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Lessons from Monty: Using Principles of Leadership to Create Success out of Chaos
Marian J. Thier - - Expanding Thought
A group, a chatty bunch, stood around a platform surrounding a round paddock. A man walked into the ring. He stood in the middle and we fell to silence. Everyone seemed to sense we were in for something special.
Monty Roberts told us his story. His father, he said, was a horse trainer who adhered to the time worn message: "You (the horse) will do what I (the trainer) want or be hurt." For centuries, this method ensured the horse as man's fearful servant. As a child, Monty worked with the horses. He thought, he told us, of another way. He experimented with the message: "We can work together to form a mutually respectful partnership."
A young, scared filly was brought into the ring. She was chaotic - - anxious, wary, tense and alert. It was clearly not her idea to be there. Monty told us that his intention was to get the horse to trust him enough to accept a saddle, bridle and rider within a half hour. Traditionally, this takes about three brutal weeks, with the emphasis on breaking, not trusting.
He pushed the horse away and asked her to run until she no longer wanted to; he patted and reassured her that it was safe to be with him; he remained calm when she was not; and he let her adjust to each change before introducing another. The man and the horse exchanged a very high form of communication based upon mutual respect and understanding. Monty told us that he speaks her language.
Within 29 minutes the horse did all that Monty said he hoped to accomplish; and she exhibited none of the apprehension she displayed at her entrance. The most amazing part was watching the horse follow Monty around, relaxed and ready to work with him.
After the horse left the ring, Monty shared some data with us: he uses the same process for all horses, now over 7500 of them (with a 95 percent success rate) and many graduates are champions. Owners and animals reportedly work as partners.
They shoot horses don't they? One could not help but see many analogies and applications for the Monty Roberts process. Albeit, Monty works with horses and we work with people; but the leadership principles he applies are transferable. For example, so many people and organizations still act on the old message, "You (the person) will do what I (hierarchy, boss, parent, teacher) want or be hurt." Consider the many capable people who continue to be stifled, fired, ignored, overworked, underused and abused by those who operate by the control message.
But the biggest learning for me was to see how control acts as a barrier to success arising out of chaos. Like the horse, many people and organizations waste energy because they:
- Have too much fear to settle down to task...
- Jump from one action to another...
- Remain poised to flee...
- Lack trust.
Therefore, success comes from channeling wasted and/or undirected (misdirected) energy, when the parameter is, "We can work together to form a mutually respectful partnership."
Five principles of leadership Let's examine in greater detail the five principles I attribute to Monty's success and determine how they apply to people and organizations.
1. Mutually explore boundaries - - Monty communicated to the horse that, although he had the power to control her with the tether, he chose to let go of control. He used a soft lead line to push the horse away and asked her to run until she no longer wanted to. She ran like crazy around and around the paddock - - first in one direction and then in another. It was as though he intentionally increased chaos in order to convey the need for change.
Monty watched her, made strong eye contact and paid attention to the signals that began to say, "I'm getting tired of this running and want to work with you." He never tried to control her, instead he communicated that she was free to explore and help determine boundaries.
Do you oversteer when you're in a skid? Unfortunately, in chaotic situations, it is common to try to bring everything under control. It seems there is a perverse hope that control will bring stability. Instead, controlling action increases the turmoil:
- People jockey for position or hide to avoid being outside of the prevailing force...
- New systems and procedures spring up ostensibly to make order...
- There is time only to react, not to learn...
- There is a lot of action; little of it is directed.
If, instead of imposed controls, self-control and self-organization are the expectations, then there is a chance for positive outcomes. Somehow Monty communicated to the filly that they were going to work together within boundaries: he would take care of her and would not hurt her; she would be trained to perform at her best.
2. Intentions must be known and communicated - - It is demotivating to try to perform well in a directionless situation. Monty knew before the horse came into the paddock what success would be. Granted, success is not always as definable. But, I have seen many an organization foment chaos by constantly changing the definition of success. One week it is reduce cycle time, another satisfy the customers, another increase margins, another improve quality, and so forth. Such messages exhaust people. Monty defined three aspects of success (saddle, bit and rider) and every action was directed at achieving them.
When people and organizations have a clear direction, communicate it repeatedly and in different ways, organize all actions around it, and remain steadfast to it, chaos lessens and cooperation increases.
3. Create a safe environment - - Monty neither confronted, nor punished the horse. As a matter of fact, he did not look her in the eyes while they were creating safety between them. Every time she came to him, he patted and praised her. Every time she darted off, he made it inviting for her to return, until she lost the desire to fight or flee. He calls this join up.
Books have been written on creating a threat-free environment, so there is no need for me to repeat them. What did strike me though is the absolute inviolate rule one must hold to achieve such an environment: do unto others as they would have you do unto them. No one will join up with you if you:
- Compromise their values, principles or beliefs...
- Ignore their needs...
- Punish lapses...
- Expect them to work without reward.
A safe environment should not be mistaken for a placid one... Safe means to be honest, take risks, question, and communicate openly. I worked with one team that learned to be particularly good at surfacing and handling conflict. They used the phrase, "Let's get this bloody head on the table," to signal it was time to deal with an issue. Their meetings were sometimes hot and passionate as well as cool and intellectual. They managed to regard conflict of ideas as healthy and necessary, and conflict between individuals as unhealthy and unnecessary.
Safety and stages of development... Another aspect of a safe environment came to mind watching Monty. He predicts and trains to stages of development. He learned characteristics of horses, watches for behaviors that indicate where a horse is in the development process, and consciously works through and imbeds one stage before moving on to the next. For example, Monty told us to watch the horse's ears, chewing motion and head ducking as though grazing. Each is an indicator of readiness from the horse. When the horse cocked her ear toward Monty, he knew how to respond to increase their dialogue about trust and expectations.
In human terms, it is extremely threatening for people to be hurled forward without knowing boundaries, expectations, criteria, and sufficient time to learn. Leaders need to help others make sense out of events so chaos can be usefully channeled.
4. Allow one change to take effect before attempting to put another into place - - After join up, Monty moved toward getting the horse to accept saddle, bit and rider. Each was introduced as a separate entity and checked for agreement before adding the next change. Monty assumes the horse wants to succeed and his job is to work with her to figure out, at a measured pace, how to make that happen for both of them.
Think about your own experience with change and reflect on how it was rolled out. I have seen both extremes - - too fast and too slow - - each with deleterious effects. When change is too fast, customers, employees and processes reel with the pace. There is no time to adjust, learn, make modifications and communicate fully. When change is too slow, it does not match the pressure from internal and external forces; and, consequently, makes insufficient impact.
Remission and resistance are part of the learning process... Also, I noticed that Monty expected remission. From observing so many horses, he thought it possible that the horse might reject change. And sure enough she did. She was fine with the blanket and saddle. She even stood quietly while Monty patted all of the vulnerable areas that wild animals attack (neck, legs, flank). But as soon as he tightened the girth, she bucked. He retreated a bit until he once again established safe ground so they could move forward.
Mis-assumptions and how people are treated during chaotic situations... Often, people in charge panic when they feel others are questioning changes. Instead of checking to learn what is going on or just letting people vent, managers press through wearing self-placed blinders. Unfortunately, such inappropriate actions are often based upon mis-assumptions. It might be assumed that it is necessary to seem committed to a course of action, no matter what; or that if you are not decisive, others will not follow; or gains will not be held if any slippage occurs. These mis-assumptions cause control and resistance wars.
Alternatively, other assumptions could be: trust deepens with understanding; or, we must work together to sustain gains; or, just because testing will always occur, it need not be met with anger and fear.
Another mis-assumption is that the second set of assumptions does require more time to execute. What it does require is patience with the process and an ability to let go of having-the-answer.
As we learned with the horse and trainer, join up happens much faster the second time they work together. At every session, Monty measures task (training to raced, ridden, shown) and process (trust, commitment, readiness to move forward) and does not proceed faster than the horse and he can manage.
5. Have a demeanor that instills confidence - - Monty never confronted the horse. We could see the filly grow calmer as Monty consciously monitored his breathing, movements and tone of voice.
If you've ever taken a public speaking or presentation course, chaos is the time to recall how to use body language, voice and diction in communication:
1. First, breathe slowly and evenly which is the equivalent to counting to ten. Long, deep breaths will give everyone a chance to pause before reacting.
2. Next, make sure that your body language communicates the message you want to send, because people are always reading you.
3. And finally, speak clearly, deliberately and in a soothing tone. Your physical actions have to be congruent with your words to reassure people that you can be trusted.
In other words, you must act in accordance with your words. Don't gossip, hang around with negative people, nay-say, complain, undermine and shift accountability. Certainly, don't be phony; but do think about your power to influence (change in individuals drives organizational change). As soon as you stoop to the level of the frightened, you lose your ability to lead towards success.
Therefore, success comes from channeling wasted and/or undirected (misdirected) energy, when the parameter is, "We can work together to form a mutually respectful partnership."
Closing thoughts
Chaos isn't an event; it is a state of existence that asks us to remake order over and over again. People must display understanding, trust, consciousness, respect and foresight; and collaborate to determine how to use their abilities, knowledge and interests to ensure a future. Lewis Thomas, in The Lives of a Cell says this about collaborating to create order out of chaos: "Termites are even more extraordinary in the way they seem to accumulate intelligence as they gather together... It is not known how they communicate with each other, how the chains of termites building one column know when to turn toward the crew on the adjacent column, or how, when the time comes, they manage the flawless joining of the arches... They become agitated, excited, and then they begin working, like artists."
When the reality that change is not a linear, clean process is accepted:
People know how, when and where to contribute,
Diverse abilities are expected and accepted,
Contributions are allowed to genuinely make a difference,
There is no done to, but done with behavior,
Chaos is an exciting challenge to channel into powerful, positive success.
Marian J. Thier is the founder and principal of Expanding Thought and the creator of Creative Problem Solving¨ and The Journey, A Fable. Thier began her career in commercial and public television as a producer and on&endash;air personality. She moved into higher education as a faculty member and eventually became an administrator. A consultant since 1984, Thier works with organization to improve profitability by helping individuals develop original thinking, lead change, build teams, increase self-awareness and excel with the customer.
Reference
Thomas, Lewis. The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher, Bantam Books, New York; 1974.
This article was originally published in the Journal for Quality and Participation and is copyrighted by the Association for Quality and Participation, 801-B W. 8th St., Suite 501, Cincinnati, Ohio 45203, Tel: 513-381-1959, Fax 513-381-0070: all rights reserved. You may download and print it for your own personal use. If you wish to share it with others by photocopying, e-mail or by placing it on another online service; reprint it in a newsletter, or reprint all or a portion of it in a book for resale, or in a packet included in a course for fee you should contact Ned Hamson, editor at the address or numbers above or at ParteoKid@aol.com for permission.
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