Why a dog matters to your leadership style

I’m in the midst of redesigning my website. One of the primary goals is to integrate this blog so it has the same look and feel as the website. Which means I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how to articulate why this dog-inspired blog should beintegrated to my consulting practice. One might wonder…

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Recognition makes you feel good, among other things

We all know how good it feels when we receive recognition. It not only puts a smile on our face but it has other significant benefits, too. It motivates us to do more of what gave us the positive reinforcement and therefore increases our confidence. These are important aspects for productivity and happiness. The recognition…

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Two things to do when someone is ignoring you

There are times when I feel that Grace is ignoring me. (And I’m sure she does on occasion.) But mostly I think she just doesn’t always understand what I’m saying. What often looks to me as if she’s ignoring me is very likely a result of her not knowing what I’m saying. When she’s afraid…

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You don’t have to wear blaze orange to be noticed, but it helps

This past weekend we went for our normal hike. Mostly normal, anyhow. Grace was dressed in her blaze orange vest, a safety precaution that she wouldn’t be mistaken for a deer during hunting season here in New Hampshire. While Grace isn’t even close to the size of a deer, she does leap through the woods…

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Move outside your comfort zone — at your own pace

“I’ve always believed that the pure of heart can go unharmed where others fear to tread.” That is a quote from a fellow blogger, Sara. She had written it months ago and at the time, I retyped it and taped it next to my monitor so I could read it often and be reminded of…

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Can a person ever change?

“Can I person ever change?” That question was posed several times, stated in a number of various ways, during meetings I held with one of my clients last week. The majority of these 30 managers are seasoned and they all care a lot about their employees. They also take their role very seriously. They have…

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You can be threatening or calming

“You have a choice: you can be threatening or calming.” That’s what I read in an enlightening book entitled “On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals,” by Turid Rugaas. The author talks about our relationships with dogs, and of course, I also see the applications between manager and employee. Rugaas talks about how frequently we,…

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Pestered into action

Have you ever been pestered enough that you do something that you wouldn’t ordinarily do? That just happened to me. For the last 30 minutes while trying to work, Grace has been whining and pawing at my chair. It’s almost an hour before her normal dinner time. And sometimes she does get antsy when it…

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Otter tales

I can easily find connections between what happens with Grace and what happens in everyday human interactions. But my awareness doesn’t always stop with her. Nature is a wonderland for learning efficient and effective communication skills. Grace and I went for a walk this past Sunday morning. I chose a trail we’ve been on before,…

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Didn’t I already tell you that?

  Does the following statement sound familiar: “I have specifically told him not to do that, but yet he still does it. It drives me crazy.” Or this one: “I know we’ve talked about that. And she said she understood. Yet just this morning, I witnessed her doing the same thing without making the changes…

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