If you ever want to witness moments of pure joy and exuberance, take a yellow lab to the beach! We are fortunate enough to live near the coast so we have the opportunity to take our dog, Kaci, to the beach every now and then. Actually she gets pretty excited when we reel out the garden hose too but she really loves the beach! On a recent trip I was witnessing her behavior and this got me thinking out loud that we should lead the same way – stay with me here!
First,
we should immerse ourselves
in every leadership opportunity we are given. Unlike how some other dog breeds
react to the water, labs do not hesitate and just jump in with all four feet!
We ought to take our two and act the same way. Our followers do not deserve
leadership that just tentatively puts our toes in the water, we need to jump in
the surf with the rest of them!
Second,
when our dog is at the beach, she is investigating everything and when she gets
on a particular interesting scent, she becomes laser focused. In the same way,
leaders should become very curious
about what is happening. The purpose is not to micromanage but to demonstrate
to our team that we are interested in them and what they do. I have often heard
that from my own team members. They did not know what to think about this at
first, but they later shared that they never had a supervisor that was really
interested in them and what they were doing.
Of
course, leadership is relational
and a beach dog exemplifies this by meeting everyone! People, other dogs, seagulls,
you name it! Now this does not overly thrill the birds, but very few people can
resist a friendly dog. I believe that sometimes we are too restrained or
limited in our relationships. As leaders, we should be accessible to everyone
and not just those who can benefit us.
Finally,
we should lead from a place of joy.
Joy for where we are and what we are doing. I often say that attitude is a
social contagion and it will spread for better or worse.
Now I
am not an animal psychologists but I can tell by the way she strains at the
leash, my dog cannot wait to hit get on the beach. Her excitement and antics
lifts my spirits; thus we should be prepared to do the same for others.
So next
time you are at the park or shore or any other place where dogs gather, just take
a moment and watch them. I bet you will discover similar life lessons! Feel
free to share them with me if you get a chance.
If I can help you and
the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would
invite you to visit my website below and see if any of the training or coaching
experiences I offer can provide an impact! Also, as a bonus, if you go to my
Out Loud Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will send you a FREE
guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your organization! Such
an initiative would be critical in order to add value to your organization!
Yours in Leadership,
Bill Faulkner
Co-Founder – Out Loud
Strategies
Independent Coach,
Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team TM
Email = bill@outloudinc.com
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