One of the many things I used to enjoy about the cooler nights was having the luxury of time to take much longer and more leisurely walks with our little dog, Elsie, who passed away about three years ago.
Elsie was a mutt — a mix between a dachshund and a terrier. She was such a cutie who was so much fun and a great little character. My wife had even trained Elsie to ring a bell that hung at the back patio door when she needed to “do her business.”
Just the other evening, I was reminiscing about walking Elsie around our neighborhood. As I commonly did, I didn’t keep her on her leash. Thankfully, I was never reported to the homeowner’s association as I found that when walking our block, Elsie would stick right with me. If I walked, she walked. If I stopped, she stopped. If I stopped to say hello and chat with a fellow dog-walker, Elsie would do the same. I led, and she followed.
My wife and I often observed that aggressive and unfriendly dogs seemed to have aggressive and unfriendly owners. Conversely, well-mannered dogs seemed to have friendly owners. We also noticed that owners who spoke negatively of their dogs seemed to have negative and nasty dogs.
Our neighbors were always astounded when we told them Elsie had never been to any form of obedience training. We simply walked her often, fed her well (never too much or too little), loved on her a lot, and ensured she got a good night’s sleep in her own crate downstairs.
This all got me thinking about the workplace and the vitally important role leaders have. I wonder whether workplaces would be much better “neighborhoods” if all leaders were worth following. Elsie was obedient to us because she trusted us. We very rarely hear the word “obedience” in today’s workplace as it sounds so dictatorial and dominant, and it doesn’t appeal to our self-directed compass.
However, I am sure we can agree we’re more likely to do what we need to do if we’re working with a leader we trust. We will follow their lead. We’re more open to their direction.
Early on in my career, I worked for a leader named Mr. Bould — he was a retired captain of the British Army and served as our managing director. His name suited him well; he was bold and forthright. He knew what he needed from me. He rarely asked my opinion, but when he did, he listened well and spoke very few words.
Mr. Bould gave clear and decisive instructions as if he were leading us into battle. He was a gentleman, and I always knew where I stood with him. He was consistent and insisted that we enjoy family time together, never disturbing me on my weekends or evenings. When my wife gave birth to our first child, Brodie, he was the only colleague who sent a beautiful basket of flowers and some household goodies for my wife.
I was obedient to his lead, and he got the best out of me. Interestingly, as I reflect back, I treated my direct reports, colleagues and vendors just as Mr. Bould treated me — respectfully, positively, clearly, decisively and always honorably, even when tough decisions had to be made.
There’s a reason we call dogs “man’s best friend.” We can learn so many things from a dog’s behavior, personality, demeanor, resiliency, and, most importantly, their willingness to provide their family members with unconditional love, loyalty and companionship down to their very last breath.
Organizations all over the world talk about “employee engagement” and spend a countless number of human resource hours worrying and strategizing on how to “win talent,” “retain talent,” or “minimize attrition” (when more employees are leaving than new ones are starting, leaving positions unfilled and teams understaffed).
If only we looked more toward the simple life lessons around us — for example, what I learned from Elsie and Mr. Bould — I’m confident we would have higher employee engagement and much friendlier neighborhoods.
Paul Butler is a Santa Clarita resident and a client partner with Newleaf Training and Development of Valencia (newleaftd.com). For questions or comments, email Butler at [email protected].
