Has your leadership effectiveness gone to the dogs? (That can be a good thing!)
Are you feeling like your leadership effectiveness is a bit stale? Or perhaps you could benefit from a rejuvenated look at how you are managing? Maybe you know someone who needs to take a fresh look at their approach? Then it’s time you took your leadership to the dogs! Intrigued? Read on!
It’s difficult to be completely objective about one’s own leadership style. We all have our strengths, but we also have challenges, and those pesky weaknesses are much harder to admit. No matter how much you desire to be open about how to improve, it’s tricky to see yourself in the same way others do. That’s where the dogs come in. More on that in a minute.
First, it’s important to see that there are lots of good reasons why humans struggle with self-awareness. We have a need to protect our self-esteem, especially in a workplace setting where lots of important stuff, like our professional reputation, performance evaluations, and pay raises are linked to how others perceive our competencies. So if we openly admit some foibles, it stands to reason that we are only hurting ourselves. Plus, an individual has an intimate understanding of her own motives (always admirable) so when results aren’t effective, it’s natural to discount an opposing impression as inaccurate. It’s not our fault that the other person just isn’t seeing things correctly, isn’t that right?
For all these explanations and more, we tend to hold our head high and plow through our management issues, doing the best we can but without really getting a handle on what we need to do to change our behavior. However, this head-in-the-sand approach is counter-productive to our own development and the support of those on our team.
Dogs won’t let you get off the hook so easily. That’s why our new workshop, titled “Dogged Leadership: Unleash Your Vision and Empower Your Team,” created by me and Melissa Saari, offers an accurate way for you to observe and recognize how you really interact with others. Certified therapy dogs are our partners for the day, offering us a creative way to achieve this goal. Animals have an extraordinary level of intuition and can help you learn things about yourself that would be easily dismissed otherwise.
Come join us for a day of self-exploration in a comfortable, supportive setting. Dogs love unconditionally and you will find them to be amazing teachers. It is going to be a valuable day, and you can let your leadership style go to the dogs in a good way!
For More Information and To Register