Yesterday my riding session with my bay mare ended with her
dripping sweat, her sides heaving… me with a beet red face
struggling to maintain any semblance of control
whatsoever…then me giving her a bath to cool her down and
walk her and myself up and down our driveway to calm us
both.
Today ended with me relaxed, at ease and totally happy with
our accomplishments….her licking her lips and enjoying
being petted and praised.
What changed?
I began our session today before I ever went into the round
pen… By thinking about and analyzing:
what went wrong in our ride yesterday
how her personality played into our interaction
figuring out what Tasha, my big bay horse needed to be
comfortable and progressive
how my thoughts had to change for us to be successful
how my actions had to change for us to be successful
what my breathing pattern had to do with our success
what I needed to do with the energy my body was giving off
You'll notice that none of these things have to do with
changing her but instead all have to do with changing me
and how I present myself and how I interact with her.
Which leads me to these 5 essential acts of Great
Leadership:
1.Begin with your inner most thoughts and attune your
thought patterns and energy to the situation at hand. For
example if you want a calm and collected interaction then
your thoughts need to be calm, slow and collected
maintaining a quiet peaceful rhythm.
2.Next be aware of your breathing pattern. Do you want more
energy in the interaction?... If so then you might be
breathing at a faster clip and with more energy…if not then
breathe slow and deep…allowing your body to feel each
breath and slow your senses down.
3.Your body is giving off energy…is it fast and action
oriented or quiet controlled and calm? Do you want a slow
measured response from the person you are interacting with?
Then control and measure your energy…they will sense and
respond to the energy you put out.
4.What is the personality of the person you are working
with? Are they quiet and calm and need a slight push? Or
are they full of energy and anticipate what they think you
want so that you need to slow them down? Be willing to
change your style to meet the needs of the individual and
the situation.
5.Be willing to slow down…analyze the situation…and back up
if you need to…so that you can move forward once again to
meet your goals.
Great leadership begins by Taking the Reins of your
emotions, thoughts, energy, breath, body and actions.
----------------------------------------------------
Jean Starling has an MBA in International Business and is
an author, speaker, trainer, business consultant and coach.
With over 20 years in corporate leadership, management,
consulting and training she is an expert at helping
individuals and businesses reach their goals. Author of
Taking the Reins, a book of stories that teach leadership
in a new more innovative way.
http://www.taking-the-reins.com . Contact
mailto:jean@Taking-the-reins.com .
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