Teamwork As A Trainer: Importance of Co-Development
Written By Lauren Tsao, MS, CDBC, CPDT-KA
As we near the end of this blog series, as I was reading in Ferrazzi’s book, “Leading Without Authority” (2020) we are following for this series, I wondered when we would reach the topic of positive reinforcement. Experienced animal trainers know how important reinforcing desired behavior is, but they also know about the positive effects on psychology in both animals and humans. And finally, that chapter has come! Ferrazzi, however, refers to this phase as co-development, which he states is the natural fulfillment of co-elevation (Ferrazzi, 2020), which I think is actually more inclusive of what we are actually doing as animal trainers and how we should consider behaving during collaboration with other trainers as well. We are actually doing a lot more than just reinforcing behavior we like and Ferrazzi sums up the benefits quite well in these chapters.
“It’s the natural fulfillment of co-elevation. In today’s world, if we see one of our teammates falling behind and neglect to give our feedback, that is tantamount to sabotage.”
So, why does this matter to us? Co-elevation and co-development is something many positive reinforced based trainers already put in effect with our animal counterparts, however as we have covered in this series, they aren’t always the best at doing this with humans. My belief is if you simply got into animal training to avoid human interaction, you will not last very long in this field. Our community is small and tight-knit when you consider some much larger industries. Ferrazzi’s overall message is one we need to take to heart. We should be uplifting others with the same goals as ourselves, praising them for steps in the right direction, and supporting them when they fail.
We have all had successes and failures when training animals. It is simply unavoidable. Instead of seeing a peer’s training video and picking apart every detail that isn’t how you would do it, first consider praising the parts you do like, lifting that person up, and I promise you that you will become a safe person to trust with questions for that individual. That is how we actually reach people in a meaningful way that results in long-term changes.
“In the grand scheme of things, validating others costs you nothing, while it offers the potential for exponential returns on engagement, productivity, and motivation, as well as the opportunity to build stronger bonds of loyalty and trust.”
Now that we know this information, what do we do with it? Go out there and use positive reinforcement with your fellow human, of course! Validate others, celebrate successes, and support each other during failures. Constant criticism has never made anyone feel good about themselves. While some people are driven to better themselves when they hear negative feedback, all people are motivated by praise. There is simply no reason to always fall back onto the former.
We know this information and apply it daily with animals. We should have the same faith that this method works the same for humans too. The following quote from the book sums up the Rule Five and Rule Six chapters well and shows the overarching message Ferrazzi tries to get across; “When our teams are on missions that are particularly tough or when they're having difficult moments, that’s exactly when we need to praise them, even if the performance is not perfect and the results are not optimal." (Ferrazzi, 2020, pg. 165)
If you and your dog training team are struggling with teamwork, check out some of our workshops and webinars for dog professionals and dog trainers that are hosted virtually and here in Jackson, MS metro area for help.
References:
Ferrazzi, K. (2020). Leading without authority. New York: Currency
