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Start Here
- Part I · 1. The Read
- 2. Leave Your Ego at the Gate
- 3. The Lead Mare and the Boss Horse
- 4. Your Breath Is the First Cue
- 5. Peace That Has Structure
- Part II · 6. The Release Is the Lesson
- 7. The Four Phases
- 8. Diagnose First, Respond Second
- 9. Soft Hands, Hard Standards
- 10. Make the Wrong Thing Difficult
- 11. When the Horse Won't Try
- Part III · 12. Trust Is Built One Release at a Time
- 13. The Wreck and the Repair
- 14. Shutdown Is Not Calm
- 15. The Lifetime Horse, the Lifetime Team
- 16. Becoming Someone Worth Following
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The Horseman's Agreement
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Resource Library
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Certification
Field guide: The Read
Chapter 1
Field guide: The Read
Two geldings, one fall, opposite answers, both right. The discipline is the read.
6 minField guideBarn and office
Where you will use it
- Tech sales: the buyer who needs room versus the buyer who needs a plan
- Project management: the veteran engineer versus the new coordinator
- Home: the child who needs space versus the child who needs structure
Step by step
1
Arrive and look
Before any ask, take in the one in front of you. Posture, eye, voice, pace. Which horse are you standing in front of this morning?
2
Ask Tom Dorrance's question
What does this one need from me right now? Ask it before you answer, every time.
3
Choose the response
Room and a decision to own for the experienced and self directed. The plan, the names and a check in for the new or unsure. Hersey and Blanchard called it situational leadership.
4
Use the smallest pressure
Respond with the smallest pressure that will produce understanding.
5
Release
The instant they try, let go. Credit the try, not only the finish.
6
Hold the standard
The response flexes as far as it needs to. The standard does not. Everyone leaves calmer, safer and more willing.
Watch out
A script is what a manager reaches for when he has not yet earned the right to lead. Read first, then use the playbook.
The answer that worked last time is not a read. Neither is the answer that protects your own discomfort.
From the book
Write two names on a card: who on your team needs you to stop arriving, and who needs the round pen. Act on both this week.
The read is done with the whole body: eyes, ears and the eight feet between you.
Up next: Practice: The Read
Field guide: The Read
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