In a recent Fastcompany article 6 Ways Work Will Change In 2016 the author examines the traits that leaders will need for 2016. Specifically it cites:
“Leaders have traditionally been selected based on experience and company loyalty, but those leading today’s biggest organizations aren’t necessarily those who have spent the most time climbing the corporate latter. That’s because the very nature of management has drastically changed in recent years, resulting in a new set of expectations for those at the top.”
Furthermore Josh Bersin of Deloitte notes that “Most companies, even big companies, are much less hierarchical and much less top-down in their execution than they used to be. Leaders are finding that they have to be more inspirational, they have to be more collaborative……. the gap that’s being created is, ‘Who are the right leaders?”
So how do companies develop leaders for the next year who are more inspiring and collaborative?
I address this issue in my book The Alchemy of Change and this is what I say:
“I do suggest that all my clients engage in learning leadership from horses. Now some of you might think that this sounds strange but as we have seen you can’t learn leadership in the classroom. It is an embodied process that can only be experienced through being. Partnering with horses allows people to experience first hand many of the qualities of how to lead with courageous impact. Horses teach us how to be authentic, trustworthy, present, pay attention and be respectful and responsible. Horses model for us how to collaborate and share leadership. They show us how to build relationships and live in harmony with a shared common purpose.
How specifically you be a leader and how you act is as unique and personal to you as your DNA. How I lead is not how you might lead. Our differing perspectives, experiences and frame of reference make learning how to lead a very personal experience. There is no manual to follow, no one formula to follow. The one thing I do know however is that horses will provide you with real honest feedback on how effective your leadership has been. If you are not compelling and inspiring they simple won’t want to be with you, and unlike team members they will vote with their hooves and not engage. This is the power of learning leadership with horses as it allows you to explore what approaches work and which don’t and then to calibrate and try something new based on the feedback. Just like your team members’ horses are individuals and each one needs to be led differently. If you don’t believe me just try it and experience this for yourself.”
So what will you do differently to develop your leadership skills in 2016? If you’d like to really step out of your comfort zone and trying something innovative and new that really yields results then I suggest that you connect with me so that we can explore what is the best option for you.
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower. Business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives hire her to accelerate their business performance by harnessing the energy of their people to work more collaboratively together. By aligning purpose with actions the team achieves exponential results as everyone starts pulling in the same direction.
Julia believes that business is a force for good and through designing purpose-driven businesses that leverage the laws of nature, and the herd, you can create businesses founded on the principles of connection, collaboration and community that make a significant impact in the world.
