Leadership through horses

Bringing out the best in your team

“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man”. – Winston Churchill

We’ve just had an amazing day working with some brilliant team members. Let us introduce them……

Why horses?

Because your ability to lead others is put to the test! A horse can weigh more than 500 kilos and speaks in a foreign tongue, and unless you can attract and hold his interest, he may not be very interested in interacting with you. Believe us, they will also provide you with immediate, honest feedback on how you are doing!

The Directors on our Management Development Programme were certainly put to the test. They found it frustrating, rewarding, surprising and thought provoking! And it paid off, as by the end of the day they all influenced and motivated a horse (team member) to follow them by choice. What an achievement!

So what did our Directors learn from the team?

• Take the time to build trust and build relationships
  • How often do you take the time to connect with people?
• Be focused and set a clear direction
  • Do you know where you are heading?
• Be purposeful
  • Does lack of confidence, hesitancy or indecision get in your way?
• Keep things interesting
  • How are you engaging the team?
  • If something is not working, do you try something different?
• Different situations require different levels of energy
  • Is using too much energy startling the team or draining you?
  • Is too little energy slowing the pace?
• Be present and observe what’s happening
  • When did you last observe the team?
• Step back
  • When things aren’t going as planned, do you come out of the detail?
• Give people space
  • Are you overpowering, over focusing or micro-managing them
• Strike the right balance between task and relationships
  • Are you so focused on the task that you forget about the people?
• Communicate
  • It’s not just what you say, its often about non-verbal communication

Partnering with horses is an effective and impacting method to develop communication skills, increase self-awareness, inspire teamwork, collaboration and trust through genuine leadership. All attributes which are readily transferable to the workplace.