Dogs display many traits of great leaders − here are 5 breeds that can be your leadership role models

What five breeds can teach leaders.

By

Good Partner

May 8, 2026

By Good Partner

May 8, 2026

Add to Google News

Photo credit: meaghanbrowning/RooM via Getty Images – Watching how dogs approach life can provide lessons for leaders.

Aditya Simha

I have been a dog lover ever since I was a kid and have spent years learning about the temperaments and histories of different dog breeds, as well as famous dogs and their adventures. I have attended a variety of dog shows to meet various breeds and talk with their owners, and I’ve also lived with several dogs – including a dachshund, otterhound, German shepherd, Indian spitz and Labrador retriever – over the course of my life.

Beyond my canine concerns, I’m a professor of management who loves teaching courses and conducting research on leadership. So, it was a no-brainer for me to combine my two interests to write a book, “Learning Leadership from Dogs.” Various dog breeds embody distinct traits and behaviors that we humans can emulate to become better leaders.

Here are five qualities dogs model that any leader, at work or in life, can learn from.

Dog lying down and wearing a cap looks at the camera — The author’s own otterhound Fiona was always up for a good time. Aditya Simha

Joie de vivre

Happy-go-lucky hounds have an abundance of joie de vivre, a French phrase that refers to a cheerful and exuberant enjoyment of life. My own otterhound, Fiona, amply embodied this trait. A simple walk in the woods or hike on the beach was all she ever wanted.

This kind of optimism and cheerfulness can make leaders more empathetic and pleasant to work with, partly because psychology research finds that positive moods increase helping, generosity and interpersonal understanding. Those are key ingredients of empathy.

Followers feel and perform better when led by good-natured, enthusiastic leaders who look on the bright side. A leader’s joie de vivre can be passed on to the team. Scholars of positive leadership call this process emotional contagion – how a mood or emotional tone can spread through a group.

Courage

Who wants to follow a timid leader, right? Most people want a leader who is brave and who walks the talk – someone who’s courageous enough to do the right thing under all circumstances, not just when it’s convenient to do so.

dog looks at attention with person in military garb holding its leash — Some Dutch shepherds are military working dogs with the U.S. Army. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service

While there are many dog breeds that embody courage, I want to single out the Dutch shepherd. Smaller than the German shepherd and the Belgian Malinois, the Dutch shepherd is used in police and military work because of its athleticism, trainability and strong work ethic. Just like how Dutch shepherds run toward danger to protect others, courageous leaders take risks for their values and to support their team.

Intelligence

Leaders must not only know about their domain, they also need to be able to understand which of their followers needs to be treated or led differently. Both emotional and cognitive intelligence are essential for effective leadership and have positive consequences for their followers’ attitudes and performance.

Black and white dog looks at three sheep standing on grass — Border collies are great at herding and know the best ways to keep different sheep in line. Fernando Lavoz/Nur Photo via Getty Images

I point to the border collie as a dog that exemplifies both forms of intelligence. The border collie not only knows how to herd sheep, but also which sheep to herd with patience and which sheep need a bit more sharpness.

This intelligence is something that needs to be guided and channeled. Border collies left without enough work or stimulation are famous for finding their own “jobs,” such as herding the human children, chasing shadows or inventing new mischief around the house.

Without proper direction, even brilliance can become counterproductive – another lesson leaders can keep in mind when managing their own flocks.

Kindness

Kindness is one quality that is sadly not given the amount of attention it merits in the world of management, even though it can shape whether followers feel respected, trusted and willing to contribute.

Big black dog nuzzles face of a woman kneeling in a field who is petting it — Newfoundlands are kind, gentle giants. kozorog/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Displaying kindness is a canine specialty. The dog breed that comes to mind for me here is the Newfoundland. First bred in Canada and known as a fine water rescue dog, these gentle giants are supremely kind to everyone and display a benevolent, protective nature.

Leaders similarly need to be kind to their followers, even if a team member has failed at a task. A kind response does not mean ignoring mistakes; it means correcting them in a way that preserves dignity, making followers more likely to learn, speak up and try again. Together those patterns facilitate work environments that promote what researchers call psychological safety: a shared belief that people can ask questions, admit mistakes and raise concerns without fear of embarrassment, rejection or punishment.

Resilience

Resilience is not just toughness; it is the ability to recover from setbacks, adapt under pressure and keep moving forward when things don’t go as planned. Leaders rely on it during crises, failed projects, public criticism or periods of organizational change, all moments when uncertainty is high and confidence can falter.

Brown dog looks alertly to the distance while standing in a field — A Rhodesian ridgeback bounces back from failure in order to be ready for the next challenge on the horizon. Ines Arnshoff/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Any leader can look to the Rhodesian ridgeback as a resilience role model. This breed hails from South Africa and was originally used to assist in lion hunting – an activity fraught with peril and with high prospects of failure. Rhodesian ridgebacks are dauntless dogs, always ready to try another dangerous hunt even in the wake of repeated failures.

Like these dogs, leaders often must confront perilous tasks with a high likelihood of failure, and they must be ready to bounce forward so they can eventually seize success. Without resilience, leaders may panic, withdraw or become overly reactive, especially during a crisis. When that happens, uncertainty spreads, confidence erodes and teams are less likely to stay focused or move forward effectively.

Portrait against a white background of a group of dogs of many sizes — Different breeds have different personalities – but they’re all good boys and girls. Compassionate Eye Foundation/David Leahy/Digital Vision via Getty Images

Dogs are the most popular choice of pet in the United States and worldwide. You probably don’t need to look far to find some furry friends who can inspire you with their admirable characteristics. Dogs may never author a leadership book, but they live out leadership lessons in courage, kindness and joy every day.

This article originally appeared on The Conversation. You can read it here.

Add to Google News

More for You

Photo credit: Xavier Desmier/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images – In much of the industrialized world, daily life is increasingly organized around the nuclear family.

Civic Life, Society

Why fatherhood matters more than ever before

The growing power of present dads.

Good Partner

6/17/2026

Darby Saxbe

Long gone are the days of the distant dad.

According to some estimates, the average time dads spend caring for their kids each day has quadrupled over the past 50 years. Their attitudes about parenting are also changing. Today, men are about as likely as mothers to say parenting is a key source of meaning and a central priority in their lives. Roughly 85% of fathers identify parenthood as one of the most important aspects of their identity.

As a parenting researcher who focuses on fathers, I’m pleased to see that dads are so invested in their kids. It correlates with better outcomes for kids, and it reduces pressure on moms.

But there’s a less encouraging trend tucked into these gains. More is being asked of dads – and moms, for that matter – because the extended family and community networks that once supported childrearing have shrunk or deteriorated.

Parenting alone

In researching my new book, “Dad Brain: The New Science of Fatherhood and How it Shapes Men’s Lives,” I talked to an anthropologist named Barry Hewlett, who has spent his career studying hunter-gatherer fathers.

One society he studies, the Aka Pygmies of the Central Congo, have been called “the best fathers in the world” for their dedication to childcare. Aka men are frequently observed within arms reach of their infants and take a lead role in raising them. Children are seen as central to men’s lives.

However, if you compare the time Aka dads spent on childcare with recent data on American parents, as parenting writer Tomo Kumaki recently did, you might be surprised.

According to 2024 American Time Use Survey data – considered the gold standard of evidence on how Americans are spending their time – American dads of infants are devoting about 125 minutes a day to what’s called “primary child care,” in which their main activity is tending to the child. They’re spending another 394 minutes on what’s known as “secondary child care,” which involves watching a child while doing something else, such as cooking dinner or straightening up the house.

In contrast, according to Hewlett’s research from the field, Aka fathers of infants spend about 57 minutes a day on primary and 96 minutes a day on secondary childcare.

The minutes American dads relayed should be taken with a grain of salt; it’s a stretch to compare an anthropologist’s direct observations with self-reported time diary data, which can often be subject to bias. Still, it’s striking to see how – based on these calculations, at least – today’s new dads are devoting far more time to parenting than a society described as having the best dads in the world.

Among the Aka people, who are indigenous, nomadic hunter-gatherers native to Central Africa, men take a lead role in raising their children. Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

When I spoke with him about how fatherhood has changed, Hewlett told me he thinks the role of fathers has taken on more importance today than ever before – not just because mothers are more likely to have jobs outside the home, but because there are simply fewer childcare helpers around.

When you’re surrounded by your kin and neighbors in a communal setting like the Aka, it’s easy to get assistance with kids. Fathers care for children, but so do lots of other people.

A 2021 study of another hunter-gatherer society, the Agta, which lives in the mountains of the Philippines, found that fathers provided only about 7% of child care. Mothers, however, provided only about 25%. The rest came from siblings, grandparents, extended family, peers and other community members, who all pitch in.

A class divide

In much of the industrialized world, daily life is organized around the nuclear family, with relatives and neighbors playing a less central role than they once did.

Today’s fathers contribute more to childcare than even the most hands-on hunter-gatherer dad, because there’s simply less of a village to support shared care.

Even as men are being asked to take on a bigger role in childcare, it’s become harder for some men to do so. That’s because – in the U.S., at least – the time men are able to spend on childcare has become increasingly stratified by class.

Journalists Derek Thompson and Aziz Sunderji analyzed multiple waves of U.S. data collected by the Multinational Time Use Study and were able to show that the significant rise in the time dads spend parenting over the past 60 years has primarily been driven by college-educated fathers.

When the Multinational Time Use Study started in the 1960s, fathers with a college degree were devoting only a few extra minutes per day to childcare compared with noncollege-educated dads. But the gap has quintupled over that time span, such that college-educated dads are now spending 46 more minutes with their kids each day compared with noncollege-educated dads.

So why the growing divide? In part, it’s because benefits such as universal paid paternity leave and stable, flexible work options are available only to dads with good jobs.

Only about half of U.S. fathers take any paid paternity leave following the birth of a new baby, because many employers don’t offer it. In theory, most dads who can’t access paid leave should be eligible for unpaid leave through the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act. However, since that legislation doesn’t apply to small businesses or many part-time or gig work situations, about 44% of workers are ineligible for it. Low-wage dads are also often reluctant to take leave because they can’t afford to lose income.

The rise of what sociologists call intensive parenting among the most educated, affluent parents also helps account for some of the class divide in parenting time. As the wealth gap between the richest and poorest Americans has widened over the past 60 years, many parents have been eager to optimize their children’s success. Devoting extra time to children, including monitoring their schoolwork and enrolling them in enrichment activities that require time and money, has become one way for parents with privilege to give their children a leg up.

In my view, hands-on parenting should not be a luxury good. Americans should be fighting for policies that empower all dads, no matter their income, to enjoy time with their children. The village could use some rehabilitation, too, since parents fare best when they have access to community support and stronger connections with their neighbors, friends and family.

This article originally appeared on The Conversation. You can read it here.

Keep Reading →
Photo credit: Julian Paren/Wikimedia Commons (Cropped) – Repair Cafe, Fortrose Free Church.

Civic Life, Society

Broken household items bring people to Repair Cafés but community keeps them coming back

The repair is only the beginning.

Mark Wales

6/15/2026

The toaster oven burns everything, a lamp constantly flickers, or maybe a favorite coat has lost all its buttons. These random irritations around the home usually lead to a simple choice: throw it out, get a new item, or live with it.

A growing number of communities have found a more productive solution called a “Repair Café.” People are bringing their broken household items and gathering around shared tables. Know-how volunteers offer a more environmentally friendly solution that has people coming back for more than simple repairs.

Reading Repair Café – Textiles and Sewing Repairs.
Karen Blakeman/Wikimedia Commons/(Cropped)

Neighbors helping neighbors

Repair Cafés are free community events where neighbors help neighbors fix the everyday objects that would probably end up in the trash. It’s a community-building opportunity that turns frustration into a shared, hands-on experience.

The Associated Press reports that people arrive at a local church basement carrying blunt knives, malfunctioning zippers, and other things most don’t know how to fix themselves. The volunteers with repair skills open devices, test parts, sew torn fabric, and troubleshoot issues. There’s no charge, no appointment, and no expectation that everything gets fixed.

The unique idea, according to the Repair Café Foundation, is a free meeting place where repairing things becomes something people do together instead of alone. Using shared tools and knowledge, items might get fixed and friendships might blossom.

With rising concerns about the cost of living and growing frustration with disposable consumer habits, repair culture is gaining momentum. Rather than replacing broken items, people are looking to make them last longer. It’s a planet-friendly model for reducing waste and challenging “throwaway culture.” This is an active attempt at shifting the way people think about consumption.

Trying to fix a VCR.
HellasX/Wikimedia Commons/(Cropped)

Repair Cafés are building community

While the concept is often framed as a way to save money and reduce waste, research suggests they serve another purpose as well. A 2024 study in Cleaner Production Letters found they also function in building community. Visitors are often motivated not only by the opportunity to fix things, but also to learn from others and engage in shared activities.

People are finding a real sense of satisfaction that goes beyond whether the item is repaired or not. Sitting with strangers, asking questions, and learning small skills creates an engagement increasingly rare in modern lifestyles.

In an article for the The Guardian, author Nyima Jobe quotes Sophie Heathscott, an arts magazine manager in London, saying, “There is a real joy in being able to fix something for someone, and then showing them how.”

Reading Repair Cafe – DIY workshop.
Karen Blakeman/Wikimedia Commons/(Cropped)

Working on a global scale, fixing thousands of items

The concept has grown into a global network with thousands of locations across multiple countries. Through volunteer-led events, countless household items have been repaired instead of discarded. However, the appeal goes beyond practicality. It may be damaged things that bring people through the door, but a repaired lamp is rarely the only thing they take home.

Repair Cafés offer something harder to find and impossible to manufacture. These gatherings give neighbors a chance to solve problems while working together on a common goal. Whatever the outcome, the main takeaway is communal connection.

Keep Reading →
Photo credit: Canva – Two women enjoy some small talk.

Civic Life, Society

The conversations people avoid may be the ones they would enjoy the most

Awkward small talk gets a bad rap.

Mark Wales

6/11/2026

Before having a conversation with a stranger, many people assume the interaction will be boring, uncomfortable, or simply not worth the effort. A recent study found that people routinely underestimate how enjoyable and meaningful these interactions can be.

In a recent paper, “Conversations About Boring Topics Are More Interesting Than We Think,” researchers suggest one of the biggest obstacles to human connection may be our own expectations. Across nine experiments involving 1,800 participants, talking on topics people expected to be boring turned out to be far more engaging than they predicted.

A good conversation.
Photo credit Canva

People unknowingly avoid meaningful conversations with strangers

Elizabeth Trinh, a doctoral student at the University of Michigan and lead study author, placed people in conversations about topics that they identified as boring. Options varied from the stock market to cats to vegan diets.

The study asked participants to predict how a conversation with unfamiliar people might go. Most participants expected less enjoyment, less connection, and less value from the exchange. The results suggest that people are surprisingly poor at forecasting their own social experiences.

After the interaction with a stranger, the majority believed it went far better and was more engaging than they had predicted. In an American Psychological Association press release, Trinh said, “People consistently expected conversations about seemingly boring topics to be less interesting than they turned out to be.”

The study indicates people might place too much emphasis on the topic and situation itself. Because once people start actually talking, the content matters far less than the interaction. “What really drives enjoyment is engagement,” explained Trinh.

“Feeling heard, responding to each other, and discovering unexpected details about someone’s life can make even a mundane topic meaningful,” she added.

Co-workers enjoy a good conversation.
Photo credit Canva

People opt out of potential connections

The study shows that people may be opting out of potential connections because they assume that opportunity isn’t worth their time and energy. It also challenges the idea that meaningful conversations require a special chemistry or a pre-existing relationship.

Instead, ordinary interactions with neighbors, coworkers, or people standing in a line may offer more emotional value than once believed. “Even a brief conversation about everyday life may be more rewarding than we expect,” said Trinh.

Researchers have repeatedly found that people feel better after engaging with strangers, even when expectations of awkwardness are high. They report feeling happier and more connected. Responding to another person, sharing experiences, and discovering unexpected connections far outweigh the importance of a strong starting point.

An epidemic of loneliness

These findings offer a reassuring contrast to the belief that modern loneliness is a growing problem that may not be easily solved. Avenues for connection may be far more abundant than many people think.

Several proposed solutions to loneliness and social isolation involve building new friendships through social groups and new hobbies. But Trinh’s research suggests a far simpler approach. People may be surrounded by opportunities that they routinely dismiss. Most of us assume boring, small talk won’t go anywhere, yet even a brief chat with a coworker or stranger may offer more social value than people realize.

The basic, everyday exchanges people have been avoiding might actually be some of the most valuable. Rather than planning the perfect social outing, a willingness to talk with a stranger that we might otherwise avoid could lead to a more meaningful experience.

Keep Reading →