What My Dog Taught Me About Leadership and Motivation

I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather the last few days — the last place I thought I’d find inspiration was from my dog.

We waste a lot of time as leaders — and force our people to do the same. Trust me, you’ll be glad you read this one.

As I laid on the couch willing myself to move, I watched the dog — Kenzie — meander from me to my wife to walking around the kitchen. She’d look out the back door, not see anything, then come to each of us. Neither of us paid attention to her, so she went and laid down, letting out a deep sigh…and then would repeat the process.

Then I felt bad and sat up to pet her. She was ecstatic — tail wagging, and even when I got done petting her, she stayed next to me and her mood was far less lethargic.

What does this have to do with work?

We often complete tasks that seem — or are — meaningless, but it’s our routine. Even worse, we ask this of others.

When was the last time you questioned WHY you did something you found little joy or energy in? How often do we put off the engaging thing because we “have to get this done?” How often do we ask our direct reports to put something together for us, without considering the context switching, value outside of our own wants?

Most importantly — how much more do we or our directs enjoy our day when we KNOW we’re doing something that’s enjoyable?

I know we all have things we just “have” to do — we will never eliminate all of that — but stop and ask why and evaluate the value it brings. Slim it down, eliminate it altogether, or combine it with a similar task by you or others (group status report instead of individual, for example).

Find what matters — it will bring you far more joy.

Perhaps it will make you feel as happy as Kenzie…but I doubt we ever feel THAT much joy.

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