How would you influence others if you had no authority?
This is the question we must ask ourselves in this critical time in human history. As people seek more meaning in their lives and become more autonomous, the current style of leadership will no longer be effective.
The answer to this question requires that you know who you are – which is a composite of your thoughts, emotions, beliefs, values, and actions. When all the usual ‘mechanisms’ are removed (eg. rank/position, wealth, fame, achievements, relationships/connections, etc.) what remains is just you. This is the source of your leadership.
What is a Natural leader?
- One who is self-aware. S/he knows who s/he is (beyond the various roles and functions in her/his life), what matters, and what has meaning for her/him. S/he is aware of her/his emotions and needs and listens to her/his intuition.
- S/he takes responsibility for everything in her/his field of awareness, and realises that changes must come from the inside first.
- S/he is authentic and acts in alignment with her/his values.
- S/he is naturally respectful and considerate of others’ needs and perspectives.
- S/he knows that s/he is connected to all others and the decisions and actions s/he takes affects the whole.
A new paradigm of leadership is necessary
People all over the globe are waking up. They are speaking up for their values. At work, they are looking for meaning. To inspire and motivate them, requires natural leadership. Consider this – one’s immediate supervisor is the no. 1 reason that people change jobs. To keep them fully engaged we have to look at a new paradigm for leadership.
EVERYTHING IN NATURE IS TRUE TO ITSELF
You can’t be in relationship with a horse – until you embody the qualities of natural leadership. When we engage with horses they expect to be true to who we are – in alignment with our values. They give us moment-to-moment feedback on our true leadership skills, and unlike most human learning partners, they do not take things personally. They simply respond in the moment, so we have the opportunity to experiment and practice without damaging relationships.   What we learn about ourselves through engaging with horses is exactly the same skills and behaviours we need with people.
Natural Leadership Program
Our Natural Leadership Program draws on timeless principles of ancient and contemporary philosophy that is supported by the new sciences such as neuroplasticity, and neurocardiology. It is also backed up by decades of research on emotional intelligence.
Coaching, facilitation, mindfulness and reflection are the primary processes used to draw meaning from the experiences with the horses in order to apply insights and learning to work-related leadership.
In this program, you will:
- Experience yourself the way others experience you
- Deepen your awareness of your beliefs, patterns, emotions, and typical behaviours
- Learn to access the intelligence of the body and emotions in order to make better choices and decisions
- Learn principles of mindfulness – to reduce stress, expand your perspective, create a gap between stimulus and response, become more focused
- Create more alignment with your values
- Develop greater awareness of how your thoughts, beliefs, and feelings shape your outer experience
- Learn to change your outer experience from the inside
- Develop greater empathy for others
- Experience connection with others
Above all, you will learn a new paradigm for leadership.
Developing Natural Leadership through engagement with horses
Learning new behaviours that involve emotional intelligence and relationships (with ourselves, others, and our environment), requires a modality of learning that is beyond the typical training programs that are mostly based on cognitive processing.
Horses, as sentient beings, model what it means to be true to oneself, and they expect it from others. Through their magnanimity of playfulness, curiosity, patience, wisdom, and forgiveness they coax us to become the highest expression of ourselves. Their presence invites us to be focused, engaged, present and committed. To learn natural leadership through the nobleness of the horse brings us into a state of coherence – where our head, heart, and gut are aligned.
Contact us to discuss your leadership development requirements.