Overcoming Leadership Crimes: Motivating Your Horse Toward Its Best Performance
Davalee MindenAs 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.
