Wager's Way Selected as Finalist for Chamber Award

L-R: Dolly, Ginny Telego, Barbie Lange (Ashland Chamber President), Wager
Photo credit: Denise Gillette, Mauer Photography

Wager's Way has been selected as a finalist for the 2015 Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce Awards in the Professional Services category!  Last fall, I was notified by the Chamber that Wager's Way had been nominated by someone for this award.  I completed the initial nomination application which required that I provide information on how my business supports the Ashland community.  I secured testimonials from several people who have attended Wager's Way quine Assisted Action Learning workshops as well as from co-facilitators.

In December, I was notified that Wager's Way had moved on as a semi-finalist.  The Professional Services category had 7 businesses named as semi-finalists so making it to the finals seemed like a long-shot.  But I completed the next phase of the application process -- this time being required to provide details of an event that I had collaborated on with other organizations in the community.  As some of you may recall if you receive the Wager's Way newsletter, I co-sponsored and co-hosted a 2 1/2 day workshop on "Connection Focused Approaches to Working with Families with Complex Needs" in October 2014.  I worked closely with the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Ashland County and Ashland County Children's Services to bring in two nationally recognized speakers, Dr. Rebecca Bailey and Linda Kohanov, to present on the importance of connection in helping families and trauma survivors heal, and included a 1/2 day workshop with the horses.  More testimonials were secured and the application was submitted with fingers crossed.

In mid-January, I received the e-mail saying Wager's Way had been selected as a finalist!! It was a very surreal feeling to be honest.  Anyone who has started their own business and sacrificed to make it successful knows that there are many days when you feel like a punching bag. So to be recognized for the important work we do at Wager's Way, especially given the other very deserving businesses that were in my category, is pretty phenomenal.  I am incredibly grateful to the person who nominated my business, as well as the people who wrote such wonderful testimonials.

Click here to view some of the testimonials that were provided to support our nomination.  The actual awards will be announced at the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce Member Awards dinner on March 12, 2015.  No matter what happens with the final award, to have been named a finalist is an incredible honor.  I know my equine staff is thrilled..... surely they'll be some extra hay cubes in their feed tubs if we win..... Wish us luck!

Ginny Telego is the president and founder of Wager's Way, an equine assisted action learning program that partners with horses to offer leadership and team development as well as executive coaching.  Find out more at www.wagersway.com.

Business -- still a human enterprise

Recently I was reading information about a Master’s in Business Psychology (MBP)program and was struck by the following statement: "Business is still a human enterprise.”  Think about that.  In our current technology addicted world, business is still run by, marketed to, and dependent on consumers who are human.  Although companies use technology to accomplish many tasks, people are the ones inputting and processing the information that affects finance, marketing, management and operations of the organization.  Successful businesses still need to have team members who have good “people skills.”  And yet ironically, it seems that these skills are getting less and less focus in professional development.

Unlike a traditional MBA, the MBP program incorporates the philosophy that managers and leaders need to not only understand business (finance, marketing, economics, etc…) but also how people think, interact and behave.  As a leadership and team development facilitator, I see the importance of interpersonal and relational skills in creating organizational success.  The business of quantitative decision making is also the business of understanding psychology and how the brain works.

There is now a great amount of neuroscience research about how the brain works and how that needs to be incorporated in to leadership development programs.  In a research review titled “Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Leadership” (D.A. Waldman et. al., 2011) the authors state

…by understanding the neurological bases for transformational leadership behavior, we may be better positioned to develop such leaders in a more realistic and systematic manner. Thus, instead of simply putting people through a one-size fits all leadership development program, the brain may give us some insight as to how and why specific individuals in leadership roles feel, think, and ultimately learn new behaviors. With this knowledge, leadership development activities could be better customized to fit the unique neurological structure of an individual leader.  

Studies are showing there’s an increased demand for individuals who understand how human behavior factors into a strategic advantage for an organization.  As a leader or manager, what can you do to improve your “people skills?”  There are any number of books and seminars addressing this component of being a better leader or manager.  But I would propose that you go a step further and find an experiential action learning program that creates the opportunity for you to put theory into practice through training that can complement the books you have read and seminars you have attended.  Books can describe how to work with different types of people and what to notice about your own behaviors.  And seminars can provide some role playing activities that try to simulate situations that leaders and managers may encounter.  But in order to truly become self-aware and recognize how you are influencing those around you under a variety of circumstances, you need to have the opportunity to interact in activities that promote immediate non-judgmental feedback.  With this kind of feedback, you can process the behaviors and actions that created the situation, explore other solutions and then implement new actions and behaviors to achieve different results.

This is what we do at Wager’s Way Equine Assisted Action Learning program.  We create a learning environment where many variables can affect the outcome of an exercise and then we facilitate a discussion of those variables and how an individual worked through them to be successful.  Through immediate nonjudgmental feedback from our equine co-facilitators, theory is put into practice and individuals gain insight and skills that they are able to take directly back and apply in the workplace.  Behaviors, strengths and challenges are acknowledged and discussed to formulate more productive outcomes.

While there is certainly great value in seminars and virtual learning for leaders and managers (low overhead, convenience) it is also important to examine whether these types of professional development programs are enough to create the kind of change that helps leaders and managers develop the “people skills” needed to be effective.  After all “Business is still a human enterprise.”

Ginny Telego is a Certified Advanced Facilitator and owner of Wager's Way, an equine facilitated action learning program in Ashland, OH.  www.wagersway.com

Action Learning in a New Arena

By Ginny Telego

What if leaders and managers across your organization had the ability to adapt quickly, understand their teams better and work together to solve organizational challenges?  In today’s world, these skills are not only desirable, but they are necessary in order for organizations to thrive.

Traditional leadership and team development programs have not been enough to create the kind of change that needs to take place in order for leaders and managers to develop the skills necessary to be successful in today’s business environment.  In an article titled "Use it or Lose it" in the February 2015 issue of TD Magazine, the authors share that “few [training] programs are designed to help learners permanently store information or help them when they need to retrieve essential knowledge.”  The article is about the neuroscience of learning, retention and transfer and discusses the importance of putting into practice the lessons that are presented in corporate training.  While the authors focus on implementing continuous opportunities for learners to practice what was presented in the “days, weeks and months following a training,” the need to include action learning in the training process can provide additional opportunities for learners to solidify what was presented in a training.

Action learning was developed in the mid-20^th century and is becoming a widely used methodology in the world of leadership and team development.  The essence of action learning is based in providing learners with activities that generate reflective questions and having a skilled facilitator guide participants through the process of gaining self-awareness and discovering the root issues that may be impeding forward movement in their department or the organization as a whole.  According to Michael Marquardt, who authored an article on action learning in TD Magazine, there are 10 key elements that can increase the success of action learning:

1.  Presenting a problem that has some measure of urgency and complexity

2.  Powerful questions that encourage creative thinking and that the group can reflect on

3.  The mindset and values of the group members needs to be one of a willingness to change behaviors and work collaboratively

4.  Ensuring that the learning that takes place are skills that can be integrated into their work

5.  Clarification of norms – such as “focusing on questions, taking time to learn, seeking input from all members, respecting different perspectives, and accepting the role of the coach/facilitator”

6.  Commitment of top leadership to the action learning project

7.  Clear timelines and expectations

8.  Teams need to feel that they have the support from top management to implement what is learned

9.   Diversity among team members

10.Most importantly – skilled coaches and facilitators who can “create an atmosphere of learning and reflective inquiry”

One form of action learning that is effective in meeting the 10 key elements identified by Marquardt is equine experiential learning, where horses co-facilitate the learning process alongside trained human facilitators.  This learning modality is not based on learning horsemanship – in fact most programs use only ground activities, no riding is involved.  However, the horses provide immediate, non-judgmental feedback to participants that then generates powerful reflective questions and is not a professional development experience that is quickly forgotten.  Because of this, the learning tends to be retained and continues to be utilized long after participants have left the arena.  At Wager’s Way, participants have the opportunity to put leadership and team development theory into practice through this unique, effective form of action learning and the lessons learned are powerful.  One participant who was very skeptical at the start of a workshop wrote the following on his evaluation at the end of the day “I learned that I have a lot to learn about leadership.”  This kind of outcome is action learning at its best.

Ginny Telego is a Certified Advanced Facilitator and owner of Wager's Way, an equine facilitated action learning program in Ashland, OH.  www.wagersway.com