Leading Without Force: Lessons from an Equine Coaching Experience

Equine coaching is a powerful leadership tool that takes learning beyond the boardroom.

What can a horse teach us about leadership? More than expected for sure...

I am back at Herd at Home for a deeper Equine Coaching session with Julia Close and the beautiful horses on her farm, Herd at Home.

As a leadership and relationship systems coach, I believe in experiencing the tools I use before bringing them into my work with clients. Equine coaching is one of those powerful approaches I wanted to explore more deeply… using the presence, personality, body language and responses of horses as a mirror for our own leadership behaviours.

And then there was Orla ❤️

The connection I created with her was much deeper than I expected.

Leading Orla through a path, while navigating her resistance, gave me a very tangible experience of what leadership really asks from us.

Not force…

Not control…

But clarity, consistency, presence, patience and commitment to the desired direction.

It reminded me of leadership moments from my corporate career, when I had to lead people who were sometimes older, more experienced — and maybe even wiser — than me.

(And, as a mother of teenagers, I have to admit… there were also some very familiar moments! 😄)

What I loved most was that the learning didn’t come from being told what good leadership looks like. It came from experiencing it.

That is the power of experiential coaching.

Equine coaching can be used both in individual leadership development and in team settings. Imagine spending a day away from the usual meeting rooms, screens and routines… and instead creating a space where your team can connect, observe, communicate, lead and learn together.

So, if you’re looking for a different kind of team experience, why not join at Julia’s farm, meet Orla and the other beautiful horses and discover what they might teach you about yourself and your team?

Sometimes, the best leadership lessons have four legs🐴

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