Inspiring Management Tips
Learning takes time and can be scary, especially when you are supposed to know what you are doing!
When Grace and I entered our agility class last week, it immediately hit me that learning takes time, repetition, and patience. I was walking around the agility room in familiar territory, feeling good about that. Yet I was simultaneously starting to worry if Grace and I would do well – or would we falter? Would…
It’s sNOw April Fool’s Joke!
The weather forecasters prepared us for this. But Grace didn’t see it coming. The look on her face this morning as she exited the door was like: “Come on. You-have-got-to-be-kidding-me. Enough of this!” But like any good trooper, she persevered and made the best of it while we were out. She even had a little…
Going through a tunnel can lead to success
The jumps are so easy for Grace. She looks like a ballerina effortlessly springing over the hurdles. She knows it, too. She’ll leap over the bar whenever she even gets close to a jump, whether I say “Jump!” or not. It’s fun for her and she’s good at it. Returning to agility class last Friday…
Agility courses teach confidence, and other things I wasn’t expecting
After a winter hiatus, Grace and I are returning to agility classes today. The room is indoors so it has nothing to do with the seasons, but just that I’ve found renewed energy for us to get back to “work. Rachel, our trainer, remarked that Grace walks into the room with a big smile on…
“When a dog makes a mistake, I don’t get rid of him.”
A client remarked the other day about how this blog has made her think about her own dog and the correlation to the interactions she has with the employees at her company. “When my dog makes a mistake, I don’t get rid of him,” she said. “Instead, I try to find ways to avoid the…
Well-intentioned people sometimes do unkind things
Kids freak Grace out. Their quick and aggressive movements scare her; she doesn’t know what their intentions are. Based on her street experiences as a pup, kids were known to torment dogs so she’s wary for good reason. In order to protect herself, she growls and bares her teeth hoping to get them to back…
The power of teams; saving lives in Japan
Dogs are amazing. Those of us who love our four-legged friends know that. But when I think about their ability to save lives, I am in awe. A family member (thanks, Jen) alerted me to this: The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation has gone to Japan for a search and rescue mission; you can find…
Managers play a key role in an employee performance problem
It’s their fault that the problem exists in the first place, right? But my experience with Grace gave me a lesson in this flawed thinking. The first few days Grace came home, she was an angel. Perfectly adorable. Then an occasional irritating incident would happen, like her walking by my bookshelves of cotton quilting fabric…
About Graceful Leadership: My First Blog Post
People said I should have a blog for my business. But I resisted. What would I write about? How could I ever narrow down the immense number of topics about working with people? It felt overwhelming. I said I didn’t have time. There were lots of reasons for not blogging, but mostly I wasn’t inspired….
