By Rad Watkins<\/p>\n
Recently I was lucky enough to interview John Lyons, America\u2019s Most Trusted Horseman. John has been a hero of mine since I discovered horses. He is very gentle, and develops willing partners in his horses. He follows the horseman’s rule and always puts the horse first. I have lots of his videos and books and I have learned a ton from him. In fact, because of him, I went from not knowing how to ride a horse at all to getting paid to \u201cbreak\u201d or better put \u201cstart\u201d a horse for people. I can\u2019t say enough good things about John. I have met him three or four times now. He is always willing to help by sharing advice. He has a wonderful family who often travel and work with him. He and his son Josh have a certification program and are now training leaders in the horse industry. To get the big picture, look up John Lyons online and learn more (you can start at www.JohnLyons.com).<\/p>\n
When I interviewed John Lyons about what horses can teach us about leadership, what he said was a total surprise to me. The first thing that John told me was that horses can teach us that we must let go of our own life and let someone else take the reins. He said that this is unnatural for us, just as it is unnatural for the horse. What IS natural is to try and take the reins back. This is so true with many of us. When someone tells us how to do something, we push back and resist doing it \u201ctheir way\u201d. John says sometimes we must let go and try something in a different style, even if we don\u2019t think it will be the best. To be a good leader we must first learn how to be a good follower.<\/p>\n
Learning to be a good follower as a key leadership tool really makes a lot of sense to me, especially for \u00a0stronger leadership personalities, like the Bear (if you don\u2019t know your personality type take the Animal Leadership personality test at http:\/\/animalleadership.com\/<\/a>). Although, the wolf and eagle too can get set in their ways and find it hard to follow a leader. In the Animal Leadership System, the horse person is very much the non-self-promoter, the one who is most apt to follow the lead of others, and sometimes even the one who assumes they are not fit to lead. The Bear and the Wolf personalities often easily believe they are meant to lead or certainly not follow. In all reality, this actually hinders their ability to be a good leader. Whereas the Horse can lead by supporting those who need them, other leadership types have the personality where followers have to keep up, rather than get supported. What John is saying is that the horse can teach us to be strong, but not necessarily in control.<\/p>\nThe Desire of a Horse: Peace<\/h3>\n