Posts Tagged ‘leadership’
How much focus do you need to get what you want?
Focus. No distractions. Having all your attention on something—it’s a good thing. Until you lose your focus. That’s what happened to me at agility last week. And I didn’t even realize it until a fellow classmate, Patricia, recognized it had happened to both of us. I loved our class last week. It turned out that…
Read MoreWhen someone does something rude, what should you do? Try compassion.
When I first got Grace, we lived next door to a wonderful couple that loved dogs. Kitty and Kevin welcomed Grace unconditionally and went to extraordinary measures to show her that. To say Grace was timid would be grossly understated. Anytime anyone came around, she would cower, bark, and/or hide. So Kevin felt the best…
Read MoreLearning 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…
Read MoreIt’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…
Read MoreGoing 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…
Read MoreAgility 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…
Read More“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…
Read MoreThe 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…
Read MoreSome people crave a process — others hate it!
My last post about routines created some interesting dialogue so I decided to explore this further. I know that Grace is better with a consistent routine, but as was pointed out to me, many people like variety in their day. For individuals who want autonomy and independence, a rigid environment will create frustration and burnout.…
Read MoreManagers 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…
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