Safety Conversations Kia ora,
In looking through the submissions on this forum there are a lot of great ideas and thoughts being practiced and coming through.
I like "evaporative behaviour" reference as it demonstrates how the observer changes the conditions of the workplace, and becomes part of the process, changing the process.
My experiences with observations have led to some interesting findings, here are some brief ones before I run off to a meeting:
Senior leaders are outside of their comfort zone when out in the operation (in most cases)
Team them up with an HSR or someone from the operation who can act as a guide and liaison, facilitating introductions, of staff to leader.
The HSR may have a particular problem that a senior leader could fix, which they could guide them too or,
The senior leader may want to look observe a specific practice/risk.
The best observations involve a leader simply asking:
"How is everything going today?"
"I'm doing an observation and would be interested in what you are doing, could you talk me through the process"
"I noticed this/that and I am curious as to why this/that is occurring/happening/in this particular location."
Ran out of time, but the list could be very lengthy.
I hope this is helpful.