It’s been said that humans are the only species who follow ineffective leaders.
A quick watch of Animal Planet or National Geographic will quickly demonstrate the point. What does that have to do with leadership experiences with horses?
Horses won’t follow an ineffective leader either.
Let’s take a common visual – people taking their dogs for a walk. Pause a moment to rethink that dynamic in terms of relationships.
Who is leading? Oftentimes it’s the dog leading the person, sometimes even straining so hard on the leash as to pull the person along! What does this indicate about the person’s effectiveness as a leader in that relationship?
For those of us who spend countless hours among animals and understand their value as a learning and development tool, it’s a perplexing and uncomfortable visual that leads us to wonder: How is that a peaceful (or productive) relationship for the dog or the person?
Studies indicate that when professional development relies on passive, verbal “one touch” learning, 70% of what participants learn is forgotten the next day unless it is applied immediately.
That means those seminars, escape rooms, ropes courses, and team dinners may be informative or fun, but they rarely provide tangible results to move your business forward.
Research made possible in cooperation with Wright Service Corp. Lead Program participants and guidance from Carol Heaverlo, Ph.D., helped provide insight regarding the effectiveness of leadership development encompassing experiential learning: guided experiences with horses + coaching. You may find the results surprising.
The data demonstrated the clear and powerful value of infusing kinesthetic (tactile) learning that involves physical activity and multisensory learning that integrates the five senses (how humans understand and perceive the world).
About the Research
- The study involved 25 Lead program participants at Wright Service Corp.
- National and international participants travelled to fullCIRCLE in April and November 2023.
- Following the April experience, a five-question Qualtrics survey was distributed via email.
- From April to November individual coaching was conducted with participants via phone or Zoom.
- In November, a focus group with all 25 participants was conducted on-site immediately following the team’s second experience at fullCIRCLE.
Results of the Research
96% of participants found value in the horse-guided + coaching experience and began to implement strategies they learned to their professional and personal lives.
The top strategy participants planned to implement was to be vulnerable, to gain trust and improve relationships with their team members.
The second strategy participants planned to implement was to slow down and provide clear and effective communication to improve team collaboration and productivity.
88% of participants understood more about themselves and believed they had developed the skill set and confidence to take necessary steps to improve their leadership style. Participants commented they:
- Plan to modify their leadership style to build more effective relationships and productive teams.
- Understood how being vulnerable can lead to more trust and equip them to lead their team more effectively.
- Recognized the positive impact of their ability to work as a cohesive team by implementing strategies they learned during their hands-on experience.
- Valued the encouragement they received and were motivated to apply creative problem-solving strategies after learning various techniques during their experience.
- Understood the value of slowing down in order to speed up.
Conclusion
There is research-based evidence that when you challenge your team to recognize and re-imagine the role of leadership in an immersive experience + coaching you build strong, more effective leadership teams that deliver long-term, tangible results for your organization.
Are you a growth-minded leader willing to consider this powerful learning style for your leadership team?
Let’s start a conversation about the proven, research-based strategy of off-site, ground-based, guided leadership experiences with horses + coaching.