Puppies and Dogs

“I want a puppy.” I don’t know how many times I’ve heard that from my teen-age daughter. Who can blame her? Puppies are cute and playful and energetic and fun. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t enjoy a puppy. On the other hand, it’s a much smaller portion of the population that loves dogs. Dog lovers would describe the companionship and loyalty of “man’s best friend,” but they wouldn’t use the same descriptors as for a puppy. When it comes to investing time and leadership capital, some people are drawn to “puppies.” They’re focused on the new program or idea. They’re excited about the energy that this can infuse into the organization. They thrive on the creative process and imagining all the possibilities of what can happen. There’s nothing wrong with this … up to a point. If someone brought home a puppy, but failed to housetrain it or care for it once it became a mature dog, we’d call them irresponsible. The same for someone who bought puppy after puppy until the house was overrun. Leaders need to initiate. They need to ask what’s next so that the organization doesn’t become stagnant. But they also need to make sure that plans are in place so that their new initiatives reach fruition. That doesn’t mean that one person has to do it all. If you’re the “puppy-loving” kind of leader, you know that you don’t thrive or excel at the tasks required to see an idea to full maturity – planning the details, creating the systems, anticipating the obstacles. Just make sure that you have a team of “dog lovers” who can do this. Give them the permission and resources that they need. And don’t be in too big of a hurry to bring a new puppy into the organization – your team may still be cleaning up the messes from the last one. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>