Work Like A Dog: How Canine Culture Can Benefit Your Office

As someone recently pointed out to me, if you take analogy far enough you can start comparing people to cucumbers. I'm not going to touch that one. I do, however, feel there's a remarkable number of parallels between the established traits of dogs and their best friends. Nowhere is this more prevalent in our daily lives than the workplace.

A closer look shows us that our relationships and interactions at work are powerful examples of how we fall into natural roles and allow our behaviour to be shaped by those around us. This is very similar in many regards to how dogs interact with each other in a pack or fit into our family environment.

Would you like to gain a better understanding of how canine culture can create less dysfunction and better results in your workplace? Then let's take a look at our 9 to 5 from a different perspective; through the eyes of a dog: 

Loyalty is the foundation

Loyalty, and the trust and respect at it's core, is a central factor to any successful relationship, not only for dogs (in a family pack or with a master), but between management and dedicated staff. To shirk this mutual responsibility to each other is to court open rebellion and weaken the pack, or provide an invitation to many a shredded slipper. Loyalty is earned through actions over time and needs to be a two-way street for a workplace environment to be functional, let alone optimal. Jealous co-workers or belittling, petty bosses can erode the morale and ambition of any office in record time, resulting in expensive turnover and decreased production. Wouldn't you prefer to work in a mutually supportive environment instead of feeling trapped in a dog eat dog world? 

Leadership is key

Does your business or department act like a bunch of jackals or the well-oiled machine of a sled team? If you're the pack leader, then the result is yours to own. Your leadership should set the rules and boundaries, creating a balanced environment that nurtures healthy growth and productivity. Your staff needs a clear understanding of what earns either a pat on the head or a night in the leaky doghouse. If you have any employees causing a disruption to your workforce, then it's time to calmly and assertively set the tone of action and consequence. A toothless manager or owner lacking in leadership will simply let the bones of contention spread among the ranks like fleas. If your staff figures out that your bark is worse than your bite, you'll lose their respect, their productivity and possibly your job. 

Training sets the tone

Certain breeds are noticeably easier to train than others. Some need considerably more time and instruction invested in them to successfully shape their habits. Remind you of anyone? This points to the importance of the hiring and training process that will either fulfill your organizational goals or provide you with hours of endless frustration. When a graduating mutt is handed his diploma from obedience school, he knows what's expected of him and how to achieve it. This is not unlike a successful training process that has been designed to educate staff about the expectations and skills necessary to achieve the corporate goals. To quote Cesar Millan, "A new dog will adjust best if his new family learns these pack leader lessons before he arrives." In other words, the best way to help a new employee succeed is by creating the correct environment beforehand. 

Compatibility is a must

Most people looking to get a dog have something in common; they're searching for a companion that fits into their often entrenched habits and routines. This is very similar to an established corporate culture looking at bringing in new employees, thus an eye to compatibility should be built into your hiring process. If you're experiencing low rates of employee engagement or high rates of turnover, you need to reexamine your entire hiring and training process from the ground up. While variety is important to an organization, you do need to find employees with the personality traits, experience and skills to fit their purpose of employment and established culture. You wouldn't expect a miniature Chihuahua to guard a junkyard and bull mastiffs are obviously ill-suited for a socialite's purse. 

Don't bite the hand that feeds you

It's better to be a dog than the hydrant, but we don't get ahead by raining on everybody else's parade, at least not for long. Behaviour like that will almost always catch up with a person, especially if the targets of your constant nipping and yipping have an influence over your advancement or social standing within the group. Those old dogs up the ladder can teach you some new tricks if you are wise enough to watch, participate and learn from them until your time comes to lead. If you bite the wrong people, you're going to find your career is wearing a muzzle. 

Call of the wild

Not every person is happy to just go along to get along and many are simply ill suited for office life. The sweet song of entrepreneurship often lures many a self-described office drone into a life of uncertainty, excitement, stress and incredible rewards. Is this you? If so, what's stopping you from going after your dream? Don't let the fear of failure or the negative comments from friends and family deter you. If you're to be successful on your own, you can't let anything stop you. If that means starting out as a lone wolf until you attract a pack, then so be it.

Would you or your office benefit from adding some canine culture? I look forward to your thoughts in the comment section below!

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Ryan Jorden is the Managing Partner with VR Business Brokers in Calgary, Alberta, where he specializes in valuating and facilitating the sale of privately held businesses. Reach him confidentially at [email protected] or visit our website and blog to learn more. We can also connect on Twitter.  

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