In my own leadership journey one of the most frustrating aspects of influencing followers is when I am faced with resistance. This frustrates me because I generally invest significant amounts of time and energy in developing a vision, messaging and mentoring to share that vision with team members. In horsemanship we have a saying which is “set the horse up for the win”. This is an approach I take into all my relationships. I cannot expect a successful outcome if I don’t strive to set things up for a positive outcome. And yet I am often faced with resistance in both my horsemanship and my leadership.
At the moment I am building a riding partnership with a 12 year old mare, Skye. She is often resistant when on the trail. This perplexed me until I realized she was not being obstinate but lacked confidence. In the paddock, she is a confident horse, so I was not prepared for her lack of confidence on the trail. And just like a horse, a team member who is unsure will often make their own plans. This is my point of frustration because I like to think that I have clearly communicated a direction, but the behaviours of others often indicate otherwise. The behaviour of my horse, or my team member, will always be the litmus test regarding the level of communication that has, or has not, been established from their perspective. In horsemanship, this is an indication of prior training and in leadership, this is an indication of my past behaviour because regardless of what I say, it is what I do (or have done) that will convey the loudest messaging.
As leaders, it is our responsibility to bring our followers on the journey with us to the desired outcome. This requires understanding different types of leadership styles are required for different types of followers.
If you would like to learn more about leadership styles and how to develop fluidity in utilizing appropriate styles please contact me to arrange a leadership consultation session on 0456728961 or elizabethdenniss@bigpond.com