Professional Dog Walkers: Are they the most underrated managers?
A little snapshot into my life. My girlfriend and I are huge dog lovers! Up until a few months ago, we had two dogs, and recently, we added a third to our crew, to round it out. Two are 3 years old, and the other, a 4-month old rescue.
(From left to right: Bauer, Reine, Maverick)
What I didn’t really think about when getting a third, would be the walking situation we would be putting ourselves in, when either myself or my girlfriend couldn’t make the walk. Together, it’s no problem. For my girlfriend, it’s no problem. But for me, it’s a very different story.
Walks generally start smooth, then transition downwards quickly, resulting in tangled leashes, dogs off in different directions, and complete chaos. Whenever I discuss the issues I have, with my girlfriend, she never seems to have the same troubles. I realized quickly, the issue isn’t the dogs, but the person managing them. Me.
This led me to do a bit of a deeper dive into how professional dog walkers can walk packs of dogs with ease and control, while I struggle with 3. What I came to quickly realize, is that professional dog walkers are one of the most underrated managers out there. Hear me out.
At the most basic level, humans and dogs are very similar. We both yearn for connection, compassion, and to be praised when we do something well. And so, this got me thinking. What can leaders of people learn from leaders of dogs?
To be a successful dog walker, there’s a process that must ensue. And just like a leader of dogs, when leading people, there is a process needed before the people you lead can really reach their full potential.
Step 1: Give 1:1 Attention
The first step for dog walkers to begin pack walking is to first interact with the dog, 1:1. This allows for the walker to understand the needs, satisfactions, and quirks of the dog.
The same holds true for leaders. Whether it be the hiring of a new employee, or coaching a player in sport, to be able to allow the person to reach their full potential, you must interact with them 1:1, to get to know them as a person. Who they are, what their story is, and what their goals are. This will allow the employee or player to feel comfortable and valuable, from the start.
This seems like a no-brainer. But getting to truly know your employee or player oftentimes falls to the wayside because of the countless other tasks needed to be done by leaders. Your people are your greatest asset, and your most important job is to help them reach their full potential. Prioritize them.
Step 2: Begin the Pack Integration
The next step for the dog walker is then to ensure the introduction of individual dogs to the pack goes smoothly. And yes, this is the role of the leader, and negative introductions is the result of the leader, not the dog.
As a leader, we need to ensure that the comfort level our employee or player initially feels from dealing with us, must also continue as they enter the new, and very different environment of the group.
Step 3: Have and Use the Right Equipment
For walkers, this is crucial. Making sure that they have the correct leashes, collars, and harnesses that allow for the greatest chance at success is needed if they have any hope of a successful walk. It is a known thing that with the right equipment, walks could still fail due to outside distractions. But without the right equipment, all walks will fail, regardless.
For leaders, the right equipment doesn’t really make sense. But what does make sense, is having the right tools. As a leader, you need to ask yourself, “Am I fully equipped to manage all the people I am leading?”. If the question is yes, you are giving yourself a chance to succeed. If the answer is no, you need to acquire the tools needed to be able to lead your people. You owe it to your employees or players.
Step 4: Have Treats Handy
The last step for a dog walker to succeed at walking multiple dogs, is to carry treats, and a lot of them.
During walks, a lot can happen. Dogs can be fixated on scents, people, other dogs, leaves, or a number of other distractions. Having treats allows dogs to be reminded what the shared goal of the walk is, and positively reinforced when they take actions that align with that goal.
As leaders, we don’t have treats to give. And quite frankly, bringing in donuts every Friday, or offering performance bonuses is a complete miss in my opinion. These are not the motivations I am talking about. Instead, I’m talking about the motivations your employees or players really want. And unfortunately, I don’t have the answer to what that is. No one does. Because it is different for each person.
As a leader, we need to find what motivates each person. Is it self pride? Is it the pride in doing well because their family sacrificed so much for them to be there? There is no cookie cutter answer, and to me, that is the beautiful thing.
Being in leadership, we get to learn the unique circumstances that allow the people we lead to reach their potential. And it is our job as leaders to know the motivation of each employee or player, and tie it in to our goal as an organization, so we can create a shared goal. And once we are able to do this, together, we can reach new heights, by Gettin’ Over the Hump.
Think you know someone who wants to Get Over the Hump?
Want to join the climb?