Development of future leaders by building relationships

        What is the relation between successful leadership, coaching and horses?

1.  The foundation of a relationship based on trust - in order to have value, any relationship needs trust.
2.  The relationship is based on cooperation and shared responsibilities - a leader listens to people before making a decision. A valuable leader also needs support, commitment and responsibility.
3.  Emotional and social intelligence is increased.  A research study conducted by HeartMath Institute states that the heart has an electromagnetic field 5000 times bigger than our brain’s field, and it can be measured from a distance of 3 m. The focus on emotional intelligence plays a dynamic and unconscious role not only in leadership development but also in coaching and our lives, in general. It is one of our untapped resources in the development of a strong leadership.

         The role of horses

       Horses are social creatures, honestly prepared to respond to the inherent challenges in building and sustaining relationships. As animals of prey, whose lives depend on their intuition, they see beyond the most subtle mismatches of emotion and intention, as subtle and critical as the leadership skills.

       Horses quickly inform us when our thoughts and actions are not aligned, which gives us the opportunity to see what is actually happening to us. Horses read our energy, not our mind, and their answers give us immediate honest and judgement-free feedback. We get to see and feel what success looks like (reaching our goal) by building a relationship with a horse and then through the coaching process, which builds on this awareness and applies it on the leadership of teams and company.

        Working with horses provides a solid method which helps people become aware of the messages they unconsciously convey and how this aspect influences relationships and, therefore, their leadership skill.

         The role of coaching

       Coaching plays a key role in better understanding the reason why some leaders constantly create situation that do not work.

      Working with a half-tone creature, we have the opportunity to realise that, before achieving any results, it is necessary to build a relationship based on trust.

      The interaction with a horse is an opportunity to explore and understand how we are connected to each other, in the attempt to build relationships based on trust. This experience in combination with coaching provides strong opportunities of self-discovery and behaviour change.

• Leading others with achieved authority, rather than from a formal position
  
• Gain a greater awareness of your strengths and weaknesses which arise from your communication style
• Discover how your non-verbal messages influence how others see you as a leader
• Align your intention with the body language to support the message you want to convey

        Horse-led activities help develop congruent and authentic leadership skills. It is not about how you enforce your will but how you use your energy to demonstrate and practice.

•     Vision, clarity and execution
•    Trust and respect
•    Different leadership positions and leadership styles
•    Self-knowledge and leadership
•    Communication without mask
•    360 degree feedback