After riding for fifteen years of my life, I know that there are no obstacles that I cannot surmount, both on and off horseback. Pennsylvania State University (2020) suggests that leadership involves influencing a group of people to achieve a common goal. As a young adult, I believe that I have finally developed the necessary skills required to excel in any leadership position. Yet, I do not think that I was born with many of my leadership traits. As the trait approach indicates, leaders are gifted with innate abilities that enable them to guide individuals to attain success (Pennsylvania State University, 2020). As a terribly quiet, timid and introverted child, I had absolutely no desire to exert any form of dominance or power. However, I became more outspoken as I matured. As Pennsylvania State University (2020) states, the skills approach focuses on building leaders by enabling leaders to develop certain skills vital for excellent leadership.
Often, individuals develop these leadership skills by working with helpful mentors such as teachers, bosses, friends or family members. I believe my skills advanced from a different kind of adviser. Since the age of five, I have been a passionate equestrian. I am currently a competitive horseback rider and the sole caretaker for three horses in my backyard stable. Riding has taught me a tremendous amount that is applicable to all aspects of my life but I believe one of the most crucial lessons that riding has provided me is leadership. Unlike most other sports in which athlete’s utilize non-living objects to practice the activities, riding is centered on the unique bond between the human and the horse. Horses are living creatures with completely unpredictable personalities. I often joke that the most challenging boss that I have ever encountered is my horse because it is so difficult to communicate and reason effectively with an animal. Therefore, it has taken me years to finally finesse my communication and situational adaptation skills. I feel confident that this knowledge is not equestrian specific. Rather, I can apply this information to any leadership role I may face in the future.
Pennsylvania State University (2020) highlights the situational approach as a leadership approach that focuses on leadership in various situations. Moreover, Pennsylvania State University (2020) states that different situations require divergent forms of leadership and effective leaders must be able to alter their leadership styles as a means to suite a specific situation. The situational approach is prescriptive rather than descriptive in that the situation informs the leader of the actions that are required (Pennsylvania State University, 2020). Nancy Koehen wrote an articulate article for the Harvard Business Review discussing the leadership lessons she learned from the saddle. Koehen (2011) mentions some vital components that must be considered when on horseback such as emotional awareness and confidence, energy, mindful non-verbal cues, deftness, empathy and producing quality results. Horses, like humans, do not have steady, unwavering dispositions. Instead, it is crucial that the rider asses the situation immediately upon mounting the horse in order to understand the style of leadership and the amount of force the equestrian will have to assert. Pennsylvania State University (2020) describes the situational approach as having four, main leadership styles: directive, coaching, supportive and delegating. I believe equestrians’ utilize all four of these styles at some point in their riding careers. For example, when I am on horseback, I consider myself to always be the leader and the horse, in turn, to be the perpetual follower. Horses are heard animals. Thus, horses are followers by nature. The task I desire to complete determines the situational approach leadership style that I choose to employ. For instance, if I am trail riding my horse leisurely through the woods with friends, I often adopt the delegating style, which is a low supportive and low directive style that does not call for much input or prioritize high aspirations and this style is suitable because I am simply enjoying my horse (Pennsylvania State University, 2020). Yet, when I am training my horse to complete a new task that he is unfamiliar with, I typically use either the supporting style or the coaching style. As Pennsylvania State University (2020) suggests, the supporting style is high supportive and low directive, asking for the followers input and putting less emphasis on the end result. The coaching style is both high directive and high supportive in that it focuses on the goal while seeking the follower’s input (Pennsylvania State University, 2020). These two styles are beneficial for training purposes because they enable me to assertively demand that my horse respect my commands and learn the new tasks while praising my horse and asking for my horse’s approval of my aids in order to ensure that my horse is completing the task willingly and not out of fear. The last style, the directing style, is high directive and low supportive (Pennsylvania State University, 2020). The directing style highlights goal achievement and directing leaders give instructions without considering the follower’s input. This style I employ when I am at a competition because I require that my horse respect me as the leader and obey the commands I give him. With this being said, my horse is always willing and eager to perform at his best because he was trained in a way that fostered behavior out of love as opposed to fear. I think that the best leaders are the leaders who can use the situational approach to analyze a given situation and adapt their leadership style in a way that best suites the needs of the specific environment. Additionally, I believe that the delegating style of the situational approach is a style to be wary of as a leader. While it is crucial for leaders to gain the respect of their followers, respect is often the most sincere if it is built upon a two-way relationship in which the leader and the follower interact to achieve a common goal.
Horses may not be humans but horses have taught me how to be human, how to relate to humans and how to lead humans. Working with horses has provided me with tremendous joy, satisfaction and skill. Most importantly, working with horses has given me the confidence to feel capable of exerting authority and leadership no matter what the situation presents.
References:
Kohen, N. (2011). Leadership Lessons from the Saddle. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2011/05/leadership-lessons-from-the-sa.html
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2016). PSYCH 485 Lesson 5: Style and Situational Appraoches. Retrieved https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2075467/modules/items/30110418
Amy Campos says
You have done a commendable job in the definition and discussion of leadership. Leadership is indeed about influencing others to attain a common goal. A leader comes up with the vision for the people or organization and compels the team to work towards attaining it. A leader builds experience out of continuous exercises in a leadership position. They encounter events that build their leadership ability and makes them more confident in their undertakings. Experience in leadership such as the one you have gained on horseback is paramount. It builds one’s ability to handle situations that may arise in the future. As such, experience is a fundamental element in determining a leader’s success in their undertaking.
Although it is acceptable for one to feel confident that they have gained leadership skills and are ready to practice them, it would be paramount to realize that some leadership skills may only be useful for specific situations. A leadership skill gained through experience may not be suitable for all situations. The case would be best explained by Northouse (2016) through the contingency theory which insists that a situation determines the leadership skills that one would have to employ. The theory recognizes that leaders have general tendencies with specifications that leaders may be more effective in some situations than in others. As such, leadership skills would be more significant if they are applied for the appropriate purpose and in the relevant situation.
Different situations require unique leadership skills. Having been in charge of different groups at school, I understand the value of the appropriate skills for specific situations. My experience attests to the relevance of the contingency theory. I have learned the best ways of ensuring that group members undertake their assignments as per the requirements stipulated by the instructor. I have been successful in convincing students in different groups the significance of handling assignments as provided by the instructor. However, the skill has never worked for me whenever I tried to use it in other situations. For example, I have tried to use the knowledge to guide my brother to observe certain rules in my family but it has been impossible. It is because my leadership skills are for handling people in a school setting and not a family. Therefore, leadership skills may only be relevant to the situation through which they have been developed or another that is closely related.
According to Vidal et al. (2017), situational leadership is defined by three factors; task structure, positional power, and leader-member relations. Task structure is a set of activities that the follower and the leader are expected to undertake. Sometimes, the tasks may not be appropriate to the skills that one possesses. The leader sets the tasks for followers depending on their ability. Positional power dictates that the leader behaves in a certain way depending on the power that they hold. Lastly, leader-member relations entail the relationship between the leader and the follower. If there is a friendly relationship between the parties, the leader is likely to be more confident with the follower. They are likely to entrust them with greater responsibilities while expecting them to offer excellent work. I have been in a situation where the three factors influenced my leadership (Vidal et al., 2017). Since I was leading people within my age group, power was a critical factor. I had to assign them tasks in an authoritative manner to ensure they recognized my power. I did not recognize the relevance of the task structure.
As you suggest through the analysis of your mastery of leadership on the horseback, it is vital to master the elements or values that matter for specific situations. Situational favorability is a suitable element in determining the leader’s success in executing leadership duties. Northouse (2016) asserts that the more control the leader has, the more favorable a situation becomes. Leadership control comes through leader-member relations, task structure, and position power. The three elements define your position as a horseback rider. The leader gains control over the followers by nurturing the culture of being reliable and experts in their undertakings. It means that there would be an outstanding leadership strategy that can be developed because it is more applicable to one situation than to another.
Moreover, you made an excellent choice for leadership style as per the situation that was in your hands. As a leader, you understood the nature of the tasks that you would have to handle. Selecting the best leadership styles to apply in a situation is not an easy task as it calls for an accurate understanding of the underlying issues. Coaching and supporting would be exemplary choices for leadership styles. Coaching is considered a high directive-high supportive leadership style. To attain the set goal, the leader understands that they have to work closely with the followers. They understand that they have the responsibility for the attainment of the set goals and they exercise it by directing their followers to use a specific path (Vidal et al., 2017). They mentor their followers to adopt certain traits that would be relevant for attaining the set goals.
On the other hand, the supporting style is a high-supportive-low directive. Leaders exercising this style do not focus on goals only. They are concerned about the welfare of their followers. They ensure that the followers are in the best condition so that it is easier for them to offer the required assistance. As shown in your case, every leader who intends to enjoy support from the followers would have to support them on different fronts. The support would include coming up with ideas that are exceptionally interesting and aimed at improving the wellbeing of the followers. If followers get better in their undertakings, the leader is guaranteed that the organization would realize a level of success. Such a leader considers followers’ decisions as paramount and highly reliable in attaining the set goals. Supportive leaders give followers the opportunity to contribute to activities that are underway (Northouse, 2016). Followers can question the decisions made by leaders in a constructive manner that is likely to give a new perspective on a situation.
However, the support for the coaching and supporting styles does not mean directing and delegating are inappropriate situational leadership styles. Directing leadership style would come into place when the follower seems not to understand what ought to be done. It is a high directive-low supportive style. The leader’s focus is on achieving the set goals but does not spare adequate time to support the followers. Directing leaders have specific instructions that followers have to adhere to in their undertakings. The followers are not allowed to question. Therefore, your illustration that sometimes you use directing style is understandable for situations where the followers are unresponsive. It would be an accurate strategy to offer directives to individuals who may not have a full understanding of the tasks that are to be undertaken. Directives would be the most suitable way to have such followers commit to the attainment of the relevant success depending on the set goals (Northouse, 2016)
Equally, delegating would be a reasonable consideration in the definition of the appropriate leadership style for a certain situation. The style is supportive-low directive. The leaders do not offer a lot of effort towards realizing the desired success. They are not in a position to interact with the followers to extend the help that they may require. Such leaders set the goals, but they are not participants in attaining them. The duty to ensure that the goals are attained is left in the hands of the followers. Such leaders would be considered irresponsible since they do not offer the guidance that each party would require. They are not aware of the obstacles that their followers face in their pursuit of certain goals. Such situations may occur when the followers are more experienced or passionate about the goals than the leader. I never faced such a situation, but I knew of certain groups that did not undertake their activities appropriately because their leaders did not have a proper understanding of the best ways of undertaking certain tasks.
In conclusion, your experience as an equestrian is an outstanding illustration of the value of an accurate choice for leadership style. It is paramount to focus on the right leadership style to ensure value is attained. Depending on the nature of the follower, a leader can determine the activities and steps to follow in the pursuit of a certain goal. A leader should understand the most suitable approach to a situation depending on the tasks to be handled and the nature of the followers who would be involved in the process. It is appropriate to note that not every situation would depend on current leadership skills. Some situations and tasks would require the leader to pursue new skills. As such, leadership is a process of attaining goals and the leader should exercise the authority considerably to motivate followers to participate in the process. A leader has responsibility over the followers and tasks. They determine the tasks that their followers undertake and the approach that they use. Depending on the situation, a leader can come up with the best team to take certain responsibility.
References
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2016). PSYCH 485 Lesson 5: Style and Situational Appraoches. Retrieved https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2075467/modules/items/30110418
Vidal, G. G., Campdesuñer, R. P., Rodríguez, A. S., & Vivar, R. M. (2017). Contingency theory to study leadership styles of small businesses owner-managers at Santo Domingo, Ecuador. International Journal of Engineering Business Management, 9, 1847979017743172.
jtt5181 says
I think you have a very optimistic outlook on leadership which is very important as a young adult who- very soon will be entering the workforce is very important. It like how you connected the ideas of being able to foster the environment to build these traits up as you were not always this way. That practice is very important and proves the behavior approach that not although always inherited, we can groom ourselves to be great leaders and your exposition really proves that. It is great how you created a path of your development of your leadership style to exactly of what you believe to be the reason you have these abilities now, I found that very interesting. I can imagine driving a car is somewhat similar to riding a horse, where you are the one in control. Unlike a car though, a horse is a living creature where is really can respond to your personal nature. Sharpening your leadership skills must have been very beneficial in mastering your equestrian goals and now that you have a more well-rounded leadership skill set then you are much more able to “lead” your horse if you will since it can sense and trust the leadership aspect of yourself. Great post!
bgw5114 says
I like how you connected leadership to training a horse, something not many people would think of as a leadership role. I can relate to this as I grew up on a farm showing dairy cows, they have to be trained to walk on a halter and understand commands. Like you, I don’t feel I was a born leader but leaned to be a leader. I feel that Katz three-skill approach of technical skills, human skills and conceptual skills would apply to your scenario (Northouse, 2016). Technical skill is about being proficient in a specific activity, in your case learning to ride a horse and training a horse would require technical skills (Northouse, 2016). Human skills would be need to work effectively with followers to accomplish the goal, the horse would be the follower and human skills also allow the leader to create trust where followers can feel comfortable and secure (Northouse, 2016). When training a horse trust is a huge factor, if the horse is nervous and scared there can be serious injury to the both the rider and the animal. Conceptual skill is the ability to work with ideas and concepts, this is important to create a vision and plan (Northouse, 2016) In your case conceptual skill would be training the horse the way you had envisioned, for example if you were training a horse to jump, you may have a vision of the end result, and you may have to come up with different training techniques to achieve the goal.
While you related riding and training a horse to the situational approach, I also feel that the path goal theory could also apply. The path goal theory is more focused on motivation, and how the leader motivates followers to accomplish the desired goal, and to remove obstacles while the goal of the theory is to enhance performance and satisfaction by focusing on motivation and rewards (Northouse, 2016). Finding ways to motivate a horse are quite different from a human, but they also need to be motivated to do what is asked of the rider. For a horse it may be kind words and a scratch on the neck, or even a sweet treat when they perform the way the rider anticipated.
Great way to think outside the box on this and relate leadership to riding horses. It’s nice to see different perspective of how leadership is in everyday life and not only in the workplace.
References:
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage
Publications.
tja5455 says
Hello,
I don’t have any experience with horse back riding so I really enjoyed reading the first couple paragraphs of your post. I like how you mentioned that most athletes develop skills by focusing on non-living objects. I agree with this and as a soccer player this definitely rings true for me. In order to play at a high level, I consistently focus on how my foot interacts with the soccer ball. I practice dribbling, passing and shooting the ball. This is probably very different from the way that you train in horse back riding. Like you said, you have to be completely connected and engaged with a horse, a living creature that can have a mind of its own. I can only imagine the leadership and communication you must have to use every time you ride a horse. You mention that the rider must assess the situation immediately upon mounting the horse, in order to understand the leadership style that must be used. This directly connects with the situational approach, as the text explains that effective leaders must adapt their styles to the demands of different situations (Northouse, 2016). In the next part of your post, you did a wonderful job of showing the different leaderships styles you use in different situations.
After reading the second part of your post, I have become more aware of the different settings and situations in which you would have to use different leadership styles. One of the examples you provided raised an important question in my mind. You explained how you use the delegating style during a leisurely trail run with your horse. The delegating approach, referred to as S4 in the text, is both low supportive and low directive (Northouse, 2016). I can definitely see how this would be the right leadership style to use for this type of situation. However, I’m wondering if you’ve ever had to use two different leadership styles within the same situation? Let’s say you’re taking your horse for a nice relaxing trail ride and then a big bird flies in front of of your horse. Your horse may become anxious or startled in this situation and he might need some support or redirecting. I’m curious if you’ve ever had to quickly adjust leadership styles to better lead your horse, or follower, in a unique situation like the one above. I think in that situation, you would have to quickly change from the delegating approach to the coaching approach, which is a high directive, high supporting style (Northouse, 2016). By adjusting to this approach, you would be able to calm down your horse and get him re-focused on riding down the trail. Overall, I think you’ve done a great job of connecting your experiences as a horse back rider to leadership and course material around the situational approach. I like how you gave specific examples of how you use different leaderships styles in different situations. I think the main challenge for leaders is to be able to change their leadership styles based on the goal requirements and followers’ needs, even in the middle of a situation (Northouse, 2016). I’m sure you’ve had to do this many times while horseback riding. Great post!
References
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage
Publications.