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Safety Coaching and Mentoring

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Safety Mentoring / Coaching

 

Mentoring

Having a mentor is often of great assistance to progress in your chosen field. Both mentee and mentor can learn significantly from the process.

The following are tips to get the most out of the mentoring process-

1 Learn how to accept and give feedback, ask for regular feedback

2 Share your thoughts and feelings

3 Maintain sensitivity about mentee’s personal and learning needs

4 Reflect on learning frequently, both parties maintain a reflective journal

5 Define and focus on mentee’s goals

6 Set a regular contact schedule but be flexible

7 Check frequently on the effectiveness of communications

8 Share information and resources

9 Have a definite conclusion to the process

10 Celebrate success

11 Continually work on evaluating the relationship

12 Brainstorm the list of learning opportunities when you start

13 Define purpose and objectives when you start. In some cases carrying out a force-field analysis may be beneficial in the early stages.

14 In some cases a self and others rating of the mentee’s competencies may be beneficial initially (Refer to “Resumes” on www.ohschange.com.au for a list of possible competencies)

Coaching

“A good coach will make his people see what they can be, rather than what they are”

Being a good coach-

  1. Build rapport
  2. Listen a lot
  3. Ask open questions
  4. Build confidence
  5. Give praise
  6. Be blame free
  7. Realise people are never failures
  8. Listen more than you speak
  9. Try to build trust
  10. Schedule time
  11. Be open yourself
  12. Always support others
  13. Learn from mistakes
  14. Smile a lot
  15. Respect people
  16. Encourage life-long learning
  17. Boost everyone’s interpersonal skills
  18. Be a life-long learner
  19. Ask for regular feedback
  20. Celebrate success

Note

An important point about being a mentor or coach is that it is not your role to provide solutions, rather your role is to get others to explore their options.

George Robotham

George Robotham

George was a Legend in the Safety World who passed away in Sept 2013 but left us with a great legacy
George Robotham

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George Robotham
I have worked in OHS for most of my working life, many years in the mining industry including over 10 years in a corporate OHS role with BHP. Since leaving the mining industry I have worked in a variety of safety roles with a variety of employers, large & small, in a variety of industries. I was associated with my first workplace fatality at age 21, the girl involved was young, intelligent, vivacious and friendly. Such a waste! I was the first on the scene and tried to comfort her and tend to her injuries. She said to me “George, please do not let me die” We put her on the aerial ambulance to Rockhampton base hospital where she died the next day. I do not mind telling you that knocked me around for awhile. Since then I have helped my employers cope with the aftermath of 12 fatalities and 2 other life-altering events. The section "Why do Occupational Health & Safety" provides further detail but in summary, poor safety is simply very expensive and also has a massive humanitarian cost. My qualifications include a certificate I.V. in Workplace Training and Assessment, a Diploma in Frontline Management, a Diploma in Training & Assessment Systems, a Bachelor of Education (Adult & Workplace Education) , a Grad. Cert. in Management of Organisational Change and a Graduate Diploma in Occupational Hazard Management. I am currently studying towards a Masters in Business Leadership. Up until recently I had been a Chartered Fellow of the Safety Institute of Australia for 10 years and a member for about 30 years. My interest is in non-traditional methods of driving organisational change in OHS and I have what I believe is a healthy dis-respect for many common approaches to OHS Management and OHS Training. I hold what I believe is a well-founded perception that many of the things safety people and management do in safety are “displacement activities” (Displacement activities are things we do, things we put a lot of energy into, but which when we examine them closely there is no valid reason for doing them). My managerial and leadership roles in OHS have exposed me to a range of management techniques that are relevant to Business Improvement. In particular I am a strong supporter of continuous improvement and quality management approaches to business. I believe leadership is the often forgotten key to excellence in most aspects of life. I hold the Australian Defence Medal and am a J.P.(Qualified). I have many fond memories of my time playing Rugby Union when I was a young bloke.

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