Dog Eating A TreatIn New York City, many people have dogs as pets. Those dogs come in all shapes and sizes. Personally, I pity the life large dogs must lead in their tiny apartments. Every day, I see dog owners begrudgingly tethering themselves to their dogs in order to take them for walks. Most of what I see isn’t pretty.

 

In most cases, the “walk” has little to do with the dog; It’s all about the owner. Instead of focusing on spending quality time with their dogs, they use the time to play (talk/text/read) on their phones.  And what happens to their dogs?  The dogs sit and wait patiently for their owners or the dogs are subjected to being pulled, or worse, yanked along because their owners are oblivious to what the dogs wants to do.  Some owners restrict their dogs from socializing with other dogs. When they do let them socialize, usually in a dog park setting, the owners abdicate their obligations and assume that the other dogs will entertain theirs.  In reality, the dogs just want their owner’s attention.

 

Witnessing this every day, I find it very sad.  This week, as I started to consider “a dog’s life,” I realized how closely related dog owners are to managers.

 

What you need to know about dog ownership

  1. Dog ownership is not something to be entered into lightly. It takes commitment.
  2. Owners are responsible for the “care” of their dogs.
  3. Owners are the center of a dog’s world. They crave your “attention and presence.”
  4. Owners need to “groom” their dogs to keep them looking nice.
  5. Owners need to “feed” their dogs so that they can grow and develop.
  6. Owners need to “train” their dogs so that they better understand the role they play. Treats help with positive reinforcement!
  7. Owners need to schedule “regular check-ups” to make sure their dogs are healthy.
  8. Owners need to “socialize” their dogs to different people and settings regularly.

 

“Come on <name>, are you finished yet?” 

“<Name>, hurry up!” 

“No, no, no.” 

“Let’s go this way <name>.”

 

On Jeopardy or the Twenty Thousand Dollar Pyramid, these quotes might fall under the category of “Things a Dog Owner Might Say.” Unfortunately, I’ve heard managers say the exact same things to their employees.

 

I’ve spent a lot of time working with managers of all levels. While they had the title of manager, many of them weren’t suited for the role.

 

What you need to know about being a manager

  1. Management, like dog ownership, is not something to be entered into lightly. It takes commitment.
  2. Managers are responsible for the “care” of their employees.
  3. Managers are the center of an employee’s work world. They crave your “attention and presence.”
  4. Managers need to “groom” their employees to bring out the best they have to offer.
  5. Managers need to “feed” employees’ hunger for knowledge to assist in their growth and development.
  6. Managers need to “train” their employees so that they can progress to the next level. “Treats” from verbal and written thank-yous to bonuses should be used for positive reinforcement.
  7. Managers need to schedule “regular check-ups” with their employees to discuss goals and performance.
  8. Managers need to provide opportunities for employees to “socialize” with different people and in different settings regularly.

 

 

Managers shouldn’t “dog” their employees. If they do, your workplace may be no walk in the park for your employees. Take a moment and evaluate how you measure up.

 

 

 

 

Let’s Engage!

I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Gregory F Simpson.

Employee engagement is a critical mission. I hope I can count on your help! Subscribe to the RSS Feed to receive the latest intelligence/insights and/or register to make entries in the comments log.

Photo of Gregory F SimpsonYou can follow me @agtinengagement.
Email me at g…@a…t.com.
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Learn more about me at gregoryfsimpson.com.

 

P.S.  First contact? Welcome to the Agent In Engagement community. Explore and join fellow employee engagement operatives in targeting a known thief – alias: Disengagement. Together we can bring this thief to justice and make the world a better place for all companies and their employees.

Other recent Agent in Engagement data/reports by Agent Gregory F Simpson: