There is a difference between being a leader and learning leadership skills. Please read on if you agree with this statement.
Leadership qualities observed in Dogs:
- Restlessness: Consistently taking the initiative to find a job and do it right. A good guard dog can replace 2 unarmed watchmen!
- Persistence: All great things take time, and you must persist no matter what. Willingness to go beyond where others will stop. Pitbulls and the Malinois will leave no stone unturned to get a job done.
- Positivity: There will be many ups and downs, but the prevalence of positivity will keep you going. This requires fearlessness. You have to truly believe in making the impossible possible. This quality is observed greatly in the GSD, Malinois, Pitbull, Doberman, Rottweiler, Tibetan Mastiff and to some extent in many other breeds.
- Personableness: Focus on genuine connections with people, and look for ways to help them rather than just focus on what they can do for you. Observed in the Malinois, German Shepherd, Labrador, and Doberman.
- Decisiveness: Make the call fast, make the call loud and don’t look back. Observed in the Malinois (even in high-pressure situations).
- Open-mindedness: Keep an open mind while being flexible, and adjust if necessary. Observed in the Malinois, Labrador Retriever, and many other smart dog breeds.
- Authenticity: Never lose your authentic voice, opinions and, ultimately, how you make decisions. Observed in the Tibetan Mastiff and some other independent dog breeds.
- Stoicism: Accepting and anticipating this in advance, so that you don’t freak out, react emotionally and aggravate things further. Observed in the Tibetan Mastiff, Doberman Pinscher, Labrador Retriever and many mastiff breeds.
- Patience: The path to great things is always tough, but the best leaders understand when to abandon the cause and when to stay the course. Observed in the Boxer, Saint Bernard, and most giant sized dog breeds.
- Innovation: Innovation is essential for success and survival. Observed in the Border Collie and many other clever dogs.
- Passion: You must love what you do. In order to be truly successful at something, you must obsess over it and let it consume you. Observed in the American Pit Bull Terrier and Malinois.
- Integrity: Focus on becoming authentic in all your interactions. Observed in most herding dog breeds.
- Transparency: They know what they’re getting at all times. No surprises. Observed in all obedient dog breeds like the GSD and Doberman.
- Confidence: Show up with swagger and assertiveness, yet always try to maintain kindness and generosity. The two work well together in gaining respect. Observed in the Bullmastiff and all good guard dogs.
- Focus: You must be less distracted than your competition. To get the few critical things done, you must develop incredible selective ignorance. Otherwise, the trivial will drown you. Observed in the Belgian Shepherds.
Note: Each dog is an individual and there are heroes as well as looser specimens in each breed. We have attempted a gross generalization which can never be 100% right – however, it is necessary to draw inferences. Many breeds do possess many leadership skills, we have just mentioned the ones we have observed.
While most guard dogs and herding dogs inherently possess many leadership skills. Probably, the Belgian Malinois is the only dog breed in which most leadership skills are observed.
Hats off to this unique breed – the Belgian Malinois is an amazing dog in the hands of the right handler. However, it may be too much for an amateur dog enthusiast.