Day 4 - mini NaNoWriMo

I saw them quite a bit ahead of me. The big and the little and the owner. She in her blue ball cap, wearing shoes which looked like mine, walking quickly with her dogs.

The dogs knew that this was strictly for exercise, there was not much sniffing and stopping going on. They walked by her side, and only crossed her path when she changed their leads to her other hand. They appeared to know the route and the job to be done.

Consistent. Reliable. Predictable.

Teamwork.

As I walked behind them, I had a lot of time to name these dogs. I settled on Barney and Bits. They walked in pace, the little one going with faster legs. Still partners.

I was only able to catch up with them because of a red light which paused us all as the rain came down. The owner told me that Bits was not always well-behaved, he apparently didn’t like most other dogs. Barney, on the other hand, was a comfort dog. He loped along and sat patiently with elderly residents at a community Senior’s Home. He was there for them.

Bits jumped up on my Eddie Bauer running pants which I was relieved to note did not snag or tear. He might not have liked other dogs, but he did like people. He continued to jump and bark happily.

As the light changed we went in different directions.

I, with my face bent low against the now quickly falling raindrops, thinking about leadership and the teams we build.

How it is nice to have a leader whom we can count on. How sometimes we have to slow down and other times we need to run to keep pace. How a predictable route can be justified and enjoyable. How we have to ignore distractions. How sometimes we have to walk through the rain.

I continued my route, smiling that my running pants were intact, another promise kept. The owner and her dogs headed for home. Perhaps they would then get a treat.

Walking dogs and what they showed me about Leadership. (Tweet This)