What Training My Dog Taught Me About Leadership: 52 Practical Lessons in Patience, Clarity, and Leading with Confidence

Leadership wisdom doesn't always come from boardrooms or workshops. Sometimes it comes from a stubborn, treat-obsessed dog who teaches you more about patience, consistency, and communication than you ever expected.

What Training My Dog Taught Me About Leadership is a unique leadership guide inspired by real-life experiences training Beanie, a lovable but strong-willed dog who turned everyday moments into powerful leadership lessons.

Across 52 weeks, you'll discover how dog training principles mirror effective leadership-clear communication, trust and relationship-building, compassionate boundaries, encouraging desired behaviors, staying calm under pressure, navigating setbacks, and celebrating progress over perfection.

Each lesson includes a practical application and a reflection question to help you turn insight into action. Whether you're leading a team, building a business, or growing personally, this book offers simple, relatable wisdom you can apply immediately. Leadership doesn't have to be complicated. Sometimes all it takes is listening to your dog.

Marty Pearson, PHR, SHRM-CP, is an executive coach, leadership trainer, and the founder of LFT Consulting, where she helps leaders build strong, healthy teams through clarity, communication, and consistency.With more than 20 years of experience in Human Resources, organizational development, and leadership training, Marty has partnered with executives, leadership teams, and HR professionals across a wide range of industries. While her credentials and experience run deep, some of her most powerful leadership insights didn't come from boardrooms or certifications-they came from everyday life, including the humbling (and often humorous) experience of training her strong-willed dog, Beanie.Marty's approach to leadership is grounded, practical, and deeply human. She believes leadership isn't mastered in a single moment, but shaped through daily interactions-how we communicate expectations, reinforce behavior, respond under pressure, and extend patience when things don't go as planned. Her work emphasizes progress over perfection and invites leaders to slow down, become more intentional, and lead with both kindness and confidence.Through executive coaching, workshops, and leadership development programs, Marty equips leaders at every level to build trust, strengthen relationships, and create cultures where people-and businesses-can thrive.When she's not coaching or designing leadership programs, Marty can often be found traveling to her next adventure or enjoying a great cup of coffee-usually reflecting on the next leadership lesson waiting to be learned, one week at a time.