Trust – It Really is Key in Leadership

By Ginny Telego

Recently I was talking to the vice president of a bank who participated in one of our demonstration workshops.  At our demonstration workshops, we offer participants the opportunity to work with the horses in 2 or 3 activities that we do in our regular workshops.  It provides people with a sample of the experience that they would have in our leadership and team development workshops.

In talking with the bank executive - we'll call him Tom (not his real name) -  he shared with me that the thing that stood out most to him in working with the horses was how integral trust was in getting the horses to work with the leadership team.  Tom was working with two other people to move three miniature horses from one area of the pasture to another.  They were given 2 minutes to develop a plan, but after that they were not allowed to touch the horses or talk to each other during the project.  The group approached the horses with a commanding presence and the horses responded by running away.  The group continued to approach the horses in a way that communicated “You are going to do this whether you want to or not.”  The horses continued to choose not to go where the group was asking them to go.  After about 10 minutes, the facilitators checked in with the leadership team to see how things were going and talk about what was happening.  Through the discussion, the horses were compared to a team of employees.   The group realized that they were approaching the “team” with too much command and control style of leadership and not building the trust that was needed to lead the team.

The group was given another opportunity to guide their “team members”(horses) to the area where they needed to be.  This time they were allowed to talk to each other but still not allowed any kind of tools to physically attach to the horses to move them.  And this time, they approached their “team members” with a different kind of intention.  Instead of walking towards the horses with command and control leadership, they took time to build trust with each team member, communicating in a way that was respectful to them as individuals.  The result?  The team members willingly went with the leaders where they wanted them to go.

So how does this work with the horses apply to leadership in the human world?

1.  Trust comes from respect.  Almost every leadership book, blog and article talks about trust as the key characteristic of an effective leader.  In their book The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner (2007) note that “Without trust, you cannot lead” (p. 224). They go on to state that “We listen to people we trust and accept their influence” (p. 225).  Once the leadership team built trust with the team members (horses), they were able to influence them to move where they needed them to go, with minimal effort.
2. Leadership is about relationships.  Kouzes and Posner hit the nail on the head when they write “A leader-constituent relationship that’s characterized by fear and distrust will never, ever produce anything offering value.  A relationship characterized by mutual respect and confidence will overcome the greatest adversities and leave a legacy of significance” (p. 24).  For this leadership team, the command and control approach with the team (horses) was highly unproductive.  When they took the time to build a relationship with each team member, mutual respect was established and the team willingly followed the leaders.
3. Command and control does not build relationships or trust.  How much do you like someone who leads you using a command and control leadership style?  Probably as much as the horses.  The horses respond by not cooperating – this is usually what happens with people too.  Command and control might work temporarily, but long term it will only create an environment where team members avoid cooperating whenever they have that option.

Kouzes and Posner note that “People are just more willing to follow someone they like and trust” (p. 295).  When people work with the horses in our action learning program, they are able to literally see how they are influencing others.  The horses willingly follow when participants take the time to build trust through relationships and intentions are honest.  What kind of relationships are you building?  Are your team members running around the pasture or willingly following you where you need them to go?

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.

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