Sonia Villalba reflects on leadership through lessons learned from dogs, emphasizing teamwork, emotional intelligence, empathy, resilience, humility, and collaborative relationships.
The Survival of a Leader
Dogs have been present in the life of humans and have managed to survive all historical periods since humans became Homo sapiens. They have been the subject of countless studies, several of which discuss the importance of this species in helping humans become who they are today.
People can learn from dogs just how valuable teamwork can be when all team members have the same goal and work hard to achieve it, while recognizing and being aware of their strengths and limitations, both intrinsic and extrinsic.
Women, Dogs, and Survival
Women, like dogs, are another example of survival. Women do not speak the language of men, much like dogs do not speak the language of humans. In this context, language refers to ways of communicating, feeling, and expressing those feelings.
However, both have learned to coexist and communicate in order to achieve goals: survival and proliferation of the species on the part of one, and recognition of rights on the part of the other.
Thanks to emotional intelligence, women have been able to adapt to their environment, mold themselves, and persevere after setbacks while taking advantage of tense and difficult situations. This is why female leaders have empathy, resilience, and humility, abilities that are ideal for making the best of every situation.
Leadership Lessons from Dogs
Throughout a life and career of more than 20 years dedicated to a masculine and even sexist sector such as dog training, Sonia Villalba has learned that, just like dogs, silent, disciplined, and proactive work can lead people to fulfill dreams they never thought would come true.
Dogs have taught her how to be the best leader she can be through decades of observing them and their interactions, witnessing how they adapt to the human world and society while keeping intact parameters of their own species, such as their own language.
She has learned how leadership is associated with negotiating, having empathy, listening, and creating new ideas in order to reach goals.
She has also understood that leadership relationships should not be rigid and hierarchical, but flexible and collaborative. Female leaders must continue to demonstrate that hard work, discipline, and the willingness and humility to be and do better are key resources for reaching goals.
Through millions of years of experience, dogs demonstrate daily what the survival of a leader looks like.
Biography
Sonia Villalba Tudela has a BA in Public Relations and Advertising and an MA in Digital Media.
She is a certified dog trainer and behaviorist, a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers, and has studied dog behavior for three decades in Spain and abroad.
She holds an Animal-Assisted Therapy Certificate and is accredited for the treatment of cynophobia.
She specializes in modifying unwanted behaviors in dogs, especially canine aggression, through the daily study of the incidence of overstress and motivation, investigating the bases of human psychology to establish comparative studies between the two species.
She is the author of Relationship between Serotonin Levels and Aggressive Behavior in Dogs.
A qualified life coach, she is especially interested in motivational tools to achieve the best results in her work. She has appeared in several radio and television programs in Spain as an expert in dog behavior.
She is also the chairman of Kanstak Sport, an association for dog sports, and Asociacion Internacional para el Bienestar Humano y Canino, an association dedicated to the research of human and canine well-being through comparative psychology.
Sonia Villalba Tudela is the founder and CEO of Kanstak Educacion Canina.