MANAGEMENT 101: THE PRINCIPLES OF PUPPY TRAINING

A few months ago, I got a puppy. The cutest puppy you’ll ever lay eyes on. I mean seriously, look at him!

I did the whole I’m-obsessed-with-my-dog thing: I got him every treat ever, all the dog toys, A BOW TIE, and of course, classes and books for training him.

Then, last month I was taking him for a walk. It was early in the morning. I was tired. He was not. I had to force the tiredness out and make my voice cheery, and go through all the exercises we learned in class, making him wait, rewarding him, repeating the same phrase over and over so it sticks.

And through the haze of my sleepiness, I had a realization. A revelation, if you will. Everything I was doing with Gus was exactly what a manager would do with her employees. Strike that, what a good manager would do with her employees.

So, let me explain the outline for what would be my ideal management training class, aka The Principles of Puppy Training.

Intro: THE BASICS OF COMMUNICATION…

THINK AHEAD AND ACT PROACTIVELY

In puppy training, this means knowing that your dog drank water 30 minutes ago and taking him out because he probably has to pee. Or having a toy ready the second he starts biting something he’s not supposed to. It’s all on you in the beginning. The idea is to direct him to the right action before he has a chance to make the wrong decision.

If that sounds like a lot of work, it is. And any manager who doesn’t know what the right action is isn’t ready to manage. You don’t have to micromanage, you just have to know what your ultimate goal is.

LEARN TO READ THEIR SIGNS

After a few weeks, puppies start to learn where food comes from, where to pee and poop and where toys are kept. When thirsty, they look up to where the water bowl comes from — whether it’s there or not. They’ll head over to the door you go out and look at it longingly when they have to go. Their faces get red when they’re sleepy (or mine’s does anyway!). You have to be alert enough to see it happen. And then you have to respond.

Managers have one simple responsibility: to take care of their employees. That means taking note of actions that indicate desire or distaste. And then acting on it. If you’re a doling out assignments, and an often-shy employee looks up excitedly, or fidgets a lot, maybe he wants that assignment? Offer it up. If he accepts gratefully, remember that for next time.

BUT IT’S ON YOU IF YOU CAN’T DECIPHER THEM

When my puppy pees in the house, it’s definitely my fault. It means I either haven’t adequately showed him where to pee, haven’t thought about his needs or haven’t been watching him closely enough.

When your employees make a mistake, you didn’t train them properly. This isn’t a blame game, it’s an acknowledgement of what your job is. You are responsible for your employees’ success.

Intermediate: WHAT YOU DO ALWAYS…

BE A BROKEN RECORD, SERIOUSLY

Puppies learn commands via your hand motions, the sounds of the words, and your tone of voice. They aren’t actually learning English, so saying “Come here” and “Over to me” and “You better get back here” are three totally different concepts.

Same thing with managers. How many times have you misunderstood something based on tone of voice or an unclear phrasing? That’s true for everyone. Be the manager who says what he wants clearly, evenly and consistently. Over-communicate. Seriously, nobody loses when you send a clear message.

REWARD, INCENTIVIZE, PLAY

When you’re teaching a new trick you’re going to need a boatload of treats. Because every time your puppy gets it, you’re instantly giving him one. And you’re doing it all with an insane amount of playful energy, because puppies love play! So even if you’re in a terrible mood, deal with it and make training playtime.

Hi. Have you met anyone ever with a job? No one really likes to work 100% of the time. Remember, you’re the manager, so no one cares how you’re dealing with that, it’s your job to make someone else’s as enjoyable as it can be. Start with a friendly attitude, and remember rewards are nice: a day off, a long lunch, some internal award, praise in front of other managers.

Advanced: WHEN IT’S TIME TO LET GO…

FIND A MENTOR

For real, I mean a canine mentor. Senior dogs will put young puppies in their place, show them how to act with other dogs and even help them navigate the dog-owner relationship. All you have to do as the owner is socialize them at a young age, go to dog parks, meet up with neighbors.

This one always gets thrown on some other department’s plate. Usually HR, or whatever your company calls the HR department (the growth engine? the happiness team? whatever.). The best managers still have an active hand in this. Find someone inside or outside the company, who’s had the position your employee has but doesn’t have any direct work with him or you. Encourage them to meet without you and let their relationship grow on its own.

LET THEM DISCOVER IT

I watched my dog learn the concept “leave it” in about 5 minutes, just by being patient and rewarding him when he decided to take the action I wanted (um… to leave it). You hold out a tempting treat in a closed hand, and let him claw at it as long as he wants, and the second he turns away from it, you give him a treat from the other hand. Eventually, they understand that they’ll be rewarded for not taking the treat out of your hand. It’s really amazing, and it’s really rewarding to be the facilitator of that discovery.

This is the “teach a man to fish” concept on an even higher level. Because you’re putting all the pieces in the right place and all the tools in front of your employee and just letting them figure it out. Of course you’re going to have to teach them how to do certain things, but any chance you have try this. Give them a chance to figure it out, make it a puzzle that’s solvable. And remember to reward and praise profusely when they get it.

Try it. If it doesn’t work, at least you know you’re ready for a puppy!