Head Tilt #43: Lessons from the leash

Indie and me at UCSC. 🐕 🏃‍♀️

Today I ran the forest trails on the University of California Santa Cruz campus. 

What a run! The sky was clear, the air was crisp with pine and eucalyptus, and the path was empty. I took one of our dogs, Indie, with me. I just adore her; she loves running in the forest-- everything is so ALIVE! (Plus, she gets to be off-leash at times.)

Running with her is also a great way to reinforce her training.

Today I noticed that I said five phrases to her throughout the whole run: 

Leave It

Stay Close

Let's Go

Almost Home

and with much enthusiasm, 

GOOD GIRL! 

As I coached Indie away from another dog near our home stretch, I reflected on the commands I used with her. 

What if, just for fun, I applied them to myself?

I saw it clearly: the Leave It command, spoken with authority, could redirect me when my mind ventures too close to negativity or self-doubt. 

Stay Close would remind me to stay on track and stay focused.

I could use Let's Go to gently push myself when I lag.

Almost Home would renew my commitment when I near completion of a goal. 

Finally, Good Girl!, repeated often, always with love, cheer and at least one exclamation point, could reinforce positive behavior and just make me happy. 🐶

No, I am not saying we should all talk to ourselves the way we talk to our dogs! 

But, if you love your dog and talk to them kindly, it could be a fun framework to ponder. 

For me, the beauty of the way I talk to my dogs rests in its intention, simplicity, clarity, and unconditional love. 

Not a bad foundation for self-talk, if you ask me!

Head Tilt #2: When we trust our leaders, we can trust their processes

 The San Francisco Marathon just postponed its July event. (Insert sad face)

As a runner and pre-registered participant, I thought: What the heck? It's only the beginning of March! Why would they do this? Surely we will be vaccinated by then...I was really looking forward to it...

And then I pushed my disappointment/ego aside. 

This wasn't about me or my running goal or my burning desire for a piece of normality. 

I had to trust the SF Marathon organizers-- I mean, they've been at this for 44 years, right? Right. And they are likely monitoring the pandemic and its toll on races much closer than I am, correct? Correct.

And if I trusted them, I had to trust their process. 

I bet those in charge of a 27,000+ people event this year want to take extra precautions. I bet that it might have been postponed anyway so it's best to know now. I bet that the new date in September is more realistic. 

(And if I let my ego back in, I bet I can run even faster by September. Hah!)

In my communication trainings I have been asking participants to "trust the process" for years! I promise them that every single thing we do has a purpose.

Me: Put on this blindfold. (Trust the process)

Me: Work through this case study. (Trust the process)

Me: Let's role-play! (Trust the process)

They usually oblige. 

Why? 

Because when we trust our leaders, we can trust the process. 

Of course, new trainees don't necessarily trust me as their communication trainer (or, as I prefer to be called: "tour guide") right away. I need to build that with expertise, psychological safety, and genuine care. But once we've established a degree of trust, they willingly play along, and often with great results!

How are you building trust as a leader, so your team has confidence in the process? 

PS: As for the September race date, bet on me-- I've got this. ;)

mw

 Not my feet: Photo by RUN 4 FFWPU from Pexels