…the most effective leaders show up with integrity as their authentic selves and are prepared to acknowledge that they don’t always have all the answers…
I had the pleasure of interviewing Owen Sharp. Owen Sharp was appointed as CEO of Dogs Trust and President of Dogs Trust USA in July 2019. Prior to Dogs Trust, Owen was the Global CEO and Executive Director of the Movember Foundation based in Culver City, California. Before Movember, which is the largest funder of men’s health services and research which works closely with the Prostate Cancer Foundation in the USA, Owen was CEO at Prostate Cancer UK and Interim and Deputy CEO at Victim Support.
Thank you so much for doing this with us. Before we begin our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”?
Before my role at Dogs Trust, I had previously worked in the health sector and then at several non-profits, mainly in the area of cancer research and men’s health so my background is in non-profit management. I was previously Chief Executive of the Movember Foundation, a global charity that seeks to improve men’s health. Since it was launched in Australia in 2003, Movember has been supported by more than 5 million participants and funded more than 1,200 innovative projects to tackle prostate cancer, testicular cancer and to support suicide prevention across 21 countries.
Prior to Movember, I was Chief Executive at Prostate Cancer UK and before that, Deputy Chief Executive at Victim Support.
Animals have always been a big part of my life and I rescued and cared for several 3-legged hamsters as a child.
Can you tell us the story behind why you decided to start or join your non nonprofit?
I was on holiday when I was approached for the role at Dogs Trust, with my dog Dixie by my side. I’ve had dogs all my life, including a current Dogs Trust rescue called Lexi. As a lifetime dog lover, I felt passionately that I wanted to reduce the number of healthy dogs euthanized, which is sadly over 760,000 a year in the USA as well as millions more globally.
Can you describe how you or your organization aims to make a significant social impact?
Dogs Trust USA works to improve dog welfare within the USA, but also in other places around the world where dogs are treated cruelly or inhumanely (usually through human fear of rabies or dog populations being out of control).
I’ve travelled all over the world to see our work in action, but my first trip to Goa in India was probably the moment I realized dogs needed us so desperately outside of the USA as much as they do at home. Our Mission Rabies program saves both children and dogs. It’s a 100% deadly disease if not caught early, but it’s also 100% preventable and seeing what has been achieved in Goa, which is India’s only rabies free state, really inspired me. I believe Dogs Trust USA’s work will be truly transformational in saving millions more dogs from cruelty, suffering and death if we can eradicate rabies globally over the next 20 years. Every 9 minutes a child around the world dies from a rabies bite and it costs £8.6 billion each year globally to fund preventive jabs and post exposure care. As well as saving millions of dogs, we can have a significant social impact by stamping out canine rabies globally.
Without saying any names, can you share a story about an individual who was helped by your idea so far?
We are very fortunate to have a family of prominent philanthropists support our work in the USA and around the world, which started with one key family member believing in our mission and organization in the UK. Different family members are connected to our work in different ways, with one family member engaging particularly with our UK rehoming centers and work to adopt dogs in the UK. Through them, we have been able to engage other family members with Dogs Trust’s mission in the USA, and enjoy their support to deliver our 65 + partnerships across the USA. Finally, they have been an ambassador highlighting our work overseas and the need to vaccinate dogs against canine rabies, to ensure both dogs and humans stay safe. What started out as one single donor relationship, now involves multiple family members and their companies, which is just fantastic. We are extremely grateful for their on-going support which has been truly transformational.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Domestically in the USA, policies and funding that enable all dog owners to access affordable spay and neuter operations and microchipping for their dogs. Overpopulation in shelters is the main reason for healthy dogs being euthanized in the USA, so reducing the level of the dog population overall is a fundamental starting point. In the UK, over a 20-year period we managed to reduce the number of healthy dogs euthanized in pounds from 80,000 to 1,400 per year though policies and funding mechanisms that helped control the growth of the dog population.
Communities can help by trying to be responsible dog owners from day one. Dogs who have had basic training, including teaching them how to settle in social situations, walk nicely on a leash and be fine with being left for short periods of time at home are much less likely to become problematic as they get older. This is often where the relationship between dog and owner breaks down and the dog is at risk of ending up in a shelter if the owner cannot cope with unwanted behaviors. This goal, to keep dogs and owners together, led us to develop our Dog School program. This is a specialist program that provides training at an affordable price, using only positive training techniques. The goal of the program is to stop problem behaviors before they grab hold and risk damaging the human-dog bond, that in the end, results in some dogs being relinquished. In the UK, we have over 40 Dog Schools helping 30,000 dogs and their owners a year and have piloted similar classes in both New York and California with positive results.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
In my mind, ‘Leadership’ is guiding and inspiring others toward a common vision or goal. There are many definitions of ‘Leadership,’ but the behaviors and values that stand out to me as being most important are: integrity, self-awareness, courage, respect, compassion, and resilience.
Some people in formal leadership positions are poor leaders, and many good leaders have no formal authority. In this sense, leadership is something you do and not something you are. It is a person’s actions, rather than their words or job title, that inspire trust and commitment with their teams and across an organization. Leadership inevitably comes in many different guises. I have been lucky enough to work with some great leaders, some of them have been specialists in their field such as some of the world’s leading prostate cancer experts and others have been great managers who have created an environment in which teams and individuals can flourish. I think the most effective leaders show up with integrity as their authentic selves and are prepared to acknowledge that they don’t always have all the answers.
Based on your experience, what are the “5 Things A Person Should Know Before They Decide to Start a Non-Profit”. Please share a story or example for each.
- Understand which other organizations already exist with a mission to tackle the same problem to ensure you’re not duplicating work that is already being done by others and that there is a genuine ‘need’ for your non-profit. These organizations could potentially become your competitors or partners in the future, so it’s good to know the market you will be operating in. For Dogs Trust USA, we did a lot of work to map all the existing national and local dog welfare organizations and shelters to ensure we understood the complexity of the market, and to ensure there was a gap and need for our work, when there are already so many wonderful organizations doing great work to help dogs across the USA. Many of those organizations we looked at originally are now Dogs Trust USA partners. Working together we are having a greater impact than we could have individually.
- Be clear on your unique selling proposition (USP). How will what you do be different to others who are doing similar work? We get asked a lot why Dogs Trust USA has not set up shelters in the USA, akin to our 22 rehoming centers across the UK and Ireland. The answer is we felt this would be duplication as there are already 1000s of shelters and rescues across the USA caring for abandoned dogs. We saw our USP as something different. Our goal is to make sure staff and volunteers working in shelters and rescues have all the skills and confidence they need to give dogs the best chance of a successful adoption. With over 130 years’ experience of helping dogs, we provide training, mentoring and sometimes financial assistance to our shelter and rescue partners. Building knowledge and capacity in the dog behavior space is where we felt we could particularly make the greatest difference as so many dogs are abandoned or returned to the shelter because their owners cannot cope with their dog’s problem behaviors.
- Think about who you will need around you in those nascent years as you set up and build your non-profit. A supportive Board of Trustees and key staff appointments will be critical to your success in those first few years, but you may want to keep the inner circle small in the beginning as you will be pulled in many directions trying to get the non-profit off the ground. You may also have specific audiences that you need to speak to in the early days. How will you prioritize these as budget restraints may require you to make some tough decisions in the first couple of years?
- Funding, funding, funding! This is critical as a non-profit just setting out. Do you already have SEED funding to see you through the first couple of years? If not, do you have a plan in place to raise the funds required to match the aspiration for operational growth in the first few years?
- What is the end game? What will have changed in the world if your non-profit is successful and you can close your doors? If you can answer this before you even begin, it will make life much easier in terms of articulating powerfully your non-profit’s case for support. From this, your organizational wide strategy, communications, marketing and fundraising strategies can be built, as well as your team and culture being built around one vision. In Dogs Trust’s international work, we are determined to put an end to canine rabies globally. We know to achieve that; our first step is to half the number of human rabies deaths by 2030 and that it will cost c.$30m to achieve that goal over the next five years.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world who you would like to talk to, to share the idea behind your non-profit? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Oh wow, that is a tough question. As a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan, I am tempted to say Josh Allen — he is an inspirational leader on and off the field and as a well-known dog lover could inspire millions by sharing the work that we are doing in the USA and across the globe (plus I would get a chance to meet my favourite player in the world!)
However, if I can only choose one it would be Warren Buffett. His commitment to not only his own philanthropy but working with others to increase the impact of his giving is inspiring. Canine mediated rabies is an appalling disease that destroys lives of people and dogs but it is a disease that can be eradicated. With the right resources and a concerted effort this disease can be stamped out from all corners of the world. At Dogs Trust we are determined to play as big a part as possible in the elimination of rabies but we know that we cannot do it alone, we will need others to get behind this important and achievable goal and I am sure that Mr. Buffett’s experience of bringing people together would be invaluable.
Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson” Quote? How is that relevant to you in your life?
I have two:
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” Arthur Ashe
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make” Jane Goodall
I am very lucky to have had a career doing things that I care passionately about. I believe that making a positive difference is the most important thing that we can do and I constantly ask the question ‘is what I am doing having the most positive impact possible?’ Leading a not-for-profit organization is a huge privilege and means that you are at the forefront of an organization that many people have entrusted to make that difference — I take that trust really seriously. I like the Arthur Ashe quote because it is an important reminder to not get stuck in a cycle of wishing things were different — you are where you are and the best time to start changing things is today.
How can our readers follow you online?
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success in your mission.
Owen Sharp of Dogs Trust: 5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Lead A Nonprofit Organization was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.