Leadership for COVID-Safety

Managers may believe that they have nothing to do with preventing the possible spread of the virus in the workplace. They might feel uncomfortable to remind colleagues to follow the rules. These are serious dilemmas of managers these days.

Building on the basic knowledge participants acquire during the COVID-Safety Awareness course, this program is focusing on the leadership aspects of COVID-Safety.

During this program participants understand that the focus of the attention, the behaviour, and the attitude of leaders govern those around them. Leading by example and equipped with appropriate leadership tools, leaders can do a lot to prevent the damage cause by the virus both in the short and the long run.

In the first session of the course we focus on the challenges and responsibilities of leaders in COVID-Safety at the office. We discuss what and how to do to start building a Safety Culture at the workplace. How to be role models and lead by example for the colleagues and what are those manager-employee encounters – meetings, go & see walks, individual discussions – where they can raise the topic of safety comfortably.

During the highly practice-oriented second session we focus on the importance, types and structure of giving instant feedback in situations when we encounter a behavior that is against the safety norms, or in the contrary, when we see good examples that we want to strengthen. We also learn how to conduct a deeper discussion with someone, who is repeatedly violates the safety norms. We practice all situations in small group situational exercises.
And last but not least we examine the challenges and the appropriate leadership behaviours arising from the “workplace presence vs health status” matrix.

Course objectives

• understand the role and responsibility of leaders in COVID-19 safety
• learn and practice leadership skills and routines to build and strengthen a COVID-safe company culture.

Topics

• leadership focus – leadership responsibility
• safety and health awareness as an economic issue – effects of managerial behavior on business
• leadership tasks and responsibilities in building COVID-Safety
• culture at the workplace
• leading by example Spreading the word – when and how to talk about safety issues with colleagues
• handling rule-breakers via different types of feedaback
• the absence of a colleague – “workplace presence vs health status” matrix and the appropriate leadership behavior