Archive - May 2022

The horse, leadership and me

I’m with a group of colleagues, learning about experiential leadership with executive coach and developer of leaders and teams, Jude Jennison, and her herd of horses.  With a horse it’s critical to be in relationship (and useful to be able to identify how that manifests in your body), to be curious, to be present, to respect the horse’s freedom to choose and to offer clear direction.  What won’t work is to be concerned about your competence or performance, because the horse will instantly pick up on your insecurity and will feel unsafe.  And it’s hard to be in relationship when lack of safety is there.   Jude’s insight about the importance of allowing the horse space and freedom so that together we can fulfil the task feels like an important illumination.  We learn that the whole team needs to be in sync. Communication up and down the line is essential if the team is to stay cohesive.  And the horse needs confidence in the clarity, intention, direction, energy and trust of both the leader and the whole team.