Too often, employees come to their bosses for grievances in hopes that they can provide answers to their questions and solutions to their issues. But did it ever occur what bosses may be thinking of, having to manage each staff the best they could and steering the organization towards success?
Back on Justice Clearinghouse is Adam Leath. Adam is currently the Director of Volusia County Animal Services. He is formerly a Regional Director of the Field Investigations and Response Team at the ASPCA. He’s worked in multiple animal cruelty cases including dogfighting operations and those which require wide-scale seizures.
Adam’s discussion revolved around:
- The importance of effective communication in the workplace, and avoiding assumptions that are influenced by filters and based on emotions.
- Questions that employees must ask their superiors to ensure that they have a clear understanding of the organization’s goals and their role in accomplishing this and removing obstacles in the way.
- The concepts that bosses can and cannot teach, and examples on how to demonstrate and develop these.
- How skills, standards, sciences, and solution can be taught and developed externally.
- Intrinsic qualities that individuals must develop as integrity, work ethic and work fulfillment, teamwork, pride, and commitment that cannot be taught by leaders.
- Working on things that are within your influence and control, guidelines on how you can determine whether things are within your purview, and how awareness of these can lead to job satisfaction.
- Understanding the leader’s and the employee’s scope of control, and how each individual’s personal goals contribute to the speed and direction of the organization.
- The value in focusing on your work and performance to take charge of one’s career’s trajectory and supporting leaders’ decisions towards organizational success.
- The boss’ not-so-secret playbook of…
- Life and career experiences that allow them to identify patterns and respond appropriately.
- Employee management and support from the employees which drive the organization forward.
- Putting in the time and effort to succeed.
- Recognizing the qualities that bosses want in their team – a motivated, supportive and happy workforce that leads the organization to its goal through the team’s ability to innovate and problem-solve, and is fit to be the next leaders.
- How to best deal with problematic bosses by first practicing discernment that your actions, thoughts, and feelings aren’t the ones causing the problems.
- Pointers on how to remain professional by:
- Learning not to take things personally, know when to step back, and play the long game.
- Providing work quality and performance that’s consistent with that position that you want.
- Distinguishing what is within and outside your control and influence, and the non-negotiables you’ve set for yourself, as well as those set by the organization and its leaders.
- Kat Cole’s story highlights how initiative and being solution-centered brought her success.
Questions from the audience were about:
- Recognizing our filters and how to overcome these.
- What professionalism looks like and how its meaning has evolved.
- What bosses can do to motivate their employees to perform at their best.
- Leveraging communication to identify the different motivations of employees.
- The importance of realizing that there are more options and solutions to the challenges we are facing.
- What volunteering to help to navigate exactly looks like.
- Other highly recommended references to help build careers.
Other Webinars in this Series with Adam include:
- Engagement of Public-Private Partnerships in Animal Cruelty Investigations (this webinar)
- June 30: Is Mission Creep Killing Your Agency?
- Oct 8: Custody Considerations in Animal Control
- Dec 8: What Your Boss Wished You Knew: Professionalism in an Increasingly Unprofessional World
- Feb 4: Video Testimony: The Virtual Courtroom for the ACO
- May 13: Tools, Tips and Tricks for the ACO: Lessons Learned from the Field
Resources Mentioned During Webinar
Audience Comments
- “Work for the job you want, not the one you have. Anticipate your boss’ needs.” — Brooke
- “Great information, thank you!” — Dawnette
- “How we don’t have to follow the crowd, but act on our gut/intuition because it’s the problem solver that gets the boss’s attention. I also liked how we need to do what we say we’re going to do – to follow through with our initiatives.” — Dayna
- “Ask for help as a leader and seek out expertise to accomplish goals. Thanks!” — Dan
- “I liked the “there is no playbook” info as well as the info on how to reman professional. Also- while I am quite happy at my job- I think it is good to remind people that THEY are in the driver’s seat regarding their happiness/satisfaction.” — Diane
- “Great information about communication. Listen to all information first rather than looking for examples to demonstrate your point. Also, asking yourself, what role do I play and getting clarification on this from your boss.” — Lezlie
- “I found this training very insightful and useful with my correct work position. I left my previous employment because of lack of communication and dissatisfaction. I now have more information to use as a resource to overcome and stay motivated at work.” — Lisa
View our Animal Welfare Webinar Schedule and Recordings
This webinar has been certified by the National Animal Care & Control Association and is approved for 1 Continuing Education Unit. Please refer to your NACA membership portal for current CEU submission process. Current NACA Members who attend the live presentation or watch the recording will be able to download a jointly issued attendance certificate that includes the National Animal Care & Control Association logo. Visit the NACA training page for a complete list of future trainings.
