Agile Experiences - a different view
What are you passionate about?
You will have heard that quote from Mark Twain “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” But what if you enjoy your job, you’re good at what you do, but you’ve also got another passion in your life that isn’t your job? Can you bring anything from this passion to your job?
For those that don’t already know, one of my main passions away from work is training and competing at agility with our dog, Sally.
So, how does agility with Sally help me in my day job?
Well, say it quietly but training a dog is a bit like managing a team!! I’m lucky I've started with a rescue dog who has brains and aptitude and has picked up what to do with agility obstacles and my commands really easily. This is similar to being a manager and recruiting or inheriting good people in your team.
But at training, how I work with Sally doesn’t necessarily dictate how other handlers should work with their dogs. Sometimes, as handlers, we support each other to find different ways to motivate, to give commands and to reinforce learning in ways that suit different dogs and their aptitude and personality.
In management, that would be taking time to learn the skills of your team, delegating according to their strengths and tailoring their training to how they learn and reinforcing / rewarding their performance by what motivates them. Looking company wide, this would relate to offering a flexben package rather than a one size fits all reward package, where everyone is expected to want and like the same benefits as the MD!
Training with Sally has also shown me that learning in one context, particularly with motivation on her part and tasty rewards from me, can lead to transferable skills. She has learnt to follow instructions around an agility course because she loves playing over and through the obstacles but this has also transferred to better obedience generally. We’ve also been able to build on the standard dog instructions such as sit, down, over, through to some more advanced work including left, right, round (go round an obstacle to jump from the other side), and so on.
In management, when you or a colleague learns a new skill, it is important to use this in different contexts and as soon as possible after the initial training to embed and reinforce the skill. And, of course, to reward the skills and behaviours you want more of, whether through praise or other rewards / treats (although I don’t recommend offering “gravy bones” in the office!!)
And then there’s my transferable skills!
event management for attending an agility competition day with all the right preparation…..much better at managing competing demands on my personal and work diary.
improved understanding of my non verbal communication, Sally can follow my body language instructions when there’s competing noises at an event causing some confusion…..greater awareness of how non verbal communication impacts in work situations.
memory and spatial awareness for memorising a course of 18 to 20 obstacles so I can direct Sally the right way…..keeping track of multiple workstreams, the right project or piece of work for the right client and deadline.
the ability to think on my feet and be adaptable, if we start to go wrong on an agility round, you cannot stop and start again, you only have one go…..easier to manage change on any client project.
being able to run a course with Sally and not worry about what anyone else thinks.....do what's right, post my opinion on Linked In, all without second guessing other people's opinions.
able to reframe failure as a chance to learn…..a useful skill in work and life!!
Whilst Sally and I have won a few rosettes over the last few years, we’ve only progressed from grade 1 to grade 2 with probably half a dozen fully clear rounds in all competition at most. Our rounds start with the initial intention of being confident, calm and clear but usually end up as comical and clumsy!!
But we have fun, I’m starting back to “running” again so I don’t let the team down (she’s WAY quicker than me) and nothing beats the feeling when it all works and we actually get a clear round 😊
So, other than your work, what is your passion? Are you a cake baker, a crafter or maybe a volunteer Scout leader.? Can you use the knowledge and skills from your passion in your job?
How about your team or colleagues? What can you or your team bring from your outside selves that allow you to be your whole selves at work? And how can that impact on performance where you work?
