The Story
Have you ever watched a horse race where one horse was so far behind the others that you couldn’t tell if that horse was first or last? Sometimes in the pasture, the leader is either so far ahead of the team or so disengaged that you can’t see that the leader and the other participants are part of the same team.
HorseTalk Insights
At HorseTalk, participants are actually a part of multiple teams. The participants make up a team, each horse and human are a team, and at times, some of the participants and a horse constitute a team.
Part of the challenge in any challenge is to stay engaged with all team members while at the same time, clearly leading. From an observer’s view, it needs to look as if you are all on the same team.
Life and Business Lessons
In your professional life you are actually part of multiple teams, vertical and horizontal. Law firms are divided into practice groups which are horizontal. Each law specialty has a practice group and a practice group leader. The leader is part of two teams; his/her practice group and management. The management team is vertical. It is an evolving art to appear engaged and leading with each team and as each situation dictates.
Your Call to Action
You are a member of multiple teams and you need to lead from a reasonable distance; not too far ahead and not from within the team. You don’t want to get so far ahead of your team that no one can tell if you are leading or bringing up the rear.
