As an organization, Pet Partners’ ultimate goal is to establish rigorous standards for both animals and their human partners/handlers to ensure safe and effective therapy animal visits.

The growth of animal-assisted interventions (AAI), including animal-assisted therapy (AAT), animal-assisted activities (AAA) and animal-assisted education (AAE), relies on the credibility, professionalism, and ethical standards of all those involved.

Our position on therapy animal health and welfare during animal-assisted interventions is centered on the concept of the handler being an animal’s best advocate.

Pet Partners as leaders: Enhancing the Leader in you!

Dr. Randolph T. BarkerVirginia Commonwealth University (VCU)

School of BusinessCenter for Human-Animal Interaction (CHAI)

VCU Medical CenterSeptember 2017

Today you will:• Understand the Leader within each of

us. • Determine the Five Practices for

effective leadership.• Focus on the Communication needed

by leaders of today and our behaviors for change.

Leadership defined:• Is the behavior of an individual when directing the

activities of a group toward a shared goal,• Is interpersonal influence, exercise in a situation,

and directed through the communication process, toward the attainment of a goal,

• Is the process of giving purpose to collective efforts, and causing willing effort to be expended to achieve purpose,

• Is walk the talk.

It Depends:

On what you stand for…

What you believe in…

What makes you weep and wail…

What makes you jump for joy…

What are passionate about…

What keeps you awake at night…

What do you really care about…

LeadershipPerspectives

Great Man/

Spencer

Behavior/

Blake,Mouton

Contingency(Situational)/

Fiedler,Hersey&Blanchard

Trait/

Allport

Transformational(Transactive)/

Kouzes&Posner, Bass

Brief History of Leadership

and Woman

Ten Leader Thoughts.

• 1. Character/Trust—”it is not your aptitude, but your attitude, that determines your altitude” Zig Ziglar. Ethics as well.

• 2. Vision/Anticipation/Adaptation---–”Hey I think we’re lost”---”Yea, but we’re making great time!”.

• 3. Lead by example—You are always on…

• 4. Enforce metrics—”Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” Japanese Proverb.

• 5. Commitment to Task and People—Too much of one or the other destroys leadership.

• 6. Develop/Empower People—Delegate to your people, be a teacher, give responsibility, and set high expectations and verify. No involvement, no commitment.

• 7. Leader/Manager combination. “A leader knows what is best to do; a manager knows how best to do it. Must have both!!!

• 8. Brings meaning and interpretation to complex events. Knows perceptions are different depending on where you sit or stand.

• 9. Aligns objectives, strategies, and vision.

• 10. Communication is leadership. It is the foundation of relationships/organizations.

The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership®

•Model the Way

• Inspire a Shared Vision

•Challenge the Process

•Enable Others to Act

•Encourage the Heart

Model the Way

•Clarify values by finding your voice and affirming shared ideals.

•Set the example by aligning actions with shared values.

“Example is not the main thing in

influencing others. It is the

only thing.”- Albert Schweitzer

Inspire a Shared Vision

Envision the future by imagining exciting and ennobling possibilities.Enlist Others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations.

Challenge the Process

Search for Opportunities by seizing the initiative and by looking outward for innovative ways to improve.

Think About This Person

If someone can do this with social media,What could we do???

“At the end of the day, we bet on people, not strategies.”

Larry Bossidy, CEOAllied Signal

AND DOGS

Enabling Others to Act

Foster collaboration by building trust and facilitating relationships.Strengthen others by increasing self-determination and developing competence.

Encourage the Heart

•Recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence.

•Celebrate the values and victoriesby creating a spirit of community.

BREAKPOINT AND BEYONDSIGMOID CURVE

Forming

Inventive,Exploratory

Norming

Duplication,Improvement

Fulfilling

Innovation,Integrating

differentness

Land & Jarman

Leadership and Communication—It is About the Relationship

• 1. Know yourself.

• 2. Know your purpose. Inform, Persuade, Goodwill.

• 3. Know you audience. SFTU, TTBU. (Covey)

• 4. Package message from their perspective.

• 5. Use many means! What, When, How, and Where.

Stairway Summary

It has been my pleasure

to be with you today.

Questions?

As an organization, Pet Partners’ ultimate goal is to establish rigorous standards for both animals and their human partners/handlers to ensure safe and effective therapy animal visits.

The growth of animal-assisted interventions (AAI), including animal-assisted therapy (AAT), animal-assisted activities (AAA) and animal-assisted education (AAE), relies on the credibility, professionalism, and ethical standards of all those involved.

Our position on therapy animal health and welfare during animal-assisted interventions is centered on the concept of the handler being an animal’s best advocate.