Safety Leadership Training: Calgary Stampede Case Study
Updated: 5 days ago
When organizations look for safety leadership training, they are often trying to solve a deeper problem than compliance alone. They want leaders to take safety seriously, communicate expectations clearly, and make better decisions in day-to-day operations.
That was the challenge behind our work with the Calgary Stampede.
We began working with the Calgary Stampede in 2024 to support a workplace safety training initiative focused on leadership. Since then, our partnership has continued through additional projects in 2025 and 2026. What started as a focused engagement became an ongoing client relationship built around practical learning solutions, strong collaboration, and training designed for real workplace use.
This project is a strong example of how custom corporate training and instructional design services can help organizations improve safety performance by developing leaders, not just delivering information.
Why safety leadership training matters
In many organizations, workplace safety training focuses heavily on policies, procedures, and compliance requirements. Those elements matter, but they are not always enough to change behaviour.
Leaders play a critical role in shaping workplace safety culture. They set expectations, respond to issues, reinforce standards, and influence how seriously safety is taken across teams. If leaders are unclear about their role in safety, or if training does not help them apply that role in practice, safety performance can suffer.
That was part of the opportunity at the Calgary Stampede.
The organization operates in a fast-paced hospitality and tourism environment and hosts one of Canada’s most recognized events, welcoming more than one million visitors each year. In a setting like that, safety leadership needs to be clear, practical, and consistent across teams. The goal was not simply to provide more content. The goal was to support stronger leadership behaviour in the workplace.
The challenge: moving beyond compliance training
When we partnered with the Calgary Stampede’s employee services team in 2024, they were looking for a better way to prepare employee leaders to take ownership of safety within their teams.
They already had internal workshops in place, but those sessions were not producing the level of behaviour change and leadership accountability they wanted. The issue was not effort. The issue was impact.
This is a common problem in corporate learning and development.
A workshop can be well-intentioned and still fall short if it does not connect to real job situations. Training can be informative without being useful. And when that happens, employees may leave with awareness but not with the confidence or judgement they need to act differently on the job.
That is why custom training development matters. Good learning design does not begin with content. It begins with performance.
Our approach to custom workplace safety training
Our role was to design a tailored, multi-session safety leadership training experience that would help leaders engage with safety in a more practical and meaningful way.
The focus was on application. We wanted the learning experience to reflect the Calgary Stampede’s actual work environment, support internal delivery, and help leaders think through situations they could realistically face.
To support those goals, we developed a full set of custom learning materials, including:
scenario-based workshops built around realistic workplace situations
branded PowerPoint decks aligned with the organization’s internal style
facilitator guides to support consistent internal delivery
participant handouts to support workplace conversations about safety
These materials were not designed as stand-alone deliverables. They were designed to work together as a complete learning solution.
This is where instructional design services add value. A slide deck on its own does not create change. A facilitator guide on its own does not guarantee consistency. A handout on its own does not improve leadership behaviour. But when each piece is intentionally designed to support practice, reflection, discussion, and follow-through, the training becomes much more effective.
Why scenario-based training works
One of the most important parts of this project was the use of scenario-based training.
Rather than relying only on abstract concepts, we built learning activities around realistic examples that reflected the Calgary Stampede’s context. This helped leaders move beyond passive understanding and into active decision-making.
Scenario-based training is especially effective in leadership and safety development because it allows learners to rehearse judgement. It gives them a chance to think through how they would respond, what they would say, and what leadership looks like in practice.
In workplace safety, that matters. Leaders are often expected to respond in the moment. Training that mirrors those moments is more likely to transfer back to the job.
Building a scalable internal training solution
Another important element of this project was sustainability.
The training materials were designed to be owned and delivered by the Calgary Stampede’s internal facilitators. That gave the organization a scalable training solution they could continue using over time rather than relying on an outside provider to deliver every session.
This is an important consideration for many clients.
A training program may be helpful in the short term, but if it cannot be sustained internally, its long-term value is limited. Designing for internal ownership helps organizations build capacity, improve consistency, and get more return from their investment in custom corporate training.
It also supports a stronger internal learning culture. When teams have materials they can use, adapt, and deliver confidently, training becomes part of the organization’s capability rather than a one-time event.
Results: stronger understanding of safety leadership
The impact of this work was already visible in the client feedback.
According to Bob McCullagh, Director of Employee Safety:
We are already seeing changes in our Leaders. They have a much better understanding of their role as safety leaders. Our safety performance is already improving.
That kind of response is significant because it points to real movement in workplace practice. It suggests that the learning experience helped leaders see their responsibilities differently and begin acting on them.
That is the outcome we aim for in leadership development training. The goal is not just to help people complete training. The goal is to help them lead more effectively in the real world.
What this case study says about effective instructional design
This project reflects a broader truth about workplace learning. The most effective training is built around a specific audience, a real operational context, and a clear performance goal.
In this case, that meant designing workplace safety training that focused on leadership behaviour, practical decision-making, and long-term usability. It meant creating materials that felt relevant to the organization and useful to the people delivering and participating in the training.
It also meant building a client relationship that extended beyond one project.
Our work with the Calgary Stampede began in 2024 and continued across 2025 and 2026. That kind of ongoing partnership usually happens when learning solutions are not only well designed, but genuinely helpful. When organizations see value in the work, they continue to invest in it.
Looking for custom safety leadership training?
If your organization needs safety leadership training, custom workplace safety training, or broader instructional design services, the Calgary Stampede case study shows what is possible when learning is designed for real performance.
Strong training does more than share information. It helps leaders build judgement, communicate more effectively, and support the kind of workplace culture organizations want to create.
That is the kind of work we do.
We design custom learning experiences that are practical, branded to your organization, and built to support measurable workplace performance over time. Click on the button below to set up a free discovery call.
