My black lab, “Jack”, looks forward to spending Sunday afternoons at the dog park. It is a treat for both the owner and the dog. Yesterday, it was raining in Cincinnati, yet there were still a lot of people at the facility. I wondered what compels people to come out and stand in the cold rain to watch their dogs play; beyond their basic love of dogs. I put on my business hat and pondered what key learnings would apply to business. After much reflection, it came to me. As business leaders, how can we create an environment in which people are excited to come to work, even on difficult days, and fully engage their natural talents?
Jack and I visited a new dog park this weekend. Upon entering facility, there was a sign that provided guidelines for using the park. We stopped to read the sign and observed other dog owners and their pets. Our goal was to identify both the written and unwritten guidelines for the park. This prompted me to think of new hire orientations and on-boarding. As business owners, we need to communicate our expectations to new employees upfront. It is important that new employees learn both the written and unwritten policies and procedures. In addition, we need to help new employees develop positive working relationships throughout the organization. When performance expectations are clearly communicated, employees have a greater opportunity for success.
As leaders, it is critical that we identify employees’ natural gifts and talents, and place them in roles which allow them to freely utilize their strengths. There was a beautiful greyhound at the dog park. He was standing quietly in group and did not interact much with the other dogs. His owner threw a ball to the far side of the park. The greyhound took off running to fetch the ball. He broke into a beautiful, fast stride around the park. The other dogs in the group followed, but the greyhound leaped out in front of them. It was beautiful to see the greyhound striding with such freedom, grace and confidence. Employees inherently want to do good work and feel a sense of accomplishment. We need to look for opportunities and create an environment which unleashes their natural talents.
Another interesting observation was related to learning and knowledge acquisition at the dog park. There were several mini communities that formed. Dogs and owners would cluster around one group for an activity such as a game of tennis ball toss and fetch. One dog started the game while the others watched. The other dogs joined in after a few tosses. After the dogs progressed in their knowledge and mastered the tennis ball game, especially the “teaching” role, they would move on to a new and more challenging game such as Frisbee toss and fetch, and become a “student” again. While the dogs were learning from each other, the owners were sharing their lessons learned in training their pets. As business leaders, we need to search for opportunities to create “learning communities” in our organizations, which fosters relationships and facilitates the lateral transfer of knowledge. Every person has life experiences from which learning can be derived. Additionally, we need continually assign challenging assignments that empower and foster growth in our employees.
Employee engagement can be cultivated through a number of methods. When employees are fully engaged, they can propel your business forward and help you to leap ahead of your competition.
Chrissann Ruehle is Co-Founder of Black Lab Ventures, LLC. A human resources management consulting business, Black Lab Ventures focuses on on-boarding, training & development, performance management, and health & wellness initiatives. Our signature service, called Culture Branding, is a form of employer branding designed to help companies attract top talent and retain employees they already have. For small businesses, we offer our HR Start-Up Kits – a simple and affordable method to achieve an HR presence. We also offer full service packages for mid and large-sized companies, and function as a complement to their HR departments so they can focus on their core business.
For more information, please visit our website at
http://www.blacklabventures.com/ or feel free to call us at 513-443-2365.
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