All I Need to Know about Business I Learned from a Duck
What Can Horses Teach Us About Leadership?
Some people refer to it as Equine Guided Coaching, others call it Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) or Equine Experiential Education … but no matter what you call it, over the past two decades there has been explosive growth world-wide in the emerging Equine Assisted Activities industry.
Why Horses?
The horse is an animal of prey as well as a social heard animal. As such they have evolved into expert readers of energy mainly because their very survival depends upon constant awareness of their surroundings and to relationships within the herd. So, if you’re acting nervous around a horse, the horse will become nervous. And if you’re angry but have a smile on your face, the horse will read your “honest” emotion and shy away.
Click on the video below to watch workshops and listen to participant’s comments about horse assisted leadership activities provided by L-E-A-D located in Mantua, Ohio , (Recommendation – The video is 8:11 so if you don’t have time to watch all of it, be sure to at least watch the first 3 minutes).
How Do Horses Provide Opportunities For Leadership Growth?
Example: Most managers aren’t conscious of the mixed messages they send to reports and colleagues, even in relatively simple encounters and conversations. A majority of the time when a supervisor’s actions, behaviors, words and emotions are not consistent, employees normally don’t provide honest feedback. But when it occurs at an equine workshop, participants working with an equine partner will be provided with immediate feedback (horses mirror exactly what humans put out there) which gives the participant an opportunity to grow both personally and professionally.
So if you’re looking for an unique approach to leadership training where you’ll learn something new about your leadership style and discover “blind spots” that simply could not be revealed any other way, click HERE to link to Winning With Horse Power, an organization that serves as a conduit to connect businesses and individuals with the dedicated professionals who use equine experiential learning in their practices.
By the way, if you are looking for Equine Guided Coaching right here in Iowa, Brent and Jackie Bower, owners of Spirit of Chiron in Neola, Iowa, have completed a rigorous apprenticeship program and now offer the Epona-based Equestrian Approach which qualifies them to teach horse-human relationship skills, mind-body awareness, emotional fitness, assertiveness, and authentic leadership (click HERE for more information).
Fascinating! Thanks, Tom. The key words were that the horses sensed the emotions of the individual. Of course! That happens with people, too. They just don’t recognize it. In my life, when I really had to get the sale, it never happened, because the prospect sensed something was wrong. When I learned to be an advisor and educate the prospect for him to make the best decision for himself, it always turned out better. Maybe not with me, but we both left better and prepared for the future.
On another level, our focus and our emotions display our creative intent and the Universe responds directly to that. Meaning, if I am fearful, the Universe will bring me an object to be fearful of. If I am confident and supportive of others, the Universe will mirror that as well. Here, the horses give you an excellent, immediate response – an immediate Universe, if you will.
Great story. Thank you very much!
Steve Stone
Tom,
Great idea! I shared it with a couple of co-workers and they said they knew several managers who could benefit greatly from the training.
Thanks,
Mark Daugherty