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As a human resources manager and a horse trainer, I value this
quote by Marian Anderson: “Leadership should be born out of the
understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it.”
It resonates with me because I think clear expectations make for
happy, willing employees in the work place and happy, willing
horses in and out of the show ring. At work, I’m concerned about
how to keep employees happy and productive. My job is to listen to
the things employees say are important to them and provide them to
the extent that my resources allow. This is called answering the
employee’s What’s In It For Me (WIIFM) question.
Employees have certain things that motivate them. Motivators might
be money, flexible hours, autonomy, clear expectations or many
other things. As a leader, if I can identify what motivates them
and provide it, then I will get better performance from them. I
was looking at articles on employee retention the other day and
came across a survey of the top five things employees say cause a
reduction in their performance. Here are the top three:
- Leader’s lack of clarity about expectations
- Leader’s lack of feedback about performance
- Leader’s failure to provide a framework within which the
employee perceives he can succeed
As a horse trainer, I’ve often wished I could survey a group of
horses and ask them what causes a reduction in their performance.
I bet they’d say exactly the same things those employees did.
As an employee, maybe you’ve experienced one or more of the
three things that cause performance reduction. You might
understand how frustrating those situations can be. If you never
get any feedback, or if you get inconsistent feedback from the
leader, then it’s hard to tell if you’re doing the right things or
not. You also never feel rewarded or that you’ve done a good job.
If the leader never tells you what the expectations are, then it’s
hard to measure your performance. Sometimes you can’t even tell
when you’ve completed a project because you were never sure what
the end expectation was. Poor leadership has set you up to feel
like a failure.
Our horses can relate to these frustrations. Many times as
trainers, we show poor leadership and leave our horses feeling
that they can’t win. As a trainer, have you ever failed to give
your horse clear, consistent feedback about his performance? Have
you punished him for the same behavior that you previously
rewarded him for? Have you ever punished or rewarded your horse
without even realizing it? How are you at setting clear
expectations for your horse? Do you know what your expectations
are, and do you expect your horse to live up to them? Or are you
inconsistent in your expectations and on some days expect your
horse’s performance to be perfect while on other days you settle
for “good enough?” As a trainer, do you set your horse up to
succeed? Or do you place him in situations where he can’t possibly
succeed, whether from his lack of ability, lack of training or
lack of experience? If you have committed these leadership crimes,
don’t despair. Every trainer at one time or another has committed
one of these offenses.
Just as an HR manager needs to identify what motivates
employees, so trainers need to identify what motivates their
horses. Answering the horse’s question, WIIFM, helps you identify
your horse’s motivations and opens the door to an improved level
of performance. It also helps you identify areas in which you can
improve your leadership and training skills.
So, what does your horse need? Just like humans, the horse
needs clear expectations. Clear expectations mean setting the
rules the horse will live by whenever he is with you. Horses under
stand clear expectations very well because they experience them
from the time they are born. In a herd, other horses set the
expectations, and they maintain them very clearly and
consistently. For example, if the herd is going for a drink and
the #2 horse in the pecking order tries to crowd ahead of the #1
horse, you can be sure there will be some swift and clear
retribution for the #2 horse. The #1 horse will reinforce his
expectations of the #2 horse’s behavior every time the #2 horse
steps out of line. If the #1 horse doesn’t enforce his
expectations, the #2 horse will quickly begin to test the rules.
Horses are incredibly aware of body language, and the first time
the #1 lets the #2 horse step away from the set expectations, the
#2 horse is going to start pushing toward the #1 spot. Horse #2
will challenge horse #1 in small ways, then in bigger ways until
horse #1 reestablishes his expectations or until the #2 horse
becomes #1 in the pecking order.
As a trainer, you must set your expectations very early in your
relationship with the horse. That’s why underground, or round pen,
training is so important. We must establish a herd that consists
of us and our horse, and we must consistently communicate to the
horse that we are #1 in the herd. A horse that understands what is
expected of it will try to please you.
Secondly, your horse needs to have clear, consistent and fair
feedback about his performance. When you’re in the round pen, your
body language needs to send an obvious message of what you’re
asking the horse to do. Be fair to the horse by limiting the
amount of body language you give him to just what’s needed for the
horse to “get it.” When the horse responds correctly, be fair in
rewarding him immediately with a removal of pressure, a softening
of your body language and a verbal reward. When the horse shows an
incorrect response, be fair by correcting him immediately so he
understands exactly what the expectations are. Reward him every
time he’s right and correct him every time he’s wrong. Soon the
horse will know exactly what your expectations are and will relax
and respond. The horse will feel assured in his actions and
confident that he’s doing what he’s supposed to do. He won’t worry
about having to guess and then being punished for guessing
incorrectly. Instead he’ll follow your expectations willingly.
And, a willing horse’s performance is always better than a worried
horse’s performance.
Lastly, you need to set your horse up for success. You’ve
probably seen the horse that’s been set up for failure. He’s the
one in the trail class that is trying to respond to side pass cues
when he’s never been taught to side pass. The “trainer” first
nudges him in the side, then bumps him, then gives a mighty kick,
all to no avail. The horse has not the slightest idea what the
rider is asking. He tries to respond in several ways but is
punished for every response. The horse feels frustrated and
resentful and quits trying or even aggressively attempts to escape
punishment. The rider has broken trust with the horse, set the
horse up for failure and failed to be a leader.
In contrast, a horse that is set up for success has a willing
attitude. The horse knows that he can succeed, and he trusts his
rider to be fair in correcting and rewarding his attempts.
The following are answers you need to give your horse when he
asks WIIFM:
- I promise to give you clear expectations of what I want.
- I promise to give you consistent feedback (rewards and
corrections) about your performance.
- I promise to set you up for success and keep you out of
situations where you will fail.
A horse that knows What’s In It For Him has a willing heart and
a high performance level. Trainers that can consistently and
positively motivate their horses are true leaders that will always
get the most from their horse. Building that kind of relationship
is what connection is all about. |
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