilize the desired behaviors. Wherever practical, BST coaches use live observations and feedback to help the leader. Behavioral success is further sustained by leading-edge web-based prompting tools.

Re-assessment • Eight to ten months after the completion of the performance plan, the coach conducts a second set of 360° interviews and may re-administer the LDI to help the leader measure progress.