Be A Leader Worth Following
Natalie Dobkins
Professional Dog Training and Education for Dog Owners and Aspiring Dog Trainers
Let’s take two different scenarios:
Scenario #1:
Picture yourself at a new job. Your boss speaks a different language than you. You’re trying your best to do everything right, but sometimes you mess up! It’s a new job and it’s hard! But every time you mess up your boss starts screaming and yelling at you and you don’t know what any of it means. He cuts your pay, he makes you stay in your cubicle because you did something wrong but you don’t know what.
Scenario #2:
Same as scenario #1, new job and a boss that speaks a different language, you’re trying your hardest at this new job but sometimes you mess up. Except in this scenario the boss comes over and he shows you slowly how to do this part of the job right, he guides you through it step by step. He speaks his language slowly and you begin to learn what certain words mean! And now whenever he says that word, you know EXACTLY what to do and how to do it right. He praises you every single time and rewards you with a raise!!
Which one would you like to follow?
The boss from scenario #1 or the boss from scenario #2?
I’m sure that all of us would say the boss from #2! Not only did he slowly teach us so we understood but he gave us a raise! Awesome!
You need to do the same for your dog. Your dog doesn’t understand English. They don’t understand how they need to properly live beside humans. They need to be taught which behaviors are good and which are bad. That can only be done when it is taught with guidance, patience, logic and understanding.
Make sure that you are showing up for your dog in the ways that they learn best. Figure out what motivates your dog the most, what gets them the most excited. Figure out the problem areas that are hardest for them so you can guide them through it and show them how it’s properly done.
That’s what makes you a leader worth following.
It’s not giving you a bunch of pay raises for work you didn’t do but you still suck at your job. It’s not unfair punishment. It’s not yelling and screaming.
It’s guidance, love and a logical approach.
Are you a leader worth following?