The natural pack is like a wonderful well oiled machine, all going in the same direction, a group of individuals forming one unit. Within that unit they have communication, trust, delegation, joint responsibility, coaching, understanding, mentoring and teamwork.

The shepherd is the leader of his dogs and they must work under his direction, but when they are working at a distance from him he must be able to trust them to work on their own initiative. He doesn’t expect each dog to work in the same way but allows for their individuality and, to get optimum performance from each one, he must be able to recognise and understand their strengths and vulnerabilities.

You will be working with the natural communication of body language, the dogs are part of your team and the sheep are your ‘task’.

Sheepdogs are excellent mentors working together in harmony for the good of the pack. Their observation and communication skills enable them to assess and interact with team players, balancing strengths and vulnerabilities to gain optimum performance. As a team player are you willing to delegate and can you recognise and balance with the strengths and vulnerabilities of your team? As a leader can you identify the different strengths of each dog, can you adapt to each one to get optimum performance and can you recognise who is best equipped for which task?

The characters in our team include one who is meticulous, one who dislikes taking orders but will do anything when asked, one who is bubbly but lacking in confidence, the team joker and the team organiser. Can you identify them, can you identify with them and can you commit to their level of focus when you are working with them.