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Accentuating strengths & talent of employees leads to loyalty, innovation, teamwork and overall stronger and sustainable performance for the business! My lifelong partnership and journey with horses inspired “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth” -- lessons from the stable to the workplace. Successful relationships require taking time to assess unique talents and personality of each team member. This is true in business relationships and when working with a horse. There is no

Trust is one of the most important parts of any relationship or partnership. My lifelong partnership and journey with horses inspired for “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth” -- lessons from the stable to the workplace. Trust is earned not given. And once lost, trust can be very difficult to regain. Horses are very forgiving and tolerant. They are herd animals and get their security and protection from being with the herd. Clear direction, consistency & fairness is best way

Strong leaders are creative and they optimize the people and resources available to them -- they are adaptable, passionate and enthusiastic. My lifelong partnership and journey with horses inspired “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth” -- lessons from the stable to the workplace. Simply put -- good leaders adopt a "where there's a will, there's a way" attitude! Leaders make things happen though: Innovation & drive towards goals Foster learning & continuous improvement

Goals must be realistic, specific and measurable. And planning must align to the goals. My lifelong partnership and journey with horses inspired “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth” -- lessons from the stable to the workplace. In today's fast-paced business environment, planning is crucial. Due diligence is key. The amount of time needed to create a plan and complete due diligence varies, but if this step is skipped or only partially done, the result can be detrimental to t

Delivering results is both a journey and a destination! My lifelong partnership and journey with horses inspired “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth” -- lessons from the stable to the workplace. Strong leaders understand that delivering results is both a journey and a destination. For example, a business can deliver outstanding results in Q1, but if there is no plan for sustaining desired results over time, there will be a short-term win but a long-term loss. Effective leaders

Accountability is about "owning" the plan AND "owning" the outcome. My lifelong partnership and journey with horses inspired “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth” -- lessons from the stable to the workplace. Willingness to "own" and be accountable are probably one of the most important leadership traits. Sadly, intense competition and pressure to succeed can cause people to deflect blame to others. In the horse world, it is common to see trainers or owners blaming the horse whe

Humility is a lack of arrogance & acknowledgement that there is always something to be learned from every experience. My lifelong partnership and journey with horses inspired “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth” -- lessons from the stable to the workplace. Humility is not to be confused with submission or inferiority. Humility, ownership and accountability go hand-in-hand -- leaders with these traits truly believe in winning as a team. In business – “it’s not my job” should ne

Focusing on a few critical success factors enables leaders to be flexible. My lifelong partnership and journey with horses inspired “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth” -- lessons from the stable to the workplace. Business is complex and many variables can affect plans, so being flexible is critical to success. Leaders who are unprepared tend to be reactive ("knee-jerk") and even act surprised when unexpected things disrupt their plan. But strong leaders rely on a few critic

Integrity is having a consistent adherence to moral and ethical values and principles -- truthfulness and earnestness. My lifelong partnership and journey with horses inspired “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth” -- lessons from the stable to the workplace. In business, it’s up to leaders to ensure integrity & honest practices are “baked” into the company culture. Integrity and honesty should be reflected in every aspect of the business operations. Integrity goes beyond adhe

This post explores the old saying "get back on the horse after you fall". It refers to resuming something after you've failed. My lifelong partnership and journey with horses inspired “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth” -- lessons from the stable to the workplace. Resuming signifies resilience and tenacity -- all good things. But simply resuming might not be enough. There should be reflection on what caused the fall. There should also be consideration about how AND when to

Strong leaders freely acknowledge that they don't have all the answers. My lifelong partnership and journey with horses inspired “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth” -- lessons from the stable to the workplace. Running a business is (and should be) a team sport. A few old sayings come to mind -"there is no 'I' in team" and "two heads are better than one". No person can think of everything themselves, nor do they excel at everything. So why are so many leaders afraid to a

Strong leaders strive to create a "culture of preparedness". My lifelong partnership and journey with horses inspired “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth” -- lessons from the stable to the workplace. There are few things more frustrating than working on a team that deals with frequent "fire drills", last-minute requests and changes in direction. Or being invited to a major project kick-off where key team members or required tools were missing. Leaders who are unprepared ten