How to Pet a Porcupine

I discovered something new in a staff meeting a few weeks ago, and that is that you can pet a porcupine without getting hurt. I have never actually pet a porcupine, but I was told it is possible without a follow-up trip the hospital, if you do it correctly.

Porcupine

Photo courtesy of © flickr.com/photos/arthur_chapman/3986448936/

If you want to pet a porcupine without getting stuck by a bunch of quills you don’t run up and startle it.  You don’t quickly scoop it up into your hands and give it a big hug.  If you want to pet a porcupine you have to develop trust with it.  First, you hold out your hand to see if it wants to come near and sniff you. Only after it sniffs you can you pet it, but you have to do it a certain way starting at the head and petting down.  To pet a porcupine any other way could potentially hurt…a lot.

Some people are a lot like porcupines. They have quills, and they will stick you if you handle them the wrong way.    You know the kind of people I am talking about, they tend to be a bit grouchy, pessimistic, standoffish and avoid personal contact, have a tendency to complain and point out the bad in a situation, etc…  These people tend to be a lot like porcupines.  If you run up and startle them you’re going to get hurt.  If you try to pressure them into doing something you’re going to get hurt.  If you cross their path in a way they don’t like, start looking for the nearest hospital.

To pet one of these porcupines requires developing trust just like a real porcupine. No, holding out your hand to see if they sniff you is probably not the best way to go about it, but spending time getting to know them is.  Learning about their perspective, their past, their priorities can give you insight in how best to go about working and getting along with them.  Taking the time to building trust with can go a very long way, and save you a lot of pain in the end.  Just as I am sure petting a real porcupine is an amazing experience, I know that getting someone who is a bit prickly on your side can be just as fulfilling.

Also, for those who are pastors of churches and have opportunity to work with porcupines, the reality is that they are also sheep in need of a good shepherd. They can’t simply be dismissed. You can’t just steer clear of them like you might a real porcupine in the wild. You have to learn to pet them.  You have to learn to lead them. So you might as well do it the right way, and save yourself some pain.

Posted on
Category: Leadership

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.

Leave a Reply to Stephenwew Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

5,907 thoughts on “How to Pet a Porcupine”

  2. Защитные кейсы https://plastcase.ru в Санкт-Петербурге — надежная защита оборудования от влаги, пыли и ударов. Большой выбор размеров и форматов, ударопрочные материалы, индивидуальный подбор.

    Reply

  5. We absolutely love your blog and find many of your post’s to be just what I’m looking for. Does one offer guest writers to write content available for you? I wouldn’t mind composing a post or elaborating on a lot of the subjects you write with regards to here. Again, awesome web site!

    Reply

  7. Oh my goodness! Incredible article dude! Thank you, However I am having difficulties with your RSS. I don’t know why I can’t subscribe to it. Is there anyone else having similar RSS problems? Anyone who knows the solution will you kindly respond? Thanx!!

    Reply

  9. Hi there! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this website? I’m getting sick and tired of WordPress because I’ve had problems with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be awesome if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

    Reply

  12. Magnificent beat ! I wish to apprentice even as you amend your site, how can i subscribe for a weblog web site? The account aided me a acceptable deal. I were a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast provided vivid transparent idea

    Reply

  14. Just desire to say your article is as astonishing. The clearness on your submit is just cool and that i can assume you’re an expert on this subject. Fine with your permission allow me to grasp your feed to stay updated with impending post. Thanks one million and please continue the enjoyable work.

    Reply

  16. Защитные кейсы https://plastcase.ru в Санкт-Петербурге — надежная защита оборудования от влаги, пыли и ударов. Большой выбор размеров и форматов, ударопрочные материалы, индивидуальный подбор.

    Reply

  17. Защитные кейсы plastcase.ru/ в Санкт-Петербурге — надежная защита оборудования от влаги, пыли и ударов. Большой выбор размеров и форматов, ударопрочные материалы, индивидуальный подбор.

    Reply

  18. Very great post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to mention that I’ve really enjoyed surfing around your weblog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing on your feed and I am hoping you write again very soon!

    Reply

  28. Защитные кейсы https://plastcase.ru в Санкт-Петербурге — надежная защита оборудования от влаги, пыли и ударов. Большой выбор размеров и форматов, ударопрочные материалы, индивидуальный подбор.

    Reply

  36. Защитные кейсы plastcase.ru/ в Санкт-Петербурге — надежная защита оборудования от влаги, пыли и ударов. Большой выбор размеров и форматов, ударопрочные материалы, индивидуальный подбор.

    Reply

  38. Hi there! Quick question that’s totally off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My website looks weird when browsing from my iphone. I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to fix this issue. If you have any recommendations, please share. Many thanks!

    Reply

  41. An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a coworker who had been conducting a little homework on this. And he actually ordered me lunch because I discovered it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending the time to discuss this matter here on your blog.

    Reply

  44. hello there and thank you for your information – I have definitely picked up anything new from right here. I did however expertise several technical points using this web site, since I experienced to reload the web site a lot of times previous to I could get it to load correctly. I had been wondering if your web hosting is OK? Not that I am complaining, but slow loading instances times will often affect your placement in google and can damage your quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords. Anyway I am adding this RSS to my e-mail and could look out for much more of your respective intriguing content. Ensure that you update this again very soon.

    Reply