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.

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

Power - Influencing Through Intention

By Ginny Telego

At a conference I attended in 2013 for equine assisted learning, a well-known speaker presented on the many aspects of how we perceive and use power.  She started out by asking the audience how they defined power.  Of course, this was a group of people who partner with horses to provide professional development and coaching, so they probably did not have a typical response (power=dominance/control).  But there were people in the audience who quickly saw power as something negative.

 

In leadership development, one’s perception of power is a critical issue to be defined because how one perceives and portrays power will have a direct impact on how one leads.  As you are reading this, think about your own definition of power.  Does the mere thought of power make you sit up taller in your chair and think “Yeah, power is good.  It makes me feel in control.”  Or does the thought of power make you want to crawl under your desk and close your door for the day?  These are two extremes of how most people view power and why it has a bad rap.

You see, I don’t see power as good or bad.  It just is.  When exerted properly given the context of a situation, power can be something that enables one to accomplish things that they did not know they were capable of achieving – thus the concept of being empowered.  In learning from my horses, who are my co-facilitators in my experiential professional development program, I have come to realize that power is merely a way to communicate.  What makes power positive or negative is the intention behind it.  Horses exert power all of the time when they are interacting with each other as well as with people.  As prey animals, every interaction that a horse has is based on determining whether our intention is one of collaboration or a threat.  They prefer collaboration so will seek to find ways to create that opportunity.

While working with an executive coaching client, the idea of power being something other than dominance was a huge “A-ha” moment for this person.  The client was tasked with showing power while leading a horse through an obstacle course.  That was it.  The client was anxious to get to the task as she had been excited about all that she had learned during the first day of working with us.  I walked the horse through the course to give her an idea of what to do at each obstacle, then handed her the lead rope.  She stepped off at a good clip, with the horse hurrying to keep up with her.  She was standing tall and was very focused on getting the horse through the course, keeping a firm grip on the leadrope as she walked.  She completed the course and when she came back to us for discussion, I asked her if she noticed how the horse was reacting to her power in completing the task.  The client stated that the horse had seemed like she was in a hurry to get through the obstacles.  I suggested the client try the course again, and this time to allow the leadrope to be a bit longer and to pay close attention to her own breathing and intention.  It was clear that having the leadrope loose was a bit challenging for this very successful executive.  However, as she moved through each obstacle, it was clear that she was tuning in to her intention and what she was communicating to the horse - the horse was walking calmly beside her, waiting for direction.  By the time the client finished the course, she and the horse were relaxed.  Her first comment was “Wow – that was amazing.”  In discussing her use of power, she said she realized that “power is not dominance” and that “power changes.”  There was a realization that how she influenced the horse was not based on her controlling the horse through dominance – it was based on being clear in her intention and creating trust with the horse.

Power is something all of us have to learn to manage.  The adage “Absolute power corrupts absolutely” is not a misnomer.  Power used for selfish purposes likely will be negative for those on the receiving end.  However, power that is used with the intent to build trust and collaboration will likely be seen as a positive and the person exerting that kind of power has the ability to be a more successful leader.

"Show 'em who's boss" -- Really?

(http://swebman.com/2013/04/29/boss-vs-leader-2/)

I’m sure that most people have seen the image that has circulated on Facebook featuring a list of traits that differentiate a “boss” from a “leader.”  I think this is an important distinction to make in light of how these opposite styles of leadership can affect an organization.

On occasion when I was teaching riding to kids, parents would be nearby, watching proudly at the sight of their child happily leading a thousand pound horse to the grooming stall.  As often happens with inexperienced horse handlers, the horse would sometimes veer “off course” to the hay pile that was just beyond the grooming stall.  When the child struggled a bit to figure out what to do, parents would quickly say to them “You need to be the boss of that horse and make him do what you want.” 

     

      Okay, let’s chew on that statement for a moment.  

A. What does “be the boss” mean to a 12 year old, who has likely expressed disdain at being bossed around by anyone?  Words and phrases in the thesaurus describing “boss” include: “Command, Bully, Give orders in a demeaning manner and Person in charge.”   To most kids and adults I know, none of these words represent positive attributes.  In fact, most people clearly state their dislike of other people who exhibit those characteristics.  And, I find that many people are actually uncomfortable with the thought of being “the boss.”  My guess is that most people don’t want to be called “the boss” as they believe that it paints them in a negative light.

      B. What is the parent inferring when they use that phrase?  Where is the parent getting their reference of the term “boss” from?  When people use the phrase “you need to be the boss” I immediately begin to wonder what their reference point is for it.  Do they have a “boss” who “makes” people do what the boss wants?  Or are they themselves “the boss” who tries to make others do what they want?  As I work with individuals and groups in my equine experiential leadership and team development program, the notion of “being the boss” is one that quickly becomes a point of discussion when people realize that it is not the way to lead others in a way that creates trust.  The horses are very good at providing non-judgmental feedback to support this.    

C. Do the actions of “being the boss” really make a horse – or people for that matter -- do what you want? Going back to the parents encouraging their child to “be the boss and make the horse do what you want” -- have you as an adult ever tried to “make” someone do what you want and been successful in the long term?  While horses can be extremely compliant, they also are quite a bit more powerful than humans and if they really don’t want to do something, they don’t have to.  If you’ve ever been bucked off a horse, you know what I’m talking about.  When you think of someone who is bossy, what are the actions that you associate with that?  I’m guessing they are not actions that create a warm and fuzzy feeling for you or encourage you to want to go along with them.  Going back to the thesaurus: “Command, Bully, Superior, Give orders in a demeaning manner….”  In most instances, these are not the actions that make people (or horses) willingly follow someone.

Certainly there are times (with horse and humans) that we need to be insistent on getting our needs communicated - especially if there is risk of harm.  But in most cases when people use the phrase "Show them who's boss" it is simply a way to portray dominance, which is not leadership.

What if, instead of advising their child to “be the boss and make the horse do what you want,” the parent said “be the leader and the horse will come with you” – would this change the interaction?  How many organizations have too many people in leadership positions thinking that “being the boss” is the way to get people to do what is needed?  I’m guessing your response is “Too many.”  I agree.  So let’s start changing our leadership vernacular. Trust and a willingness to follow are not the result of “being the boss” – but they ARE the result of being an effective leader who communicates clearly with intention, empathy, compassion and an understanding of what motivates different individuals.  It’s what horses respond to and I believe it’s what people want as well.