Thank you to Arch Downie from Proctor Gallagher for this insightful wrap-up of your equine enhanced leadership experience…

“As you all know, I was nervous around Syd (our horse) however, as I have reflected on the day, I realise that I learnt a lot and I remember that our learning comes when we are out of our comfort zone.

I wanted to share with you what I learnt:

  • Have a purpose for everything I/we do. Once I/we have that purpose, everything else will follow from there.
  • We need to build trust. It is not automatic, and it can take time. We will be better together once we trust each other. The results we gain from trusting each other far outweigh the effort we put in to building that trust.
  • Sometimes, we need a leader to follow. That leader is not always other people. I am better when I follow my heart and trust myself.
  • Others around me will feel my confidence, or lack of it.
  • Be congruent and transparent. Share how I am feeling so that my team mates can work with that.

I had all the above on Saturday before I left, and I had the feeling then that there was something more that had not come to me yet. I was right and it came to me at about 11.00pm last night. It was this:

  • I need to lead. I am a leader and when I lead, people will follow me. I am fairly certain that Syd knew this.”