Businesses and organizations seek high performance culture. Culture is about leadership. Leadership is about relationship. Horses invite us to engage in healthier, resilient leadership that is authentic, creating meaningful connections with shared purpose and all parties fully present. For beginner leaders or leaders with a beginner’s mindset — experiential learning with horses accelerates your professional development journey.
A constructive culture is simple one oriented towards achievement, self- actualization, creativity, participation, valuing people, and one that places a high priority on healthy relationships between people.
At The Mane Intent, we work with individuals and teams so you can take the lead, honing your interpersonal skills for optimal group performance, innovation, endurance and deep personal and professional satisfaction. The themes we explore through our programming include: meaningful connection, effective communication, building trust, understanding healthy boundaries, being present, developing mind-body awareness, acceptance, self-awareness, self-care, assertion and affirmation.
Working individually or in a team with our horses, participants experience and actively learn how to:
- Understand the need for situational leadership and how to adjust your style to reflect circumstances
- Develop interpersonal skills and deepen our understanding of emotional intelligence in a world where efficiency and effectiveness means constantly doing more with less
- Understand our own response to resistance and to face our fears when presented with adversity in a changing work environment
- Manage stress, learn to practice presence and lead from a place of calm in chaos
- Enhance communication skills by becoming better listeners, becoming aware of body language and learning to hear the message behind the words
- Build stronger, more resilient and effective teams with a shared purpose and sense of direction
“We had a fantastic day of teambuilding. I would highly recommend this experience for anyone looking for a unique and thoroughly enjoyable teambuilding experience.” — Maureen Juniper, Partner & Founder, PRAXIS PR
How it works:
Guided by a qualified facilitator, individuals and teams are invited to engage in shared ground-work exercises completed in partnership with a horse. The facilitator’s role is to set up the activity, observe the client/horse experience as it unfolds, provide observational feedback, and invite client feedback or self-reflection. Each exercise is a combination of demonstration, experiential learning, and guided discussion. It is an invitation for participants to experience, observe, and reflect how our body language and intent influence our relationship with self and others. The activities with horses become a metaphor for what is happening back at work or in your personal life.
What’s unique is that the horses don’t wear masks and don’t have an agenda. They have a genuine need for community and connection, seeking relationship in the safety of a herd. Their feedback and response to what is presented in the moment is honest, genuine and often surprising for participants. They invite us to let go of expectations, get out of our heads and to tap into the wisdom of our senses, bodies and emotions. They invite us to be vulnerable. In my experience, the best leaders are those who can lead from a place of humility, comfortable in their vulnerability, seeking meaningful connections, while clear on their intent and driven by purpose.
If this sounds like the kind of leadership development you’re seeking, we invite you to connect and perhaps we can create something meaningful together. Read our client testimonials here.
About the Author: Jennifer Garland is the Owner/Program Director of The Mane Intent, offering Health and Wellness Workshops and Individual and Team Effectiveness Coaching. Jennifer’s intent is to bring horses, donkeys and humans together to explore new possibilities and find new meaning in lived experience. Learn more about Jennifer’s corporate experience, lectures, awards and publications, here
Book your experience today: 705-295-6618 or contact jgarland@themaneintent.ca
