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The Importance of Interpersonal Skills in Safety Management

Jul 3, 2023

Entrepreneur Stephan Wiedner explores the teachability of interpersonal skills for safety professionals. He emphasizes breaking down empathy into practical skills, debunking the belief that these skills are inherent. The podcast highlights the importance of trust, persuasion, and approachability in safety management, focusing on improving psychological safety and dispelling misconceptions about developing interpersonal skills.

58:40

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Episode guests

Stephan Wiedner

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Interpersonal skills are crucial for safety professionals to build trust and effective communication.

Psychological safety fosters a culture where individuals feel valued and can voice concerns.

Reflective listening aids leaders in understanding underlying issues and improving problem-solving abilities.

Deep dives

Teaching Interpersonal Skills in Safety Leadership

Safety management relies on trust, persuasion, and approachability, essential core skills often lacking in safety programs. Entrepreneur Stephen Wiedner emphasizes that interpersonal skills are teachable, supported by his work facilitating coaching and his development of a platform for practicing such skills.

Intro

2min

Exploring the Significance of Interpersonal Skills in Counseling and Business

19min

The Significance of Deliberate Practice for Improving Interpersonal Skills

2min

Empathy and Reflection in Interpersonal Skills

9min

Importance of Interpersonal Skills in Safety Management

18min

Interpersonal Skills and Safety Management

5min

Exploring Resources and Closing Remarks on Interpersonal Skills

4min

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Stephan Wiedner, an entrepreneur on a mission to abolish apathy in the workplace. He’s the cofounder of Noomii.com, the web’s largest network of independent life coaches and Skillsetter.com, a platform similar to a flight simulator for practicing interpersonal skills.

Safety management relies on trust, persuasion, and approachability, yet EHS professionals may not have been taught these skills during their training. In fact, there’s a common conception these qualities are inherent and can’t be taught.

Stephan presents an upbeat and convincing case for why Safety professionals can - and should - develop their interpersonal skills.

He explains that the key to improving nebulous concepts, such as empathy, is to break them down into specific learnable practical skills.

Stephan teaches HSE professionals how this is done - with a strong emphasis on the importance of psychological safety - while dispelling ongoing misconceptions about interpersonal skills.

Find out more about the foundational academic research undertaken by Tim Anderson investigating the impact of interpersonal skills:

A prospective study of therapist facilitative interpersonal skills as a predictor of treatment outcome

The books recommended by Stephan:

Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise: Amazon.com: Ericsson, Anders, Pool, Robert

Stephan Wiedner on LinkedIn:

Stephan Wiedner | LinkedIn

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