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for safety
An introductory guide
www.iosh.co.uk/coachingforsafety
Coaching for safety an introductory guide
Introduction 02
Why coaching and why now? 03
What is coaching? 04
The skills of an effective coach 06
Useful frameworks for coaching
conversations 13
Becoming a safety and health coach
making the choice 18
More information 20
Introduction
02
Why coaching and why now?
Interest in coaching is growing. It has Safety and health has a higher priority
become the approach of choice in many in organisations than was previously the
organisations and professions. Young case. This is probably attributable less
doctors now learn how to coach patients to the introduction of new legislation
as a standard part of their undergraduate and tougher penalties by the courts, and
and postgraduate training. It is popular as more to employees, clients and wider
a teaching method in schools. Relationship society being better educated about risks
counsellors may re-badge themselves as and less willing to be exposed to them.
relationship coaches. Manager as coach
is recognised as the ideal style of leading The stereotypical image of the
in many organisations and it would now occupational safety and health practitioner
be unusual for a senior manager not to is of a compliance police officer,
have used the services of an executive technically proficient and quick to point
coach at some point in their career. out what is wrong, but less often able
to provide the value-adding practical
One reason for this shift in emphasis advice and support that managers need.
to coaching is that we have a better Modern organisations wanting to excel at
educated, more self-assured population. managing risk need more sophisticated
For example, nearly 40 per cent of young professionals, capable of collaborating
adults in the UK now receive higher with managers and supporting them to
education. An automatic respect for find their own best solutions.
hierarchy has steadily diminished over the
last hundred years: rather than expecting
people to obey orders because they
appear to know more, are paid more, are
older or more senior, the authority that
matters now is moral authority.
03
What is coaching?
04
Behaviour change: what works? When we tell ourselves what to do, it
Coaching for safety and health is is very different: we believe what we
effectively about supporting people to hear ourselves say, we feel energised,
make better decisions. How do you help confident and take ownership. The
managers to find the best solutions to research which has uncovered these
safety and health problems that they can intrinsic human responses is the
buy into and manage? How do you: foundation of why coaching works as a
- persuade those at the top to lead long-term solution to behaviour change.
actively on safety and health?
- encourage all workers to report risks? The coaching occupational
- ensure the completion of risk
assessments? safety and health practitioner
- promote the safe handling of Providing the appropriate advice to
hazardous substances? ensure that an organisation complies
with legislation is at the foundation of
We should therefore be asking, What the role of an occupational safety and
approach really changes behaviour? health professional. However, the manner
by which this is achieved (the directive
Advances in neuro-psychology, along disabler) may have contributed to the
with 60 years of research into human negative perceptions of safety and health
motivation, demonstrate that just telling in business, governments and some
people what to do and giving them straight sections of the media.
advice do not work and probably never
have. Research shows that when doctors Coaching is powerful but, of course, it
give much-needed lifestyle advice, fewer is far from the only style of intervention
than 10 per cent of patients act on it.7 with which the occupational safety and
health professional needs to be effective.
Its practice will contribute to positioning
Why being told what occupational safety and health as a central
to do does not work management function and contribute to
At best, being told creates apparent the organisations success and reputation.
compliance. It does not create the Coaching is one of many skills a good
commitment and ownership that lead occupational safety and health professional
to permanent, positive behaviour should have. Which one you choose in
change. There is a spectrum of possible any given situation will depend on your
responses, from enthusiastic acceptance assessment of what is needed.
to compliance, disagreement, resistance
and rebellion.
05
The skills of an effective coach
We will consider the skills of an effective or finishing your sentences for you. It is
coach: about the listener rather than the speaker.
- building rapport Instead, active listening is inquiring into
- effective listening the message and the speakers feelings
- asking powerful questions around it.
- silence
- summarising You cannot coach until you are able
- blending support with challenge to give your full attention to the other
- giving feedback person: hearing, really hearing, what they
- giving advice and information. are saying. The reason this is challenging
to do is that so many of our non-listening
habits get in the way, among them:
Rapport - believing you already know the answer
Building and maintaining rapport within
you have heard the same story many
a coaching relationship is essential it is
times so you assume that this situation
not simply showing empathy (the ability
is just like the ones you have dealt with
to understand and share feelings). It is
previously
ensuring that there is a close relationship,
- wanting to reform the other person:
within which people can understand each
seeing it as your duty to educate and
other and communicate well together.
to put them right, wanting to rescue
Behaviours that can help build rapport
- having pet theories that you enjoy
include:
explaining
- being completely honest - wanting to talk about your own
- being respectful of the coachees experience
thoughts and feelings
- shouldering too much of the
- withholding personal judgement responsibility for the outcome
- displaying genuine interest. - being preoccupied by your own
worries; being in a hurry; being
Listening distracted
Listening is the foundation skill of - being unaware of any of the above.
coaching. Active or genuine listening is a
skill that can be acquired and developed In coaching, listening is critical the
with practice. It is hard work. Mostly gateway through which all coaching
what we experience is pretend-listening, passes, according to the authors of Co-
characterised by meaningless phrases active Coaching. The authors describe
such as I hear what you say or the other three levels of listening.
person nodding while they get their
own statement ready, interrupting you
06
Level 1 listening is the sort of Level 3 listening is being intently focused
commonplace, everyday listening we on what is being communicated, both
all experience when were distracted verbally and non-verbally through body
by our own agenda. Were concerned language, gestures, expressions, metaphors
about whether whats being said is and emotions. A coach listening at level 3 is
to our advantage or might ultimately paying attention with all of their senses and
disadvantage us. Often were focused is responsive to their intuition and feelings.
more on our reply than on whats being
said and sometimes our eagerness Coaches believe that gestures, expressions
to speak becomes too much and we and metaphors are a window into a
interrupt or simply speak over others. A coachees thoughts that can provide a
coach listening at level 1 is preoccupied glimpse of ideas that havent yet been fully
with their own thoughts and judgments, formulated or communicated verbally. By
and prone to direct the conversation intervening to make the coachee aware
according to their own needs. of the gesture, expression or metaphor,
the coach hopes to reveal these ideas
Level 2 listening is the sort of focused, and thoughts to the coachee with a
attentive listening which occurs when view to a deeper level of reflection. Such
the inner voice is silenced. When we are interventions can be illuminating moments.
involved in a deep conversation, every
word counts and we are aware of the
effect that words have. A coach listening
at level 2 is actively listening and following
the coachees lead. Coaches describe the
close nature of this deep conversation in
which they become immersed as dancing
in the moment.
07
Illustration
A coachee was explaining how their had done so three times in a little over
team was being let down continually by a minute. The coachee was surprised:
a colleague. The colleague, who worked they been completely unaware. After
for a different department, was required a period of reflection the coachee
periodically to join the team and provide revealed that the team was extremely
a service which, time and time again, close and tightly-knit and perhaps the
they failed to provide to the required team really hadnt done all it could do
standard. to accommodate the colleague and
make their task as easy as possible. The
The coach noticed that every time the conversation had turned on the coachs
coachee mentioned the team, they intervention and the coachee went away
drew tiny circles with a finger in the from the coaching session committed to
palm of their cupped hand. The coach doing more to help the colleague.
mentioned to the coachee that they
08
On the face of it this is a reasonable This may be a well-intentioned
question. The questioner wants to know question but it will most probably drive
how much the other person already the respondent into a long-winded
knows. However, the question encourages justification. They feel attacked, so they
the answer yes and may quickly close have stopped listening. Another frequent
down discussion (a closed question). This answer to questions that begin Why? is
is because the question comes from the I dont know. When someone says I dont
questioners agenda. know, take it as read that you have asked
the wrong question. It would be much
A coaching version of the same question better to say:
might be: - How do you think you could best
- What do you think are the hazards protect your team from electrical
associated with storing this chemical? hazards inside this silo? or
or - Tell me about the safety of entering
- How would you store this chemical this silo.
safely?
Watch out for double questions or
These questions cannot be answered yes questions that are too long. The best
or no. They are more likely to encourage coaching questions are short from four
the honest response which could lead to a to 12 words and they will typically begin
productive discussion. What? or How?
09
addition of any interpretation of your own. Blending support
Useful phrases here are: with challenge
- So may I just summarise what your It is a misunderstanding to assume that
views are here?
coaching is just about being supportive.
- In essence what Im hearing you say is
In practice, coaching blends high support
that
with high challenge (see Figure 1). If all you
- Im losing the thread here, so can I try
do is support, you may be encouraging
a summary of what youve just said?
complacency. If all you do is challenge, you
will meet resistance. If the conversation
It is always possible that your summary
has neither challenge nor support then it
has not been accurate, but in any case it is
becomes a meaningless chat.
good practice to check back:
- Thats what I think you said, but
have I got that right?
Often just by asking this question, you
will trigger more vital information about
the other persons views.
High
Low support High support
High challenge High challenge
Low High
Support
10
Feedback as a coaching which demarcate worker hearing-
technique protection zones
- A charity providing hot meals for
Giving feedback is one of the most
people in an improvised kitchen in
powerful ways in which a coach can
a church hall has volunteers serving
offer this blend of support and challenge.
food on wet floors with trailing
Feedback is not the same as criticism,
cables and no steriliser for washing
although the two words are often used as
plates and cutlery.
if they have the same meaning.
In these situations feedback will be
Criticism is generalised, harsh, attacks the
powerful. It gives you the chance to talk
person and is a one-way process, often
straightforwardly about what you see,
given as a way for the criticiser to unload
while leaving the other person with their
anger. As a way of changing behaviour,
dignity intact and thus reduce resistance to
research shows that it merely creates
change. Here is a failsafe way of offering it
resistance, along with determination to
in seven easy steps:
find better ways to avoid getting
1 Overcome your reluctance to do it: you
criticised again.
most probably have a duty of care, so
you must speak up.
Feedback is different: it is given for the
2 Ask permission: May I offer you some
benefit of the receiver. It is about specific
feedback? This may seem like a trivial
behaviour and invites comment from the
question but it is like a polite knock
receiver before making a mutual decision
on the door. Note that it is a closed
about what should happen next.
question, so it is most unlikely that the
other person will say no.
When might you need to offer coaching
3 Describe what you have observed,
feedback?
using phrases like I noticed, I saw,
There are many occasions when an
when I watched when I read, then
occupational safety and health practitioner
give a factual description, leaving out
might offer coaching-style feedback. For
any implied judgment or criticism or
example:
assumptions about the other persons
- Asbestos needs to be removed from motivation.
a building site. You realise that the
4 Describe the impact on you or on
report about its condition lacks
others in the scenario using phrases
essential detail
such as The impact on me was to be
- You work in a hospital and observe very worried about or As I watched, I
that in one team, standards are
felt uncomfortable
becoming lax over the use of
5 Ask for the other persons response.
personal protective equipment
For instance, say, This is what I saw and
such as eye protection and gloves,
this is why Im concerned, but whats
putting team members at risk of
your own view here?
blood-borne viruses
6 Summarise their views.
- A music events organiser is 7 Agree jointly what action to take next.
failing to provide clear notices
11
Giving advice and information: duty of care; the other person is not in a
in coaching style position to make their own decisions; you
are offering facts and not opinions; the
Coaching is associated with an approach
matter is complex and genuinely needs an
that is essentially non-directive, but there
expert view and giving advice is unlikely
are times when it is important to give
to create dependency or to humiliate.
information. These will include situations
When these conditions are satisfied you
where there are clear right or wrong
can use a coaching approach to giving
solutions to a problem and you have a
information.
12
Useful frameworks for
coaching conversations
6 Agreement
about action 1 Opening
and review pleasantries
to create
rapport
5 Discussion
of options 2 An inquiry
into what
the issue is
4 Exploration
of who and 3 Agreement
what is about the focus
involved the goal
13
As the coaching world has expanded, McKergow (2007),9 who endorse what
so has the number of useful models they call the solutions-focused approach,
and frameworks for having a coaching making extensive use of scaling questions
conversation. An experienced coach such as On a scale of 0 to 10, where 10
does not need a model or can make any is achieving your desired outcome and 0
model work, but when you are at the is the complete opposite, where do you
beginning of using a coaching approach, see yourself now? Theirs is an acronym
a framework is helpful. It reminds you that for Outcome, Scale, Know-How and
a coaching conversation typically goes Resources, Affirm and Action and Review.
through a number of recognisable stages.
A similar-sounding model, popular with
There are dozens of such frameworks, managers, has been developed by Karen
for instance CLEAR, developed by Peter Whittleworth and Andrew Gilbert,10 where
Hawkins (2012),8 which stands for OSCAR stands for Outcome, Situation,
Contracting, Listening, Exploring, Actions Choices and Consequences, Action and
and Review. There is the OSKAR model Review (2012).
developed by Paul Jackson and Mark
Goal
the goal for the conversation what is it you want to achieve?
Reality
the background whats going on here, who, what, where?
Options
what could take this forward? What is possible?
Wrap-up
(sometimes referred to as What will you do and When will you do it by?) the
agreement what are we committed to doing and when?
14
For the purposes of this guide we Reality
concentrate on the earliest and simplest This is the part of the conversation in
such model, GROW, often attributed to which the coach and coachee establish
Sir John Whitmore. what is going on. The coach wants the
coachee to reflect and explore, and it is
GROW is an acronym which describes the the coachs curiosity and questioning that
stages of a coaching conversation (see propels this exploration.
Figure 3). Each part of GROW has its own
set of useful questions. Remember that the objective for the coach
is not to solve the problem it is to work
Goal with the coachee to solve the problem.
Identifying the goal enables coach and Beware of spending too much time on
coachee to agree on what they are aiming this phase or of asking more and more
for in the conversation. Good goal-setting factually-based questions on subjects
questions are: already well known to the coachee. The
- Whats our aim for todays aim is not for you to understand it, as
conversation? it would be if you were the owner of
- What help do you need from me on the problem, but for the coachee to
this problem? understand it a very different emphasis.
- If this conversation went well, what
would have changed for you? Good questions at this phase of the
coaching conversation can be:
There will also be occasions when the - Who are the key stakeholders?
coach defines the goal. For example: - What will your contribution be?
the practitioner approaches a machine - What have you already tried?
operator who is not wearing hearing - What will happen if you do nothing?
protection in a noise hazard area and - What would an ideal solution look
names the goal by saying: like sound like and feel like?
- Im concerned that your hearing is - Whats standing in the way of that
being damaged by this noise and want happening?
to discuss how best to protect you. - On a scale of 1 to 10, where do you
think you are now in terms of reaching
The practitioner is concerned about work your goal?
being carried out at height and says to the - What makes you a 4, rather than a 1,
work supervisor: say? What do you have already?
- Im concerned by the risk here and
want to explore what we can do to
protect people better. Can we talk
about that?
15
Options Wrap-up (What? Will?)
The Reality part of the coaching Wrapping-up is about achieving a
conversation will normally have brought commitment from the coachee and
out the underlying problems, often agreeing which of the options they are
nothing to do with the facts and going to choose. Coaches often use the
everything to do with human emotion: technique of scaling to measure how
fear of failure or of being blamed, committed a coachee is to an option, and
inability to understand other peoples to try to gain additional commitment. For
perspectives, unwillingness to read up on example, a coach might say:
legal responsibilities and so on. So now - On a scale of one to ten, how happy
you can move to Options. Good questions do you feel about going to the Board
here are: to have this discussion?
- So what do you think might be
possible? If the coachee replied that they felt they
- What other ideas do you have? were at five out of ten, the coach might
- If we were to dream up some wild ask what would need to happen for it to
ideas, for instance if money or time become a nine. Another possible double-
were no object, what would you checking question here is:
suggest? - What might stop this from
- When youve met this kind of happening?
situation before, what did you do?
- What have you seen other people The simplicity of GROW lies in its power to
do? energise conversations. For many, it is the
- What are the pluses and minuses of only coaching model they ever learn and
each of these ideas? they are transformed by it.
- How practical are they?
- What might they cost in time, skill,
effort and money?
- Which one do you think is worth
taking forward?
16
Illustration
The topic on the coachees mind was - What are you going to approach
linked to mental health first aid ie, them with how do you see this
the support provided to a person who working?
is developing a mental health problem - What are they likely to want to
or in a mental health crisis. The first know?
aid is given until appropriate treatment - What might make or break the deal
is received from a mental health for them?
professional or until the crisis resolves. - How would they like to be
The coachee had recently become approached?
qualified in this area and wanted to - What approach might be most
introduce mental health first aiders into effective?
their organisation. They had developed - In what order do things need to be
some ideas but didnt really know how done?
to take the initiative forward.
Each question led to other questions
After several minutes of exploration by in turn so there was an ever-present
the coach, the coachee said that they risk of being sidetracked but the
wanted to have some clear ideas for coach kept the goal in mind and
how to approach management with thereby supported the coachee in their
their initiative. exploration of the problem. At the end
of the conversation, the coachee knew
For the remainder of the conversation what they didnt know and needed to
the coach kept to the coachees agenda find out, what they needed to do and
by asking questions such as: in what order. They now indeed had
- In the context of what were some clear ideas for how to approach
discussing, who is management? management with their initiative.
- Who are the key decision-makers
and stakeholders?
17
Becoming a safety and health coach
making the choice
What type of practitioner are you, and whats your safety style?
Would your colleagues say that you... Yes Maybe No
encourage and support them?
listen carefully and in depth?
use frequent summarising to check on their
understanding?
demonstrate that you understand their situation and
appreciate the constraints that influence their choices?
question them and help them explore options and find
solutions?
help their personal understanding and development?
acknowledge and praise their successes?
are a valuable member of the team?
Totals
For many occupational safety and For some practitioners, however compelling
health practitioners, choosing to adopt the reasons to change may seem and
a coaching style is a relatively easy step however great their desire, adopting a
to take. You may attend a course or, by coaching approach is more complicated.
self-study, learn the basic principles and The habits a practitioner develops through
techniques. Through practice you can experience can be ingrained and difficult
become increasingly competent, and by to change, and more extensive support
using trial and error plus reflection you is required than simply learning the
may develop your own coaching model theory, putting it into practice and then
an approach that suits your personal style. steadily achieving the required coaching
competences.
18
If most of your responses on this impossible. One of the biggest single
questionnaire were Yes, then you are challenges for any coach, whether an
already a coach, even though perhaps not executive coach, a life coach or a safety
consciously, and probably without that role coach, is to set aside ego and to let go of
description. If most of the responses were the need to be right.
No, is that because your organisation has
an outdated internal culture, or because Be assured that becoming a coach
youve not personally kept pace as it has brings new depth and satisfaction to the
evolved to a more supportive style? occupational safety and health practitioner
role. Once you have tried it, it is unlikely
The most difficult aspect of the transition that you will ever look back.
to a coaching style is about willingness
to let go of the responsibility for solving You can take your first steps by introducing
all the organisations safety and health the GROW model of coaching into your
problems. The wish to do this comes from everyday interactions with colleagues.
conscientiousness and is laudable but
19
More information
20
This document is printed on chlorine-free paper produced from managed, sustained forests.
IOSH is the Chartered body for health and safety
professionals. With more than 46,000 members in
120 countries, were the worlds largest professional
health and safety organisation.
IOSH
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Institution of Occupational
Safety and Health
Founded 1945
Incorporated by
Royal Charter 2003
Registered charity in England and Wales No. 1096790
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