Teambuilding Lessons.....from my dogs

Earlier this month I took care
of my sister's two dogs while
she was on vacation.

<- My two dogs plus her two dogs

(yes….that’s a lot of dogs in one small house....a pack actually)

This was by no means the first time they met. They have been “dog friends” and played together on countless occasions.

This is different. This is 24 hours a day for 6 days and 5 nights.

Here’s a run-down of the characters:

Bella – insanely cute labradoodle, physically the largest – she is a true pacifist
Baxter – my little guy who is 14lbs of alpha dog
Skittle – my sister’s little white dog who channels a labrador - a ball must be thrown for him on an almost constant basis
Chloe – my sister’s shitzu - I’ve always known her to be a bit of a wall-flower, preferring to watch than participate

Watching them interact over the course of the week I couldn’t help but draw comparisons to when we bring new team members on board…..or a new manager is hired for a group of employees.

There were set expectations. Bella and Baxter have been living together – sharing space, food and attention for a year and a half. Now there are two other little dogs in the same framework.

Bella looked at me on more than one occasion with an expression I read as “you have GOT to be kidding…I was an only dog…then you brought in Baxter….now TWO more….*sigh*”. She made several attempts to play with Skittle and Chloe…..most of the time Skittle was too focused on the ball….and her size was a bit intimidating to Chloe.

She is that first employee we hired onto the team --- it may have been to help her that we hired the second employee --- someone to share the growing workload. She’s not sure the circumstances are right for her anymore. We need to be sure we are still recognizing and rewarding this employee to ensure he/she doesn’t get ‘lost in the crowd’.

Baxter, the classic alpha dog, started out being bossy -- laying on the couch beside me he would growl when Skittle or Chloe came around to be pet. After a few days of being kicked off the couch or ignored when he acted out, he opted for the role of the loner, laying out in the sun on the patio by himself.

He’s the employee who feels threatened when new talent joins the team. This happens a fair amount when new expectations are not set and manager or team assimilation is not handled well. An assimilation strategy can help this exponentially – sadly, I am not able to reason with Baxter.

Chloe surprised me on more than one occasion. She is typically pretty quiet – afraid of sudden movements and loud noises. When the neighbor dog barked the other three ran toward the sound….Chloe away from it. Once in awhile she would add some spunkiness and energy --- it was there, just hidden away most of the time.

She’s the employee who joins the team after working for a manager who has never appropriately recognized her talent. She’s been shoo’d away, told her ideas aren’t significant, her contribution isn’t valued. She probably worked for the manager for which nothing is good enough. When greeted with “Here’s a million dollars!” this employee’s former boss would say in a nasty tone “What?!? In 20’s?!?"

When a new employee joins your team it’s important to realize you don’t know what kind of baggage they are carrying. There is a learning curve that comes with every new position, employer and employee --- be sure to give your new hires a chance to be successful.

Skittle is the Energizer Bunny® of dogs. He was not affected at all by Baxter’s bossiness, Bella’s attempts to distract him with play, or Chloe’s shyness. He had one objective: chase the ball.

He’s the employee who works hard while remaining oblivious to the outside world. You brought him on to do a job – and he is going to do it!! Of course, he may alienate everyone else in the process….but the work will be done! This employee will need guidance from you on understanding that meeting objectives means more than delivering the project. Competencies such as peer relationships and approachability will be key to meeting objectives in the long term.


When you bring together a team of employees….or change the makeup in any way, there is a risk of alienation….of missing out on the brilliance of some members because of intimidation or simply a history of intimidation elsewhere. There is a risk of losing members because they grow tired of living in the shadow of the new, cuter puppy…..or rather, the new and therefore very interesting new hire.

It's important to put time and effort into building and effectively communicating with your team in order to capture the unique excellence of each member.

May all you Endeavors be Insightful,

Nora A Burns, SPHR
www.twitter.com/noraburns
www.twitter.com/phrsphr



Nora A Burns, SPHR is the founder of Insightful Endeavors International, Inc a Denver, CO based firm specializing in team and leadership development. She is an member of the National Speakers Association (NSA) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). When she's not traveling to assist clients in building innovative teams to drive bottom-line results she resides in Denver, CO with Bella, the insanely cute labradoodle and Bella's sidekick Baxter.