SHARED LEADERSHIP ABROAD

Stepping into a culture that is not your own is something we ask of our clients when they work with horses, but it is also an experience we immerse ourselves in. This summer, several of TeachingHorse’s lead facilitators went international, traveling to Scotland and London, to scout facilities and deliver a TeachingHorse experience to our amazing clients. Our seasoned US-based facilitators partnered with our newer UK-based facilitators for months to pull together a high-touch leadership development session while navigating the uncertainties of a new facility (in a country) and a new design.

Several key lessons came from this trip that I want to share with you:

Entering A New Culture

When entering a new environment, culture, or experience, horses teach us how important it is to apply attention at all three levels (self, other, and environment). Between America, Scotland, and London, we observed differences in horse handling, team expectations, and our roles in the changing environment. Our team oscillated between roles based on who needed to coordinate with the client, with the facility, and manage our team. With our US team having more experience working together, it was a smooth balance of responsibility, however, we had new members of the herd so we prioritized finding their place as well.

Cultivating New Members Of The Herd

Having facilitators in the UK has opened up a huge opportunity for sharing The Diamond Model of Shared Leadership internationally. As we continue to certify advanced equinefacilitated practitioners around the world, we have learned to leverage their cultural experience to deliver transformational and culturally relevant sessions for our clients. One of the ways we check for mutual understanding is by sharing meals to prepare and debrief our experience. Having our herd come together to discuss their reality requires a commitment to diverse perspectives. Similarly to horses, we understand that as we navigate uncertainty, we should convene instead of operating in a silo.

Importance Of A Debrief

Debrief and reflection are critical to growing together as a team. Stating plainly what you notice, how it impacts your experience, what you can appreciate about the experience, and what you learned can go a long way. We have found that starting with appreciation can shift the energy of the conversation and provide a sense of grounding before navigating potentially difficult topics. We share an appreciation for our horses, for each other, and for what went well during the day. Being grounded in the success of the day leaves room to discuss what we would like to do differently or better the next time.

We practice what we preach when navigating uncertainty and the international trip this summer was a testament to the scale at which we make it a priority. If you want your team to learn how to embody shared leadership in theory and practice, contact us at www.teachinghorse.com.

Special thank you to our UK team Danielle McKimmon (Scotland) and Julia Felton (England), our senior facilitators Morgan Ridenhour (Charlotte) and Morgan Riyami (Raleigh), and our ‘environmental sentinel’ Denise Zirker (Raleigh) for their hard work in making this work a success.

Abriana is the Creative Director of TeachingHorse, LLC. She spends her days navigating brand and product development to support today's leaders via equine experiential leadership development.