Broadcasting Intent

Maddie was completely rigid, head up, eyes fixed, feet frozen to the spot. No matter how hard Sue tried, the horse's feet would not budge. Sue was frustrated, convinced the horse was plain stubborn and did not like her. From Maddison's perspective every signal directed at her was different, conflicting and confusing. The human was simply flailing on the other end of the lead.

Horses have a very concise way of letting others know that something is about to happen, they clearly and sometimes very swiftly broadcast their intent. The key in working with a horse is to connect our actions with our intention so they can read us. If intention is a reflection of what we value, our purpose and what we wish to accomplish, then as our eyes align with our thoughts and our body follows suit we communicate our intention to the horse.

Understanding the art of horse whispering, or the language of the corporate world, requires the leader be an excellent observer of their own actions, adjusting and responding based on demonstrated behaviour.

Just as Sue recognised she was very much a task oriented person, she came to realise her focus on the intended result of the future made it difficult for the horse to understand her at that moment. A horse can read our body but not our minds, so as clear as Sue was in her goal, the more she focused attention on Maddison, the more her actions of the present contradicted her intention.

In the 2004 book Presence organizational behaviour gurus Senge, Scharmer, Jaworski and Flowers -- discuss that being aware of the present moment allows you to continually refine your intention so opportunities unfold. "thinking about your intention many, many times - is, in a sense, a broadcast of intention. When you broadcast such an intention, there's very little else that you have to do. The broadcast of intention goes out and makes it happen. Your role is to remain keenly aware, patiently expectant, and open to all possibilities."

A horse demands the present of us - they live in the moment and respond based on what we offer. A horse knows what Senge, Scharmer, Jaworski and Flowers define as 'presencing', is in fact another type of seeing. "It is seeing from within the source from which the future whole is emerging, peering back at the present from the future." They know the more we are present to the moment the more successful we are in broadcasting our intention.