Horse-riding and Management lessons…

It is quite fashionable nowadays to tag anything other than learning of “true management” to management lessons. And so I thought I should also contribute to this confusion (read innovation) and in this post will attribute my horse-riding lessons to how I think they can be mapped to some management lessons.

“Why horse-riding of all other hobbies and sports?” you may ask.

Let me come out clean here. One, I want to tell the world that finally I am learning what I loved to do always – control an animal (that is tamable). And two, why not? This is a fairly expensive sport, alright. But so are classical dance classes and golf classes!

Riding a horse gives me a sense of utmost freedom and a spirit of holding the reins (in true sense!). And so, hearing me rant about this life time wish of mine, my hubby gifted this course as a surprise on my birthday. Mind you, only the initial deposit and first month fees are from him as a gift. I have to manage the monthly fee myself, on an on-going basis.

Management Lesson #1:

Listen to the coach. Now this is absent in most of our systems. I mean the “listening” skills. We assume we know everything. Only when we actually start the job we realize how much there is to learn to become an expert. We can avoid quite a few mistakes if only we “listened” to our coaches, as they advise, rather than on hindsight.

Management Lesson #2:

Learn the basics well and thoroughly. This is important. Most of the times, we imagine that we can manage without knowing what it takes to build software or what it takes to manage finance. This is entirely a wrong approach. I think it is a must to know the basics. Else the horse, over a period of time, will push you down.

Management Lesson #3:

Don’t ever try to overdo at least in the initial stages. Learn slowly but steadily. Overdoing in the initial stages causes a lot of harm than good. This is personal experience. In our eagerness to learn and implement all at the same time, we do not realize that we are putting quite a few stakeholders in trouble. Also, it is difficult to retain the same pace after we start full-fledged. Expectation setting is a must to avoid burn-downs. Go slow, but be steady and focused.

Management Lesson #4:

Observe from other riders (both their mistakes as well as their expert strokes). As I ride, I made it a habit to look around as well. Their seating posture, the way they hold the reins, the way they trot, the way they keep their feet in the stirrup, the way they hold the whip… especially from ace riders, there is a lot we can learn just by observation. In fact, I had video shot myself and started checking my mistakes. If only we could do that in the real life corporate management (I mean the self video shooting)!!

Management Lesson #5:

Go with the rhythm. There is a certain rhythm in everything we do or see. We need to understand and imbibe that. In fact, the very 3rd class, the senior most coach commended me on my rhythm and he said that was the most important skill in horse-riding. Getting right the balance and the rhythm of the place where we are is a key to success. Drawing comparisons to workplace, we need to see if the culture and the values of the teams that we are in, are in tune with our own. Where the rhythm does not coincide, it is sheer cacophony!

Management Lesson #6:

Do not lean (forwards or backwards); sit upright and be alert. While riding, this is one important thing to maintain – the posture. If I lean forward, my coach keeps shouting “do not lean; sit back straight”. Does he realize that my back is breaking?! He knows and he says learning to ride was my conscious decision. So is management! No manager can afford to stoop (read crumble or lose balance) as he is running his team. This will result in the manager crash landing on the team’s neck and choke them as well. How true! Remain balanced; Be alert!

Management Lesson #7:

Hold the reins firm…else you may be in danger. Please read this again. I have not said hold the reins tight. I have said hold them firmly. We maneuver with the reins. If we lost control or hold them back tight, the results will not be what we desire. We should know when to hold firm, when to let slightly lose and when to pull back!

Management Lesson #8:

Stay connected to the horse. Stay connected always with the teams. This is one of the biggest secret recipes to success. Knowing the pulse of our people is essential. We should know (like the back of our palms), how teams will react and who in the team is our spokesperson and who is not (and why). This is possible only if we stay connected.

Management Lesson #9:

Nudge and/or whip the horse when it slows down; don’t beat. My coach taught me how to nudge the horse on its belly with my heels and how to whip in such a way that it does not hurt the horse (really) but makes it run/trot. Key thing here is to pass the message without a lot of heart burn and still get desired results/productivity J

Management Lesson #10:

Show the horse some carrots (at least occasionally). The very first class, my trainer told me, “Next time, get some carrots for your horse. It takes all your burden and runs. Show some kindness in return”. Can we show the same carrots, again and again, over a period of time to the horse? No way! It has to be fresh carrots every time! Got the message, yeah?!

Management Lesson #11:

Realize when your horse is tired. You don’t have to neigh but make sure you understand the horse’s language. Surprisingly, after learning all the tricks, I realized that to whatever extent I used them, the horse refused to move after let’s say a 40-45 minute ordeal of me trying to trot on it. That’s when the trainer said, that the horse gets tired and that I should know it by now through its body language!!! Tell me how many of us truly realize when our teams are worn out or burnt out? Do we even stop by to check on them? This is an extension on my Management Lesson #9 (if you have forgotten, please read this again) J.

Management Lesson #12:

Make it appear pleasurable and effortless. Can you imagine someone riding the horse sweating and fretting and giving you an impression that he/she would fall-off any moment; the horse might tumble and fall down right now? What does it indicate? It is not a pleasant sight, right? Holds good in terms of Management as well! Who will want to see a team run by a panic-struck manager/management? It has to look effortless but the biggest of crisis should be solved. Possible? Why not!!

Management Lesson #13:

Finally, don’t blame the horse if you don’t win! Do I need to explain this further?!

PS: I realize that from every aspect of what we see in life (from the holy books to something menial) there are quite a few hidden treasures of management lessons. If only we cared to understand all those and implement?!