I remember a story about a leader who once said, “If our folks cannot figure out how to use a handrail while transiting a stairwell they aren’t smart enough to work here.”  And while this statement may seem a little harsh, it does have some merit to it.  It is clear that safety is an attitude and approach to work not just in the work place but in everything that you do.  And if you have to be told and constantly reminded to use the handrails on stairs, what is the likelihood that you are going to be using good judgement when you are doing a different task?  Are you going to magically follow the rules and the procedure at that point in time?  Likely not.  It is a common understanding that how you approach and do the small things is how you do the large things… or more colloquially, a leopard doesn't change it spots.

For the leader above, the handrail / stair scenario was a bit of a test, like a job interview.  She was watching how people approach the little things throughout their day to understand their character a little more and assess how they would approach the larger, more complex tasks.  In the spirit of how we “play” is in direct proportion to how we “practice” the stairwell test provides insight on the work needed to prepare our team to take on bigger and more complicated tasks and to do them safely.