Flippant answers must stop immediately. Dismissing concerns as unimportant, disengages people from the job and safety.
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
You listen to others with the purpose of delivering a response - not understanding - especially in the workplace. Safety managers, supervisors, and foremen, this is crucial information that you need to know. You must understand how people listen otherwise safety communication can go off the rails. People don’t listen to understand how they can do the job better and safer. They listen to defend themselves, explain their actions or to blame something else.
People do not listen to understand. If they did, there would be no need to re-hash the same things over again in safety meetings. If people listened to understand, you would only need to say it once.
You Are Conditioning People To Respond - Not Understand
But, you are not conditioning your people to understand. You don't offer pens and paper in safety meetings. You don't ask attendees to take notes. You only ask them to sit through your meetings. Their thoughts, during disengaging safety meetings, are on work they need to do when the meeting is over. They are thinking about what they are going to do this weekend or the smoke they want to have.
In one-on-one conversations, listening to respond is even greater. Few people listen to instruction or performance appraisal without feeling the need to respond. People offer excuses to justify their actions. They respond. Their need to be right is greater than their need to understand.
Safety Personnel Do This Too
Safety managers and supervisors are no different. Attempt to offer them some advice and they will shut down the need to understand and instead, will prepare to respond.
While you are preparing a response, you are not fully present in the conversation. You can’t be. It’s impossible to both prepare your articulate response and listen to understand. You can only do one or the other - each for split-seconds at a time.
But, What If ...
But what if you already had your response prepared before the conversation started? Do you think you would be able to better understand the communication intent?
A thought-out response reduces adversarial communication on the job. How can it be adversarial when you’re listening? Employees become more engaged and more trusting of you when you seem to care and listen. They would be more inclined to open dialog with you. More dialog means more understanding. More understanding means better communication. Better communication leads to increased performance in safety.
So, what is the response that changes everything? Here it is:
“I appreciate your comment (question/concern/critique). Let me take that under advisement (think about it/mull it over). I will get back to you with a proper response by Friday at noon (appropriate date and time).”
Why does this work? Well, let’s break down the response into 3 parts:
1First, appreciate the comment. Some of the hardest work people will do on a job-site is to ask a question or make a comment in front of their peers. Don’t make them wrong for speaking up. Don’t shut them down with your response before they can make their point. Let them speak. Appreciate the courage it may have taken for them to say something.
2Second, take their comment under advisement. When you do, it means that you listened to understand, not to respond. You don't shut them down. You consider their point of view. Then, before you respond, run your response through a filter. This ensures that you don’t say too much or too little. In your response, encourage them to ask more questions. It builds engagement in the safety program. Congratulate them for their point - even if their first conversation didn’t work out for them.
3Third, you give yourself time to get the right answer. Give yourself a reasonable time-frame to consider their question or comment. You want to respond in a timely way (next day at the latest). But if you have to do some research or run an idea up the chain of command, then you give yourself a few days to reach the right people. But, don’t delay in getting a timely answer and do not allow the comment to die without a response. This reflects badly on you and the company.
Flippant answers must stop immediately. Dismissing concerns as unimportant, disengages people. Encourage more questions and comments. When people ask questions, they are engaging. They are taking ownership of the safety program. They are beginning to buy-in. And you, are building safety engagement while improving your reputation as a safety leader.
Kevin Burns is a management consultant, safety speaker and author of "The Perfect Safety Meeting." He delivers engaging and entertaining keynote safety presentations for everyone: from front-line staff to senior management. He helps people see the light when it comes to buying-in to the safety program. Click "Get Kevin" to start a conversation about your next safety meeting.
