Wonder if the abandoned puppies ever see it coming?
Leadership is serious business some of the time, fun some of the time and some of the time, it’s sad. It’s the same with Pets. Hear me out.
We just finished watching The Switch, in which the final scene has Sebastian, the 7-year old boy, stubbornly refusing to blow out the candles until someone at his party volunteers to adopt Doug from the Kill Shelter. Today is Doug’s last day if no one saves him.
Trouble is, no one wants Doug. He’s old. He only has three legs.
Switch back to my living room, our Son (10) asks me what a Kill Shelter is.
People get Pets, cute, cuddly, adorable puppies, thinking the training is within their abilities. Truth is, training a puppy is like leadership. Hard. Difficult. Tiring. Frustrating.
So, unlike leadership, people reach a breaking point and take their unruly Dog to the Pound, the Animal Shelter. If no one adopts them quickly, the are killed, humanly. But killed nonetheless.
They have to be, there’s a steady stream – more abandoned and unwanted pets. There’s simply no room unless room is made.
I told our son that Puppies don’t listen, they chew, destroy, bark, urinate, poop, run away – making a long list of reasons to dump them.
And then I told him I make it look easy. The reason Cooper listens like he does is simply this: Leadership is like training a puppy. Training, development, recognition, involvement, patience, vision. Hard. Difficult. Tiring. Frustrating.
But in the end, a labor of love. A calling. A privilege.
If your career plan involves becoming a leader, with an official title, paycheck and expectations, are you sure you can handle it?