You can lead a horse to water...
Published : July 2008
With so many leadership courses on the market today, providers are resorting to increasingly unusual methods to stand out from the crowd. Becky Done asks whether offering horse whispering is just a clever marketing tool, or if it could actually bring value to the boardroom
UK plc is suffering a critical shortage of effective leaders, according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Two-thirds of UK organisations lack highly effective leaders, and consequently, 85 per cent of companies are now investing heavily in leadership development.
The leadership and coaching industry has responded, resulting in a bewildering variety of training possibilities appearing on the market. Up against such stiff competition, each provider is working hard to make itself stand out from the crowd.
Spring Partnerships is one such provider. Bespoke services provided by the company include conference logistics, motivational tools and leadership development programmes – which is where the horses come in.
Working with horse whispering provider Horses for Courses, Spring offers the technique as a tool to demonstrate the benefits of “creating respect without fear and developing sustainable relationships based on mutual trust.”
But Spring isn’t a lightweight coaching start-up desperate to stand out from the crowd. It is a highly successful, award-winning company, and with clients including Nestlé, Disney, Lexus and MCM, it would seem a risky tactic to add horse whispering to its programme.
Surprisingly, Gareth Chick, one of Spring’s directors, agrees. He admits that the concept is so alien to so many people that he is careful about which of his clients he mentions it to, for fear of losing credibility. He relates the tale of two senior executives from a well-known company who, after experiencing a taster session, were instant converts to horse whispering and its benefits. However, they told Chick they “simply couldn’t” take the concept to their board, for fear of losing the respect of their peers.
But that, says Chick, is fine. He will never try to persuade those who aren’t “ready”, as the training will fail in its very purpose – to inspire change.
“If people are to perform at an extraordinary level at work, they must be taken out of their comfort zone, and find it exciting,” he explains. “And change must start to happen the very next day – not just once the next quarter is out of the way.”
Lisa Brice, who runs Horses for Courses and delivers the programme to Spring delegates, has also been managing director of her own training and consultancy company for 18 years. She sees horse whispering very much as an important tool, not a lofty cause – and she rejects the term ‘horse whisperer’. “There’s no magic in it,” she says. “It’s scientific, and logical.”
So in the absence of magic, what’s the logic? Brice and Chick deliver the theory to delegates via a classroom based session prior to entering the ring with the horses.
Given that 93 per cent of our communication is non-verbal, the idea behind horse whispering is to expose, via purely physical interaction with the animal, the delegates’ style of leadership. Spring believes that the only true and effective way to lead is via authentic leadership – that is, through 100 per cent trust, respect and clarity. Horses respond only to this leadership style, and once taken out of their comfort zone in the ring, delegates are forced to confront hard realities about how they respond when things don’t go their way. Many leaders work to an autocratic or inclusive leadership style, but that won’t work with the horse – and, says Chick, it won’t work in the workplace either.
Delegates must lead the horse around the ring using purely their “energy” – a task which is a lot harder than it sounds. In that moment, the major benefit of working with an animal is suddenly exposed, in that the usual back-ups of eye contact and speech, so commonly used in business, are suddenly rendered useless.
It can be a powerful moment of revelation for many. Chick sees CEOs of major companies dissolve into panic and frustration when a horse refuses to follow them. Some try to cajole and pet the horse forward, but as Chick points out, authentic leadership is not about being liked, nor is it about being popular. “It’s about being absolutely committed to the vision.”
For horses, consistency equals integrity. Reward for them is the absence of pressure (not Polos) and so demonstrating strong commitment to a horse is a win-win situation – it gets to relax, you get to be in control. It’s a simple principle, and one that translates easily to the workplace.
And simplicity, according to Chick, is at the heart of what Spring promotes. “People come to us with business problems and tell me that I don’t understand; that it’s ‘not that simple,’ ” Chick explains.
“But I tell them that it is that simple. People overcomplicate.” He also believes, contrary to popular thinking, that your staff will decide instantly if they can trust you or not. “People tell me it takes a long time to build trust. But it doesn’t. In my opinion, trust is a momentary thing.”
Part of the programme’s focus is on providing constructive but truthful feedback to delegates following their turn in the ring, in order that they will derive maximum benefit from being thrust out of their comfort zone. Chick and Brice do not shy away from this element of the course – rather, they see it as central to its success. Many of Spring’s clients find the experience quite hard-hitting, a powerful wake-up call which other leadership training devices, such as role play, simply don’t deliver – and Chick believes it is this process of realisation which provides many delegates the impetus they need to approach the challenge of real cultural transformation within their organisation.
So does Chick agree that the UK is a nation lacking in quality leadership? “Yes,” he replies. “I would say that we are a nation of average leaders.”
And which leaders does he think could benefit from a course in horse whispering? “Most politicians,” he replies, with a wry smile.
Anybody in particular? “Gordon Brown,” he answers, without a moment’s hesitation. END