Dog Parks and Common Good

I took my first vacation of the year, which is technically my second but I consider my March Madness trip to Vegas a work trip.  This year, coming off some crazy weeks with Erica on the road; We packed up the family and headed to Palm Springs, CA. 

Erica (Wife), Rory (5 ? Girl), Webb (18 mo Boy), Palmer (~6mo Dog) and I all got in the car and headed to a place that gave us the heat of Arizona with the humidity of the Midwest!  But in reality we had a great few days in the lazy river, on the water slides, good food, good spa (me not Erica) and just hanging out.  

Palmer and I even went to the Rancho Mirage Dog Park each morning for her workout. 

I have been to the dog park in Phoenix a few times but in this case I went to the dog park every day for 3 days where I hung out with mostly the same people, same dogs in the same space; almost like most jobs in this country.  I was a traveler, just passing through; they were clearly residents. 

As I was thinking about this daily meeting, a few things stood out.   The group probably spaned 30 years in age, multiple races, various levels of capabilities; traveling the world I learned that everyone is much more alike than different but this group wasn’t the normal group of people who would become great friends. But as I watched them, talked with them; saw how they helped each other with their dogs and even some of their stories – it was clear that despite the added challenges of the uniqueness of their backgrounds; they were bonded. 

To think about work, I think this experience reminds me the importance of the “common good”.  Leaders need to help build a commonality that can link everyone on their team together, and often that can be a common good.  An ethos based argument that together we are doing something important, we are doing something of substance and we are doing it as a team.  Common Good on my team is around retrieving medical records that are a small part of a large industry focused on quality of care in this country.  Common Good on my team is about helping this amazing small company continue to grow into a powerful big company.  Common Good on my team is about creating a culture where people are empowered to do their best work while being their best self. 

At the dog park, common good is the dogs. My puppy was learning, and many of the more experienced owners helped both Palmer and I learn the dos and donts. All dogs need socialization, play time and mental health from running around, chasing things, being in packs etc. They had water, toys and training sessions. It was awesome.

The second thing I learned was around on boarding. When I showed up, the group went out of their way to not just welcome Palmer and I; but fully bond with us. The “leader” of the group came over; sho'ed away the dogs saying “lets let your puppy get a second to get comfortable so she doesn’t get scared” and then introduced himself, introduced me to others. People complimented my puppy, asked about her and I with genuine interest and helped to quickly integrate me into their conversation. Within 2-3 mins I felt I belonged. I started to help them with the dogs etc.

I’ve onboarded new leaders into my team a few times in the past few months; something that is always exciting but also risky.  I think much of what my friends at the dog park did is a model for those onboarding at work.  The team should focus on making sure the person is kept away from the negative or aggressive influences at first to allow the new person to get comfortable; the team should focus on starting conversations and showing genuine interest in the new person; waiting before pushing their own agenda and really start with conversations not on how the team does it but why; The Common Good. 

So even on vacation I ended up working, finding inspiration in a dog park.  I hope you find inspiration in your every day life as well, and I’d love to hear about it.