Inspirational Leadership Series #13

This interview is #13 in the ongoing Inspirational Leaders Series: a collection of short interviews with sharp, impactful leaders —because the business world needs more refreshing people like them: see more teresabrazen.com/blog.

In this interview, I shared with Teresa:

👉🏼How horseback riding relates to leadership

👉🏼Leadership as a lifelong learning process

👉🏼The distinction between kindness and niceness in leadership

👉🏼Tips for being a more inclusive leader

Teresa: WHAT'S SOMETHING THAT SYMBOLIZES YOUR LEADERSHIP SPIRIT?

Ingrid: I know exactly what symbolizes it, and I have it tattooed on my wrist: the horse. The horse is a powerful, independent, strong, deep, and sensory animal. I grew up with horses and started riding at the age of five. I learned a lot about communication styles through my training and riding of this wild, amazing spiritual beast.

Teresa: HOW DID THAT EXPERIENCE CONNECT WITH THE WAY YOU LEAD?

Ingrid: It's about trust. A lot is not spoken, but there’s a feeling and a negotiation. When riding around a ring, you communicate with a horse through tiny muscle movements, breathwork, and centering. And as you're guiding them to the next jump, you’re controlling your breath and the little movements in your hands to let them know exactly when you're asking them to jump. So there's a lot of trust there, because if you misstep, you could actually harm both yourself and the horse. Same goes for leadership.

One thing that's neat about horses is that there are some things that are counterintuitive. You might think when you're going around a corner you would want to slow down and then speed up. But, when you're in the tightest bend, you actually amplify the speed so that when you're in a straight shot towards a jump, you can be calm and collected and go right over very smoothly. It's fascinating, and it is a parallel to how you can lead.

🎥 Watch the full interview here

Or read the rest of it here