Hello, I am Lizzie from The Equestrian Leadership Consultancy.
I live in North-East Derbyshire with my wonderful husband, a load of Exmoor ponies and a cat Talula, who is our leader.
My equestrian obsession started from a very young age, with my older sister plonking me on any available pony. As I grew up and the realisation hit that I had to pay for my own horses, I forged a career in the Customer Service Group of Sky UK. It was here I found my superpower in people leadership which then grew into leadership coaching and development and took my work all over the UK and into Europe.
Like many, the pandemic made me rethink how I want to spend my time and energy, which led to setting up The Equestrian Leadership Consultancy. My starting point with all of this is that horses are the reason for our industry, community and culture of equestrianism, but it’s people that sustain it. It’s my mission to bring people leadership skills to the equestrian industry so that the people who work in it feel valued, inspired and energised to do their best work. Not only in service of horses, but so that equestrian businesses thrive in this changing landscape.
The world of equestrianism has arrived at a critical juncture with several issues coming to a head. Conversations are swirling around social licence to operate concerning equine welfare from grassroots level through to elite sport, with the latter making mainstream press headlines this summer.
Secondly, the impact of the cost of living crisis on horse owners coupled with the ever increasing operating costs of equestrian service providers which threatens the viability of equestrian businesses. The price of goods and rates plus legislative changes to employment law, such as proposed increases to the National Minimum Wage; change is coming whether it’s welcomed or not.
So why prioritise people leadership skills in equestrian business at this critical time?
There needs to be a broad mindset shift in our industry. Yes, horses are the reason it exists but it needs skillful, passionate, resilient people to sustain it. Those people need to be led in a way that values them not only on a remuneration front but instills trust, respect, a sense of purpose and investment in their growth.
Getting people leadership right will make equestrian businesses run smoother, be more productive and more profitable. It’s worth spending some time exploring some of the contributing factors that make people leadership challenging in the equestrian industry:
- Falling into leadership. Not unique to equestrianism, but lots of folks who end up running yards and businesses do so because they are talented riders or small or medium-sized enterprises. It’s very common that when someone then becomes a “boss/head person/yard manager” because they are good at their job, and are then left to figure out how to lead a team of people to be great at their jobs too without any help, let alone training. Often this leads to copying what’s in front of them or what they have experienced, which might not be the best role model to learn from.
- Military hangover. We have inherited a culture of militarism from the very nature of the fact that horses were working animals employed by the armed forces and were on the battlefield. Think about some of the characters: the terrifying Pony Club DC, the old Major who field-mastered. Consider the way they spoke to people (sweeping generalisations here): one-way instructions, barking orders, “don’t question people who out rank you.” It was not uncommon to be bawled at in lessons and many worked harder for fear of being shouted at. It’s important to note that this isn’t a condemnation of all military practices; as so much is extremely valuable (discipline, order, routine, presentation) but it’s worth noting in terms of people leadership/culture there is a legacy that we have to contend with today which is not rooted in organisational psychology.
- Putting ‘work with horses’ in a different box to other employment. To be clear, this isn’t all equestrian employers, and organisations such as The Equestrian Employers Association ,The British Grooms Association and FEI International Grooms Association advocate for the rights of those working in the equestrian industry. Frequently highlighted are problems regarding loopholes around self-employed grooms, inconsistent benefit offsetting, and a belief that working with nice horses makes up for not paying a proper wage.
- Generational challenges. It’s not uncommon for opinions such as “young people aren’t prepared to work hard” or “youngsters these days can’t handle working with horses”, to be a loud voice in articulating issues with getting good staff in equestrian business. This presents a point of conflict when a large demographic of those working in equestrian businesses are young people. The Low Pay Commission EEA report found that 34% of equestrian employers stated that they cannot afford to employ those older than 21 years old due to uplift in NMW at this age.
- Tribalism. For a community that all has a single interest at heart, the horse, there is a huge amount of tribalism, factions and in fighting that goes on. Natural horsemanship, barefoot vs shod, opinions on rugging – if you want an argument you can find one. But now more than ever we need the community to pull together and that is going to require leadership – not just from governing bodies but everyday leadership from all horsey folk who want this to be a way of life passed down to future generations.
It’s up to us as equestrian leaders and employers to navigate through this and find a way to lead people in line with our values, with smart business strategies to make sure we have an equestrian industry that is fit for the future.
So how does someone with a Communications and Society degree, and over a decade of corporate leadership, learning and development experience, help equestrian businesses?
My work currently in the consultancy sees me working 121 with equestrian leaders, facilitating team development sessions and through sharing online content. Crucially I am looking to help leaders, managers and business owners, solve the problems in their business that are connected to people leadership issues.
Here’s a list of the types of problems I help solve:
- Staff retention
- Leading teams through change
- Managing annoying behaviours (e.g. lateness)
- Building resilience (as a leader and instilling in others)
- Motivation
- Team development
When I work with leaders there are some key things that I am looking out for to draw out and help that leader connect with that will help us to find a way forward in a way that feels authentic to them.
- Values. Understanding and connecting to personal values and recognising that these play an integral part in how we respond to situations. For example, if trust is a core value to a leader and a team member challenges this, it could really rock the relationship.
- Why. Why do they do what they do? Why does their business exist? Who is it helping? Who relies on the success of this business? Leaders need to be super clear on their why so to draw on their own resilience but also to inspire and motivate their team through connecting to that why.
- Communication. As equestrians we share our lives with horses who are masters of communication; they have a lot to contend with living in the human world. Depending on the conversation (or lack of) some horses lash out. Some shut down. Some find a way to get by, some crack the code. Humans, like horses, have to adapt, try and play by the unwritten rules. But this can be made so much easier (especially in the workplace) by clear leadership from someone who is willing to listen and have a two way conversation.
- Action. One of the most crucial steps is getting leaders to move from inaction (worrying/complaining/procrastinating) to taking action. Imperfect action will always beat inaction so it’s vital to be clear on the next step, no matter how small, when and how it will be taken and know the support that’s on hand if needed.
- Impact. Once action has been taken, it’s so important to reflect on the impact that it had. Did you get the expected outcome? How did it feel? What difference has it made? What have you realised? What have you learned about your team? What needs to happen next?
In order for me to be able to make a difference with all that I have discussed here there is a crucial element to this: the leader has to recognise that the person that they have to work on the most is themselves. It’s very easy to blame poor staff or lack of money for the problems in a business but it takes a lot of bravery to look inwards and question how you contribute to these problems.
Developing as a leader is very similar to developing horsemanship skills; the saying “one who believes that he has mastered the art of horsemanship has not yet begun to understand the horse”, is as true for leadership. We have to remain curious, open and humble to get the very best of horses and people.
Are you interested in working with Lizzie to improve how your team operates? You can connect with her using the details below!
Social links: The Equestrian Leadership Consultancy
Instagram: @equestrian_leadership https://www.instagram.com/equestrian_leadership/
Facebook: The Equestrian Leadership Consultancy https://www.facebook.com/theequestrianleadershipconsultancy/
Book a free 30 min 121 https://calendly.com/lizzie_lrec/leadership-leg-up-121