Recently Horse Sense's Shannon Knapp and Lisa Wheeler presented at the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce (in North Carolina) on the topic of leadership development.

The event was hosted by the Henderson Chamber in their new facility (quite nice!), and we had a nice turnout of business folks from our community, including several independent business consultants. We've since set up opportunities for these folks to come out and experience our work first-hand, so they can add us to their box of tools.

Our presentation was largely guided by the following statement, by Robert Cooper in his book, The Other 90%: "The dinosaurs of the future will be thos who keep trying to live and work from their heads alone." We spoke to the idea that so much business development is geared towards the head, and not so much to the heart and the gut, where a TON of information resides. The heart and the gut are also what tend to be the difference-maker in leaders, as we know from playing with horses.

It was a wonderful, beneficial experience. We encourage you to connect with your local Chamber about giving a presentation!

Happy Trails,

Shannon

To learn more about our professional
development with horses programming, visit
www.HorseSenseLearning.com

My original blog was “Say what you mean and mean what you say”. Today, I chose to scrap it at the last minute as I sat at Starbucks and watched the interaction between two individuals. One was clearly a supervisor and the other a subordinate. It was ugly. 

In this case, the supervisor chose a public forum and a louder than acceptable tone of voice to discuss with her employee his failure to meet benchmarks, and where he ranked in comparisons to his peers (among other things). I felt sorry for the guy until he opened his mouth in response.

My perception of his comments, tone and body language were of disrespect, disdain, and defiance. In fact, he challenged the objective numbers she placed in front of him. He actually put her on the defensive. This went on for over an hour. When I left they were still going at it.

As a boss and facilitator of leadership trainings, not only was I appalled, but red flags went off all over the place. To have observed this interaction was to see text book “what not to do” as an employee and a supervisor.

As a Practice Administrator, Director, or CEO, successfully  managing people is as important as managing money, calendars, etc. (some would argue that it is actually more important). As an employee one must have an understanding of one’s role, expectations, policies, conduct and the proverbial food chain.

This event actually made me think of a comedian and one of his characters: Jeff Dunham and Achmed. As a part of a joke, Achmed says two things:  “location, location, location” and “timing is everything”. Clearly you have to see the skit to appreciate the whole thing. However, these two things just played out in real life for what I will call Management 101. Both of these were grossly flubbed, and I suspect the end result will not be favorable or promising for either the supervisor or the employee.

So, the common sense take-home messages are:

• Discretion is the better part of valor: avoid public areas for taking someone to task.  (probably not Starbucks)
• Respect is paramount: mutual respect between supervisors, employees and co-workers is critical to the success of any team (being on the defensive should not happen)
• Have a clear plan of action: have a plan for good, mediocre and lousy outcomes (fallback for if the employee blows you off)
  

Until next time!
--Lisa
Practice Administrator
Horse Sense of the Carolinas, Inc

Heady times we've been living in this past week: new president, new direction, lots of change! But there's also a lot of fear in the air and, with more and more layoffs being reported all the time and the economic forecast looking grim, where is your focus?

Think about it. As professionals in this field, we know, perhaps better than most, that where we focus usually dictates where we go. If I want to go to the other side of the arena with my horse, and I'm looking down at his ears or down at my feet, we're probably not going to get very far.

If I'm wishy-washy about my intention to get to the other side, for example if my thoughts say one thing but my body language says another, my horse will sense that incongruence and respond accordingly. We may end up stopping and starting and stopping and starting, as my horse looks to me for clarification and says, "If you won't lead, I will!"

If, finally, I focus on the place I'm heading for with both my energy and my body language, we've got a fighting chance to get there, or at least to begin getting there, one step at a time.

We know, as equine-based professionals, that getting where we want to go requires more than just "thinking things into being." We've got to marshall all our resources, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, to head in the right direction for ourselves. We've got to know where our focus is, and course-correct along the way when we get pulled off target. Only then can we get to where we're aiming, whether it be the other side of the arena or the other side of this economic turmoil.

So the message here is clear: Where are you spending your time and attention? On a weekly basis? On a daily basis? On an hour to hour basis throughout the day?

Happy Trails,

EAGALA Conference 2009 in Asheville! Click here to see what we've got planned for you!

This week I’m traveling by car through the New Mexico and Arizona desert, and I’ve been amazed by the way flora and fauna survive in such harsh and unforgiving conditions. I’m learning a lot about the desert, and the surprising array of plant life it supports. The rugged terrain reminds me a lot of the current economic crisis we’re all facing.

I get asked nearly every week how clients are weathering the current financial crisis. As it turns out, all of them are doing better than the national averages in their industries and many have continued to grow in spite of the economic downturn. I thought it would be interesting to share the traits and wisdom these leaders shared with me:

Sales Focus
Well before the effects of the financial crisis began, these individuals already had a marketing plan in place and were executing their plans. They did not scrap these plans or downsize their effort.

Agility
If one part of their business started to turn downward, they re-adjusted their focus into new or more profitable areas.

Boldness
Business ownership means taking risks. These owners continued to take risks and did not shy away from the challenges they were facing.

Curiosity
These business owners are always examining their current situation, and looking for opportunities. They’re aware of every facet of their business operations at all times, and figuring out what dynamics are in play.

Planning
Each big decision is carefully planned with the use of strategic and financial information as a guide to help them make the right decisions. They also make sure each decision fits into their plans and budget for the future.

We just completed an EIL Facilitation training at Horse Sense (see the Horse Sense Business October Newsletter for more about this), and I was reminded that every day provides two opportunities:  to be a teacher and to be a student. With this comes multiple lessons. Are you aware of when you are a student or when you are a teacher? Are you aware of the responsibilities of both? Do you ever have role confusion? Do you ever lose the meaning of the lesson?

In the activity we did the first night, the horses were the teachers and we were the students. The question to answer was: "What was the lesson they were teaching us?"  When I was able to be still and present it was amazing the lessons I learned. There was nothing new but great reminders of little lessons that make me a better person.

1) Be inquisitive and curious
2) Know your environment
3) Ask for what you want
4) Be present

In an ideal setting as Practice Administrator I have multiple roles, not the least of which is to be a daily student of my profession, a student of staff and a student of my employer. In that same vein I have a responsibility to be a teacher for these same groups. It is easier for me to be a teacher, at this point in my career, than a student. However, the task at hand is to be a better student, and pay attention to the message in the lesson. 

So ask yourself every day some simple questions related to how you operate administratively:

• Was I a good student today?
• Was I open to all that was placed before me?
• As a student, what did I learn today that makes me a better person to the internal and external clients I work with daily?
• As a teacher, did I create an environment that fosters growth?
• Does the message in the lesson support the mission of the business, the professional growth of all parties involved, and the personal growth and integrity of staff?

So until next time, be a present student and a mindful teacher.

Lisa Wheeler
Practice Administrator
Lisa@HorseSenseOtc.com

Hey everyone!

Just got back from Florida, and had a great and wonderful time! My horse, Dreamer, has come such a long way since we were last there, in February 2006. He was rather unconfident in new surroundings and in his leader then, and he was a changed horse this time! (I look forward to sharing my pictures of the two weeks with you in future blogs!)

One of the reasons I love going to the Parelli ranch in winter in Florida is that it gives me an opportunity to reflect and assess, and to mark progress. It’s hard for me to believe that when I was last there I was writing the text for our new website, checking keywords and trying to distill what we do into meaningful language. What a great experience that was, and I learned mounds about writing website copy, message development and the website development process by doing it.

Another major shift since I was last able to visit the Parelli ranch: I wasn’t even considering writing a book back then. Mark Lytle had encouraged me to give a presentation about the business side of EAP/EAL organizations at the EAGALA conference, and I was slated to do so, but had no idea how that one presentation would change so much. The overwhelmingly positive response led me to seriously consider writing the book you all now know as Horse Sense, Business Sense, Volume 1.

But the most significant change has been internal. Back in 2006 I was still very much learning how to be a leader, for my business and for my horse. In both areas, I wanted to be a friend and a buddy, not a boss or a leader. But what I learned was that although that may be the leadership style I wanted to embody, that was not what was being asked of me, by my staff or my horse. As I learned again at a new level, good horsemanship is being flexible enough to play with the horse that shows up, not the one I wanted to show up, or the one I expected to show up based on my play session yesterday. Being fluid and flexible, in my body, in my mind and in my leadership, is the solution.

Happy Trails, folks. And enjoy the journey!

Shannon