Ten Commandments of (Horse) Leadership: Part 3

#4: Create the involvement You Seek

• Create opportunities for your horse to be a partner with you in pursuing goals.

• Allow your horse to make work-related decisions whenever appropriate and practical.

#5: Do Right by Those Who Do Right

• Catch your horse doing things right and recognize him/her for it.  Recognition should be:
• Timely
• Specific
• Sincere
• Personal
• Proportional

Jackson didn't want to go over this little jump.  I let him study it and then he calmly stepped over.  He's very pleased with himself and he got lots of praise from me.















#6: Provide What They Need to Succeed

• Clear expectations

 

• Ongoing feedback

Jackson wasn't too sure about the beach at first.  He needed lots of reassurance that the waves washing up were not going to eat his feet.

• Time

Jackson has arthritis in his hocks so I need to give him time to rest between days of work.

• Tools and Training

Ten Commandments of (Horse) Leadership: Part 2

Weather: 38-41F with intermittent rain and blowing mist
 Egg count: 9

...continuing on with the ten commandments of leadership and how they apply to our relationship with horses:


#2: Practice What You Preach

• Stand for something good and noble
• Walk the talk (he's not the only one who needs to be fit, flexible and balanced.  I need to stick with yoga.)
• Follow ALL the rules and regulations (would those be Brett's barn rules???)
• Solve problems rather than "celebrate" them ( "celebrate" -does that mean encourage them?  Buy into them? For me, it's bridle wars.  When Jackson gets worried and throws his head up, I need to let him move freely forward and work out of the fear.  Me hanging on his face makes it worse.  It doesn't solve anything.)
• To be dedicated to learning and continuous improvement (NO problem here.  I'm a lesson and clinic and book junkie.  I love to learn - its one of the coolest things about dressage.  You never get there - you are always learning).
• Deal with disappointments and setbacks constructively (I think I do fine.  I pat Jackson, put him away, and get pissy, whiny and downright cranky with Brett. ...yeah, I could do better with this one.)

#3: Communicate with Care and Conviction

• Start with the end in mind (for me, keeping my goals present in my brain)
• Focus on quality, not quantity (sometimes we stop after 20 minutes if Jackson does something really, really well and I want him to ponder on his brilliance)
• Listen with care (like when he says his back hurts.  Hey!  Mom!  My back HURTS!  ...I can be so dense sometimes.)
• Keep it honest and real (I guess I need to accept that we will never be FEI material)

Ten Commandments of (Horse) Leadership: Part 1

Today I was in a meeting at work listening to a presentation about leadership skills.  As the speaker went through the ten commandments of leadership, I couldn't help but think about our leadership role with horses.  I know, bad bad girl.  Thinking about her horse during a work meeting.

#1: Make What Matters Really Matter
There were a number of bullet points under this heading that all pointed to what I call "walk the walk" or "lead by example" or even "actions speak louder than words."  Think about these ten specific behaviors that employees watch for in their leaders to determine what really matters -- and think about how your horse would interpret them.

• What you pay attention to.  (Jackson's feet, how he uses his body, forwardness, balance)
• What you talk about and emphasize. (forward, try, balance)
• What you do; the example you set (hmmmm, correct posture, relax, focus, consistency)
• What you expect and demand from your horse (effort, manners, "try")
• How you spend your time (grooming, washing tail, grooming, washing tail, riding)
• What you budget for and allocate resources to (eek!  no self control here.  tack, treats, etc)
• What you measure and evaluate (keep a log of short term goals - i.e., balance, no bridle wars)
• What you brag about (Jackson's try, his forward, his goofy fun factor)
• What you reward (try)
• What you enforce (forward, manners)

What really matters to all of you?