5 lessons about leadership I learned from my dog

Oscar the Pooch began his career as an office dog in 2018. Managing a canine colleague has its challenges, but it reveals things your two-legged colleagues can't teach you.

Here are 5 things I’ve learned from working with a dog:

1️⃣👺 He strips away the mask.

Professionalism is a mask we all wear. But polish can seem unapproachable. 

Dogs aren’t fooled by the mask. And nobody greets a dapper dog the way they greet a human in a suit. The goofiness cracks the professional shell and people let their guard down. 

You get to see how they are around the people who love them. 

It's humanizing without undermining.

2️⃣🥰 Everyone wants to be liked.

Oscar greets everyone like a long-lost friend. It doesn’t matter if you nailed your last presentation or just bombed a pitch. He’s just glad you're here. 

He isn’t articulate. He often falls asleep at his desk. He sometimes farts in meetings. 

Still, people light up when he trots into the room. 

Because he makes people feel like they matter. 

And deep down, we all just want to be “seen” and appreciated.

3️⃣🥪 Food is connection.

Working with Oscar means that no one eats lunch alone. I look up and say, “has anyone seen my dog?” Fingers point. 

Sure enough, there he is. In the kitchen, sitting pretty and sharing a handful of almonds with a shy engineer. 

One for me, one for you.

Sharing is caring, and nothing builds camaraderie faster than food.

4️⃣👔 Presentation matters.

Oscar is a lot of dog. Not everyone finds those hunky muscles and that exuberant bark charming. 

Not everyone wants to be greeted like a bowling ball. 

Some people are afraid of dogs.

Oscar doesn’t just wear a tie because it’s cute. It signals professionalism—that someone is paying attention. 

When surprises happen, the tie says, “This dog belongs here. Someone will catch up in a second to manage this situation.” It’s just enough to take the edge off until I catch up. 

It’s hard to be seriously scared of a dog in a tie.

5️⃣👑 Leaders don’t always carry fancy titles.

Just like us, dogs align themselves with power. Oscar intuitively knows who the pack follows. Once he knows who’s the boss, he tries to win them over just like everyone else does. 

But the alphas Oscar kisses up to aren’t always at the top of the org chart. 

They’re the ones who elevate others, make decisions when no one else will, and set the tone. Just like him, they’re the ones who make everyone feel “seen.”