Are you working like a dog?
Harness your teamwork like an Alaskan sled dog!
This past spring, my family had the opportunity to meet a team of sled dogs training for The Iditarod Trail Race in Alaska.
The Iditarod is an annual 1,000-mile sled dog race held in early March, that travels from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska.
What I initially thought would be a fun afternoon of petting and playing with dogs, quickly turned into a lesson of passion and teamwork. (Still with Dogs!)
Our tour group took two different, what could be best described as military troop transport vehicles up into the mountains of Skagway, Alaska to meet the sled dogs and the mushers of the Iditarod.
Once we arrived to where the dogs were, they were elated to see us! All of the dogs were leaping, pulling, and barking loud with excitement.
We then met our "Musher" (aka driver) Lee, he told us that he was a native of NJ and a Rutgers University–New Brunswick graduate. So, of course, we instantly became friends!?
I asked Lee why the dogs were so excited.? He said that they have a?pure joy for running and love working together.? He explained that these dogs are bred to be working dogs and are elite trained athletes. They have an ingrained passion for their job.? He said when they are not running with their pack, they can get sad and if it goes on for too long, they may even get depressed.
I saw this first-hand.? Lee wanted to try out a new lead dog named, Egg Roll. In order to have Egg Roll lead he had to have one of the other dogs sit out. The dog that had to sit out, was so sad. He was whimpering because, he wasn't able to run with the others. I asked Lee if this dog would be okay and he told us that he’d be alright and that we could pet him after we completed our run, which we did, and he was fine.
Lee explained that each dog has their own individualized job to do and when the dogs are focused and working together their speed and power is truly unmatched.
Like any great team, each dog has their own role and works very hard to do the absolute best job that they can. Here are the jobs of each of the dogs as Lee explained:
The more experienced dogs teach the younger dogs how to run and stay on track and the younger dogs push the older dogs to run harder to keep up.
The success of a dog sled team depends on each dog using its particular skill in concert with the others. Seeing each dog charged-up and fully zoned in working together as one is very inspiring.
My afternoon, with these magnificent K-9's reminded me of some of the very best sales teams that I have had the good fortune to a part of.
The dedication, teamwork, and unwavering spirit exhibited by these incredible dogs were reminiscent of the qualities that made those sales teams so successful.
Here are a few lessons that I learned about teamwork from this elite group of Alaskan Huskies.
领英推荐
Get Excited!
Be thrilled about your job! -- Loving what you do makes working and winning so much better!
Work with your Team.
You don't have to do it alone. -- It's okay to depend on others for help. Be a great teammate.
Run Hard.
Have a strong work ethic and leave it all out on the trail, every single time.
Pull your own Weight.
Do your part and then some. Always do your best so that everyone can win together.
Howl with your Friends!
Encourage each other along the way and when you do win, celebrate together as a team!
MUSH ON!?
When times get tough... And by the way, times will ALWAYS get tough. Put your head down, grit your teeth and even under the toughest of conditions keep moving forward!
Sled Dogs are not worried if it's going to be a good or bad day.
They are excited to go out and do their job as best they can.
Run hard, let your tongue hang out, & win together!
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to "Like It", "Share It" and Leave a Comment Below.
Wholesaler at Floramax
2 周It’s my distant dreams is to have sled dogs as part of my lifestyle. I envision living in the snowy mountains and owning my own team for recreation and adventure. Your article resonated with me, especially how each dog’s role emphasizes the importance of teamwork. Two key takeaways stood out: 1) Each dog plays a crucial role—the lead dogs set the pace, swing dogs steer, team dogs maintain speed, and wheel dogs stay focused under pressure. This reminded me of how overcoming fear and rejection, as discussed in our class, is essential for success; every team member must trust their role and face challenges head-on. 2) Mentorship and mutual growth—experienced dogs teach younger ones while still pushing each other to improve. This mirrors how we must support each other through challenges, and how personal growth often comes from overcoming fear and pushing past limits. It’s a great reminder that teamwork, grit, and facing obstacles together lead to greater success. MUSH ON! ??
Electrical and Computer (Major) Engineering Student at Rutgers University
3 周Thanks for sharing Tom Whalen
Chief Customer Officer @ Conquer | Passionate about getting sellers into a flow state
1 个月Thanks for sharing this article! I agree with each point, especially the emphasis on teamwork and support. I believe that excitement and celebration foster a great environment for success and allow us to achieve the flow state in sales.
Healthcare Leader | Remote Sales Director
1 个月Thanks Ivan! It was an adventure for sure. ?? As amazed as I was by the focus and strength of these dogs, it was their pure love and joy of the game that blew me away. I kept thinking, if we all went after our grind every day with this type of sheer excitement to do a great job how many more fantastic things could we accomplish? I hope your week is awesome!
GTM Inside Sales/Development Leader – Aligning Processes, Systems, and Developing People to Deliver Tangible Results for Technology Companies
1 个月Tom, this is a great way to start the week. Thanks for highlighting your adventure in Alaska and mirroring the story of this lead dogs do the different types of individuals in a team. Have a great week.