Last year, my life took a big turn. Into our once quiet house came a puppy with boundless energy!
As cute as could be, Murphy stole my heart the first time I saw his picture. Through the years, we’ve had cats, fish, and even frogs. But never a dog. I wanted to start with a puppy so we could watch him learn and grow. After all, teaching him right habits from the start seemed like the best option. And teaching tricks would be fun. How hard could the training really be? (All of you experienced dog owners can stop laughing now!)
Over the past nine months, I have learned a lot about what it takes to raise and train a puppy. I’ll admit, it’s a lot more work than I imagined. Surprisingly, some of the lessons have reminded me of some leadership best practices. Good leaders of teams have these skills. They use them to lead, direct and motivate their team.
Be consistent. It’s fun to teach a puppy tricks. Sit. Down. Shake. Roll over. So many more. It’s a lot of fun. And a lot of work. But puppies don’t learn the trick the first time. Or the second. We have to work on it with consistent expectations, corrections and training.
Leadership involves consistency as well. Consistently showing up and working with your team. Consistently giving them praise for a job well done. Consistently giving them constructive feedback when things don’t meet expectations. And consistently helping them reach their dreams.
Being consistent is an important part of a leader’s success. If you are erratic in your actions or directions, your team won’t have a clear picture of what you expect of them.
Invest quality time. In training Murphy, we had to make time for training every day. In the morning. On walks. When going outside. After dinner. We constantly invest time to train. If you want to see results when you train a puppy, you must spend focused, quality time practicing.
Good leaders spend plenty of quality time with their team. They dedicate time to training, too. And one-on-one meetings. Team meetings. Good leaders ask what’s working and what’s not. They take time to explore new ideas with their team.
You are an invaluable resource to your team, and they need your attention to make them even more productive team members.
Listen. A big part of training is “listening” to your dog to understand how he’s doing. You may notice your dog struggle while first trying to learn something. Or when he’s scared, he may flatten his ears or hide. He has an excited look and greeting when you come in the door at the end of the day. As your dog gains skill and confidence, you can tell by the look in his eyes, his walk, and his perked-up ears. Nonverbal skills are how a puppy communicates. Paying attention to the signs your puppy gives you lets you know how he’s doing.
Learning something new can be a challenge for a puppy, and it can be for humans too. Your team can tell you how they’re doing in a conversation. It is important to listen to your team and have a conversation with them to understand how things are going. You may see some hesitancy from your team on new tasks, or an air of confidence once they start to hit their stride.
A good leader listens to her team and gives feedback and encouragement along the way.
Allow time for play. Puppies love to play. And they need that time to play. It helps fend off boredom and gives them mental stimulation. It reenergizes them. That means they will be better able to focus when you’re telling them to do something.
As a leader, giving your team time to play is also essential. Your team members needs those vacation, mental health and personal days for much needed breaks. A good leader will encourage their team to take some R&R, especially when the team has been working extra hours or has been focusing on a big project.
It’s not just a reward. Having time to play is a necessity to be a productive, contributing team member.
How’s my puppy doing now? At almost a year old, Murphy is still learning.
Shake. Sit. Down. He knows the easy ones and does them. Well, most of the time.
Stay. Quiet. No jumping. We continue to work on some of the tougher ones.
Along the way, our training continues to remind me of another leadership basic: Patience.
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