It's fairly obvious that safety professionals can do their careers a whole lot of good by staying away from being typecast. But what's less apparent are the benefits you can reap by helping the members of your team avoid a similar fate.

Avoiding Typecasting Is a Team Effort

The best thing a leader can do to prevent typecasting is to avoid typecasting his or her own people. Show that you value diversity and see the potential of others on your team to assume new roles and challenges. "If you want others to take a risk on you, then you must demonstrate your willingness to take a risk on others," notes Connecticut-based workplace consultant Ruth Sherman.

The first step is to take the time to get to know each member on your team. Find out what they really care about and what motivates them. You can bet that your team members will welcome such communication. "They want you to talk to them. They long for it," says Sherman. Off-site meetings, including group meals, can also be effective, since there are fewer work-related interruptions in such settings. Engage in team-building exercises.

Safety professionals also need to take a closer look at their hiring practices. Make a conscious effort to be more open to alternative solutions the next time you write a job description or look at résumés. Conversely, make sure you're not trying to force-fit a square peg into a round hole.

Conclusion

Ronald Reagan.

Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Al Gore.

Ron Howard.

What do these four individuals have in common? Answer: They all broke out of a typecast role and succeeded dramatically in a new endeavor. From politics to filmmaking, they proved that individuals have it within them to break free and achieve their potential and don't have to keep on doing the same thing over and over again.

Wishing you career success in whatever role you're in,
Lauryn Franzoni
ExecuNet, www.execunet.com

WORK SAFE 366 DAYS A YEAR!

A calendar worth chanting about

Four Fun Facts About February 29th

By Ted Morrison

[NOTE: Lauryn didn't write this piece. If you have comments on it, send them to tedm@bongarde.com.]

You know that a normal or "common" year in the Gregorian calendar has 365 days. And of course you know that years divisible by four, such as 1972, 1996, and 2000 are leap years. Century years are leap years only if they are divisible by 400: So 1600, 2000, and 2400 are; 1700, 1900 and 2100 are not.

We have leap years because the Gregorian calendar, introduced by Pope Gregory in 1582, is a solar calendar, based on the time it takes our planet to circle the sun. The actual time it takes is 365.24 "-and-a-bit" days. So rather than fiddle about by ending each year precisely at 5:45-and-a-bit a.m., we add up those 0.24 years, and every fourth year we add a day.

But did you know:

1. That February 29 is traditionally a day when women ask men to marry? The tradition started in fifth century Ireland at the instigation of St. Patrick and was adopted in Scotland in 1288.

2. Some of the memorable health and safety events of February 29?

3. That there is a society for people born on Leap Day? The Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies strives to raise awareness of and celebrate people born on Leap Day. Some famous Leap Day babies include:

4. A Leap Year Cocktail was created on February 29, 1928 at the Savoy Hotel, London. It consists of:

Stir and strain into a cocktail glass, serve with lemon twist.

Oh, and in keeping with the spirit of the day, here's an extra fact:

This article is exactly 366 words long.

Happy Leap Year!

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