Fostering animals is so rewarding! This past month, I fostered dog number 51… a plott hound mix named Stella. We are fairly certain that Stella had never been in a house before. She was super skittish, hid in the corner, and flinched when I would pet her. It was heartbreaking.
Walking her was an adventure! I don’t think she knew what a leash was and that it was mostly for her protection. She tried to lean on my leg as we walked, she hid behind my leg, and once when we encountered another dog, she turned around and ran home with me flying behind her!
After a few days, she got the hang of it, and she walked out to the end of her leash. She began sniffing bushes, exploring her environment, and her tail even wagged! Her transformation was a beautiful thing to see.
Many of the CEO’s that I work with will say, “I need this person to just jump in immediately. I don’t have time to train them!” These CEO’s don’t want to invest in training new employees, because they consider it a waste of time. It is easy to understand why: 2/3 of all hires are found to be a mistake within the year, so why invest in employees who aren’t going to stay?
Here is the problem with that line of thinking: Even the best employees can’t be great if you don’t train them to walk out to the end of their leash. You must coach your people to know the boundaries of their role and push beyond those boundaries while simultaneously respecting those boundaries. It is a gray area that must be explored together.
Every dog must be trained to be a great dog. Every employee must be coached to be a great employee. There is no getting around it.
POWER THOUGHT: To prevent ruff experiences, train/coach/mentor your people.