Archive for the ‘Leadership’ Category

Emotionally Intelligent Leadership through the Way of the Horse

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

Space still available for June 11!

CatoA One Day Workshop

Are you a current student or alumni of the University of Washington Nonprofit or Fundraising Management Certificate Programs?  Then you can still  sign up at the early bird price for this experiential workshop.  Come spend a day with the horses of Epona Meadows and discover how working with horses can increase your leadership and EQ skills!

  • Learn how body language is a primary source of communication.
  • Learn how to trust your feelings and your ‘gut’.
  • Gain greater awareness of your own emotions and how to use them constructively.
  • Expanded personal power, and self-confidence as a leader.
  • Determine how your behavior as a leader affects your communications and relationships with others.
  • Register online at EventBriteEarly bird registration deadline is extended to May 31.  The horses of Epona Meadows and I look forward to working with you!

    Emotionally Intelligent Leadership through the Way of the Horse

    Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

    CatoA One Day Workshop

    Are you a current student or alumni of the University of Washington Nonprofit or Fundraising Management Certificate Programs?

    Curious about Experiential Leadership with Horses?

    Then check out this limited, one-time only, Special Offer!

    Many of my students over the last two years have expressed an interest in experiential leadership with horses.  Because of this, I’ve scheduled three workshops, at a discounted rate, only for UW students and alumni of these two Certificate Programs.

    Download the PDF brochure and registration form to mail a check. Or you can register online at EventBrite.  Early bird registration deadline is April  23rd.  The horses of Epona Meadows and I look forward to working with you!

    Experiential Coaching with Horses: Immediate, impossible-to-ignore feedback

    Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

    Judi & Cato during a coaching session.Sometimes it seems everyone is pulling in different directions, but in fact they are all working on the same goal.  Judi Jones was Advertising Support Manager at Microsoft when she began working with me.  First, she attended the 2-day Leading with Trust Workshop with her management team.  She and her two peers were aware they had trouble working together and had tried everything they knew to improve their relationship.  With a new director coming in, it was an ideal time to break old, dysfunctional patterns.

    Many of my clients have discovered that with a horse as your coach, you can get to the core of an issue in minutes, rather than the hours it might take with traditional coaching.  This was true for Judi as well.  “Horses don’t care about politics or prestige,” says Jones.  “They only respond to clear, consistent communication.  If you ask a horse to start trotting, he will – but only for as long as you keep asking him to do it.  The minute you stop being clear and consistent, he’ll go back to walking.”

    Turns out that people also share the requirement for consistent, clear communication.  “We discovered our problem was our goal had not been defined with enough clarity.  We weren’t intentionally working against each other; we just had a different point of view of what our goal was.”

    The long-term benefit to the team was that everyone – from managers to direct reports – had new levels of trust in one another.  “In just two days we could see why we went astray, had clarified our goals, and developed new skills to keep everyone on the same page.”

    For Judi, the insight gleaned from working with horses was strong enough that she signed up for an individual coaching session in the round pen.  “Working with Amanda one-on-one was even more powerful.  I was not distracted by the group and Amanda was able to give me even more specific feedback about how my body language was not in alignment with what I was communicating with my words.”

    Does your message seem to be missing the mark?  Perhaps your team is pulling in different directions?  Email me to find out how coaching with horses can result in immediate, transformative changes in your leadership style.

    Judi’s Equine insights:

    • Horses only respond to people they trust.
    • Horses give you immediate feedback when your words, tone and body language are not saying the same thing.
    • You just can’t it fake it with a horse, no matter how hard you try.
    • Horses are very perceptive – they read our emotions that are below the surface.

    When the challenge of a promotion requires more than training

    Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

    We all know that being hired for your first Executive Director’s position is a thrilling opportunity.  But even when you know you’re ready for it, stepping into that role can be a lonely challenge.  When Sara Ballard became Executive Director of Volunteer Center of Lewis, Mason & Thurston Counties, she realized an outside perspective could help her organization think outside the box more effectively than any training session could.  Luckily she had the insight to seek out a coach to help her jumpstart her effectiveness in her new role.

    “When I started with the Volunteer Center, I saw there were some thorny issues that needed to be addressed.  I’d had all the training and experience you could have short of holding the job.  And in our tight community I couldn’t go to my peers for counsel because I couldn’t fully disclose the pertinent details.  Amanda had the outside perspective I needed to figure out what the conversation with staff and the board would look like.  And more importantly what I needed to do, as a leader, to help my team get to where we needed to be.”

    Sara and I started with a six-month coaching package.  We hit the ground running to problem solve staffing issues, prioritize organizational strategy and define how she wants to lead her team.  “The big ‘a-ha!’ for me was realizing my new job challenge was not just about stepping up my leadership skills.  It was about defining a new leadership mission for myself in the context of my new role.

    By looking at the big picture, Sara helped her organization dramatically shift in a very short period of time and shifted into monthly sessions.  “I only get an hour with Amanda once a month so it needs to be a really effective conversation.  She’s a good listener – giving me a chance to vent – but strategically interjects, at the right moment, pointed questions to focus on the core issues.”

    Almost a year into her new position, Sara feels her organization is now well focused to serve her community as efficiently and as effectively as it can with limited resources.  I continue to work with Sara, serving primarily as a sounding board.  “You don’t want to spend your whole day putting out fires.  Amanda helps me keep focused on investing in the changes that will have the greatest, long-term impact.”

    Sara’s Coaching Insights:

    • Identify core strategies and goals to shift from reactive to strategic leadership.
    • Frame employee conversations to help improve relationships.
    • Awareness that it’s not just about me, but about moving our organization’s mission forward.