Making an impact

The following is an extract from Jude's book Leadership Beyond Measure: Profound learning with horses to transform leaders and business

Most people operate unconsciously most of the time. If people don’t do what you need them to do, a good place to start is to understand your impact.

What impact do you have when you walk into a room?

When I ask clients that question, they usually don't know. Most people have never considered their impact. Some of my clients tell me they don't have one. I assure you that you do have an impact! When clients start to pay attention to the impact they have on different people in different situations, they are often surprised. You may have done intellectual forms of training that help you negotiate, manage projects and understand how people think. But how you show up, your presence and non-verbal communication also have a substantial impact on how you lead, inspire and influence others.

Are you getting what you want?

Are you inspiring and influencing in every situation?

Often you will know what you don't want. You don't like the way a meeting runs or the way someone interacts with you. The focus tends to be on the problem rather than the solution.

Often when clients lead a horse, if the horse stops and refuses to move, the client will turn back and face the horse, scratch their head and try to work out how to get the horse to move again. They are getting feedback on their impact in this moment. It's an opportunity to recalibrate and try something new. For those who are resilient and creative, they may find it easy to get going again. For others, they turn their back on the direction they were going and focus on the problem. The horse is now a problem rather than a team player. Relationship is instantly broken in that moment.

This is mirrored daily in the workplace too. That person you find challenging? You make them a problem, you see them as someone who gets in your way and sabotages your success. By focussing all your attention on the problem, you put your energy into trying to get them to do something differently. You exacerbate the problem by breaking the forward momentum and seeing that person as a problem.

Frustration can kick in easily at times like these, especially if you are under pressure. Instead, be curious about the needs of the other party, be clear about where you are heading and how you get there together, and the subtle shift in focus and energy creates a profoundly different result.

The same frustration that you have at work shows up when working with horses too. Some clients get frustrated more quickly than others. It’s useful to know what your default response is to not getting the result you want.

Do you get frustrated or are you creative and resilient?

Most people consider themselves to be creative and resilient, and often the frustration they feel surprises them. When working with horses, we are more aware of our emotional responses, so it highlights what is happening at a deep level, enabling you to identify the emotions early on and use them powerfully in your leadership. Once you have done this with a horse, you can't unlearn it. It becomes a life skill that enables you to be more conscious of your impact in future.

A recent client said: "The signals you give out, consciously and unconsciously are picked up by the horses and it’s the unconscious ones which have the greatest impact. Your colleagues at work who appear so stubborn, unhelpful and slow to change are not that way because they are ‘bloody minded’ but because you are not acting with clarity, purpose and as a true leader."

Jude Jennison is author of the book Leadership Beyond Measure, an international speaker and Horse Assisted Educator with a 16 year senior leadership career in a global IT organisation, where she led UK, European and global teams.

Jude helps senior leaders and executive teams develop embodied leadership skills that create tangible business results. By receiving a horse’s non-judgemental feedback, any leader can identify their leadership behaviours and transform themselves into a courageous and hugely influential non-verbal communicator. 

For more information on my leadership development programmes or to book Jude as an inspirational speaker, contact me on 0800 170 1810 or visit my website www.judejennison.com