Leadership has been, and always will be, fraught with myriad responsibilities. Millions of people the world over entrust their livelihoods to leaders in government, corporations, small businesses and community organizations. All too often though, in the midst of uncertainty, with the enormous burden of responsibility, a leaders’ confidence has often been crushed. No one really knows what the future holds.
 
However, by turning to the innate wisdom of horses, leaders can learn volumes about confidence in the midst of uncertainty and how to successfully lead a team, an organization or a family through the unknown. It is by observing horses that today’s leaders can learn to negotiate their way through the darkest of times.
 
My colleagues, Jude Jennison and June Gunter have written about the wisdom of horses in their forthcoming book, The Choice To Lead: Navigating Uncertainty Together. In this brilliant book the authors state, “The complexity and uncertainty of twenty-first century business environments calls into question the effectiveness of traditional, hierarchical approaches to leadership. It is time to reimagine leadership for the complex, uncertain, connected world we live in today. The wisdom we need to prepare us for our future is ancient and rooted in nature. Horses have been creating healthy, sustainable communities for millions of years and they have much to teach us.”

For 15 years, Jude and June have, in their own words, “have honed a framework to apply how horses lead their herds to creating healthy futures for organizations and communities.” What horses illustrate for humans, as Jude and June point out is that, “Confidence in uncertainty is not about knowing, it is about noticing. We define noticing as the capability to place your attention on what is happening to you, those you lead, and to the world around you to detect emerging patterns that enable you to adapt to reality as it is shifting.” In addition, they add, “Horses are creatures of uncertainty who use routine to prepare themselves to handle the unexpected. These routines are precisely what make them agile. The difference between horses and people, is that horses can let go of their routines at the first sign that reality has changed, and a new response is needed. Horses understand that comfort is not the goal.”
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Not only is The Choice To Lead: Navigating Uncertainty Together a great read, it could lead you to a more fluid leadership style that will see your company through uncertainty intact.

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How aware are you at any given moment? Are you aware of being aware?  Do you ask yourself, "Why am I thinking about what I am thinking about?" If you are, then you may be one of the rare humans who live "in the moment" with people and actively listening is a key leadership skill.

If you are not sure whether or not you are aware, chances are you're not.  If you are in a leadership position, you may wonder why your team is not responsive or is consistently performing subpar.

Working with horses in a horse-assisted learning environment can help us become aware of the inconsistency in our thoughts and behaviors.  Horses always live in the moment.  They have to..As a prey animal they are continually scanning what is changing in their environment. Horses don't post rationalize situations and because emotions and behaviors are aligned, they are always congruent.  This is a beautiful model for integrity for the rest of us to aspire to.

In contrast,  people spend the majority of time worrying about the past, trying to predict the future and rarely 100% in the present.  And yet, if you ask us what they want from one another we will almost almost always answer "honest and authentic connection."  Horses remind us (without judgment) to look to ourselves first and indeed be the change we want to see in others.

To horses, consistency of feeling and behavior is the same as integrity.  Consistency of actions and mood is how trust is built with humans also.  People want to know where they stand, and what will be the likely response in any given situation.  In order to be consistent, we use our whole bodies to listen, not just our ears. Horses as sentient beings are using every aspect of their senses and capacity.  We instantly feel seen,  felt and held in their presence.  Spend some time with a horse to feel and see integrity in action.

Living day-to-day in the corporate world has a tendency to cut us off from nature and our deepest instincts. Leaders in the corporate arena often receive their training from other leaders nourished in the corporate environment.  
 
For many who find themselves in leadership positions or wanting to go for a leadership position, there may be resistance to the role for any number of reasons. Typically, these reasons consist of feeling unprepared, or lacking specific skills.  Fear of failing and fear of wandering too far out of an established comfort zone also come into play.  
 
Being around animals and in nature opens human consciousness and allows our instinctive connect to the natural world to open and inform us, restoring our spirit and our hope for the world we live in. Our programs take leaders, teams and individuals out of the day-to-day familiar confines of the conference room and into the natural world.
The combination of human coaches and horses marries real-world acumen with the emotional intelligence necessary to achieve authentic leadership potential.  The environment is one in which participants can learn to be aligned to their highest self, calling and greatest good.  
Horses live in energy. Energy is what they (and we) respond to first.
Horses have no hidden agenda. They are not impressed with the kind of car you drive, the neighborhood you live in, how much money you earn, your education or business acumen.  They don’t play politics, can’t be bribed, nor can they be intimidated. As such, horses provide a dramatic picture of how effective (or not) our leadership practices and skills are.
 
Horse Assisted workshops are instrumental in leading humans back to their natural senses.
 
Workshops can help:

• Strengthen communication
• Increase efficiency
• Expand one’s sphere of influence
• Turn obstacles into opportunities
• Become more effective and inspiring team leaders
 
If you would like to further explore how horses can help create more effective teams and leaders, our team at Medicine Horse Ranch designs custom horse assisted experiential programs for specific groups, businesses and organizations around any number of relevant issues and/or topics.

If you want to become a better corporate leader I would venture to say that your first thought rarely turns to horses for guidance. In fact, the idea would never occur to them unless it came from a leader whom you admire. The very idea seems incongruous and counter-intuitive. However, as it happens, more and more open-minded corporate leaders are learning that horses are turning out to be their most effective teachers and are turning to the wisdom of horses to teach them and their teams to lead differently. 
A small business or large corporate team can be likened to a herd of horses. The team members and employees follow the lead of their boss. If the leader is not aware of how his or her behavior affects others, it could lead to disaster. Here’s one thing horses show humans how to lead better as expressed in Equus Digest. 
“In the leadership dynamics of a herd of horses, it is the one whose 'feet move the least', who conserves the most energy, who are the leaders. If you watch a herd of horses, look for the one who is moving their feet the least, who is the quietest. That is the leader.” 
“As a leader, do your feet move the least? Do you conserve energy? Those who conserve energy by not expending a lot of time worrying, second-guessing and judging, have a mind that can access wisdom better. Those who can 'move the least' and delegate well, can turn their attention to the tasks they were meant to do.

”https://mailchi.mp/equussantafe/equus-digest-our-favorite-poetry-quotes-resources-and-tips-feb-18?e=5683412894
​If you would like to further explore how horses can help create more effective teams and leaders, our team at Medicine Horse Ranch designs custom horse-assisted experiential programs for specific groups, businesses and organizations around any number of relevant issues and/or topics.