Leaders by Nature

If I told you that you would stand in a field and get feedback on your leadership and team skills from a horse, what would you think? Most people think it’s crazy, some get curious and others are willing to listen but are deeply sceptical. These are the three most common responses to change and uncertainty and that’s precisely why I work with horses.

Today’s leaders juggle fast-paced change, high workloads and changing priorities, while needing to be more collaborative, innovative and adaptable. That’s why focusing on developing our leadership skills has never been more important.

As the founder of Leaders by Nature, a bestselling author, and podcast host, I bring a unique approach to leadership development by working with a herd of horses to reveal nonverbal behaviours. My leadership journey began with 17 years at IBM, managing a $1 billion budget. But it was only after leaving IBM and launching my coaching business that I discovered how working with horses could transform leaders and teams.

At Leaders by Nature, I've pioneered a powerful method for driving behaviour change and have seen the impact that it has made on many different people and companies. My approach may seem unconventional, but over 100 clients will testify to getting fast results. Horses provide instant feedback to nonverbal behaviours and leaders literally step into a field of uncertainty, demonstrating their hidden fears at times of change. By exploring their default patterns of nonverbal behaviour, I combine the feedback from the horses with coaching and facilitated discussions based on my own business experience to map the learning back to tangible work situations. The experience is visceral, and many clients call it life-changing and enlightening. 

Changing leadership and team behaviours is easier than many people think. But if you tell people to change, many simply won't. Today business leaders need to find new ways of leading through trial and error, without judgment. That's where horses come in - they instantly reveal default patterns of behaviour so leaders create substantial changes in behaviour that continue long after they return to their workplace. 

People assume I work with horses because they've always been my passion. In fact, I used to be frightened of horses. I overcame my fear by asking myself the question: how do I stay in relationship with a person or animal that I find intimidating? The answer lay in respecting the opinions of others as well as my own. In December 2011, knowing nothing about horses, I bought my first horse and now I manage a herd of 7 horses and work with leaders and teams from all over the world at my equestrian centre in Staffordshire. No riding is involved. All the work is done on the ground, building strong relationships and providing clarity to invite the horses to engage through free will.

This unique approach has helped executive teams, from fast-growing entrepreneurial businesses to lawyers, bankers and manufacturing companies, to lead business growth and change with confidence while also improving collaboration, productivity and performance. Since founding Leaders by Nature, I’ve developed over 5000 leaders and teams through disruptive change and uncertainty. I combine my extensive business expertise and coaching with an insightful and empowering way of working with my herd of horses.

Horses see right to the heart of what’s happening inside you as they respond to subtle changes in energy, revealing levels of trust, respect, courage, curiosity and many other skills that are felt experiences rather than expressed through words. As a result, working with horses produces rapid behavioural changes in leader  which would normally take much longer to achieve through traditional forms of coaching. 

One blue chip company, who worked with me and my horses for one day, turned a loss-making division into a profit within three months. A management buy-out team of a small business achieved their three year plan in 12 months, and cite a large part of their success down to setting the business up based on the leadership principles they learned by working with me and my horses and which they embody in their everyday interactions and communication.

During my time in IBM, I led large-scale business and IT transformation, always developing and leading teams. I mostly thrived at work,  but whenever it was a struggle, I looked for another way of doing things. I’ve now run Leaders by Nature for 14 years and during that that time I've helped many CEOs empower their leaders and teams to lead business growth with confidence, at the same time transforming their leadership styles and workplace behaviours. 

Why not see what working with my horses can do for your business? To find out more check out one of my books or visit my website and register for a free team consultation.