UNSTUCK
I finished putting out the last of the baked goods, including a “big donut” on the table next to the granola bars, string cheese, and yogurt. This yummy treat was size of a regular paper plate covered in chocolate frosting with multi-colored sprinkles. The guests from the Saginaw County Business and Education Partnership (SCBEP) board began entering the conference room. Fourteen of our board members and our Executive Director, Kathy, would be spending the morning and early afternoon together.
I’d been a part of this board for six years (ultimately eighteen). As an organization, we were at a crossroads, so I offered to facilitate an Equine-Assisted Learning experience to:
1) Celebrate 25 years – acknowledge past successes
2) Increase engagement of board members & stakeholders
3) Identify sustainable funding
4) Develop a plan for focused marketing efforts
5) Create a future for SCBEP vision
The board was made up of a cross-section of individuals from Saginaw County. Ranging from education, to manufacturing, and business leaders who cared about our mission, which was, “to increase the achievement and employability skills of Saginaw County’s youth. Area students benefited from the focused efforts by the Partnership’s board members, volunteers, and staff. They accessed specialty designed programs and services that are used by nearly 12,000 eighth through twelfth grade students throughout Saginaw County.”
For the morning session, we interwove horse and non-horse activities keeping the group engaged. For example, the results from the pre-assessment helped ground the group, connecting people by learning more about each individual, the gifts they brought to the board, and why they were part of this community.
After a delicious western lunch of pulled pork, baked beans, cornbread with all the fixings, from a local butcher shop we experientially explored the future of SCBEP. The purpose of the activity was to identify possible challenges and solutions through partnering with the horses. The horse-safe resources, such as cones, pvc pipes, and pool noodles, were used as metaphors for what we, as an organization, would need to get over, go through, or go around. Each board member was invited to identify their role, stating how they would be supporting Kathy and her staff.
The horses were at liberty in the front pasture with the pile of resources near the gate. The horses would represent stakeholders or clients moving through the services and programs offered by SCBEP. The written instructions explained that they could use lead ropes if it mirrored the situation. Meaning, was the client, student, council member, etc. a connected partner, not someone who could/would make the choice to leave.
The group moved into the pasture to investigate the resources. Then, they returned to the conference area, gathering around the flip chart. Tammy led the conversation, drawing out different areas the board identified as key to our success.
John, Ronnie, and Julie would create an area representing possible State funding. These board members had been involved the longest and were the most familiar with working with governmental agencies. Meanwhile, Julio, Tim, and Samantha would create something that represented the schools and their superintendents in the county. James, Gabe, and Katie would build a space that symbolized the business community. The remaining board members would have less specific roles, seeking to support and help where they thought it was needed. Kathy would be charged with moving the horse(s) through these spaces as she determined with in the best interest of the organization.
One main objective was to shift the burden from the staff to the volunteer board. Historically, Kathy would take too much on and those non-deadline related business development areas, such as marketing, would fall off, remaining untapped or leveraged. This organizational behavior let to additional chasing after grant dollars, creating a vicious cycle we were determined to break.
When the ten minutes we allotted for their planning was coming to an end, I asked by a show of thumbs up, level, or down, indicating whether everyone believed they understood their roles and agreed with the plan. Fourteen thumbs pointed toward the ceiling meant we could get started with the activity.
Stacie and I stood off to the side, watching the people grab different props, moving toward their pre-determined areas in the open field. It was a near-perfect Michigan June day, with a light breeze. One thing that was interesting was how far apart they built each of the different sections, one for government, one for education, and one for business. They were so far apart, it clearly was going to be a challenge, for anybody, to get a horse to move easily between them. We had just identified our first debriefing question, what was the thought process of making this so difficult? Importantly, did it represent reality?
Once everyone seemed satisfied with their space, Kathy moved toward the horse closest to her, trying to catch Charlie to put a halter on him. He quietly, in his Mr. Brown no-I-am-not interested way, slowly moved away from her pressure. We questioned Kathy about the use of the lead rope, affirming that the client she chose was indeed someone who was connected to the organization. She affirmed that they decided to start with someone who was already committed and willing to help us succeed.
Stacie turned to me, commenting,
“You know, they spent almost all their planning time on the course, not much of it talking about which horse(s) to use and why.”
“That’s really interesting”, I replied. Think about the importance of identifying the right client or stakeholder, not just the one closest to you.”
“Especially, since they had two other horse activities earlier in the day, allowing them to know some of the horses’ personalities.” Stacie said. “With Temptation Alley they definitely got to see that Charlie is the least people-friendly, a grumpy old man that would much rather eat grass than work!” Stacie added.
“Or they could have asked us, a “hidden” yet available resource. Makes me wonder what hidden resources are being missed in the organization. As part of the Executive Board I saw that the staff was constantly putting out fires. Though to be fair, the rules were constantly changing depending on which administration was in power. They held the purse strings. Still, my guess is there are some untapped opportunities waiting to be leveraged.” I concluded.
“Right” Stacie responded.
After Charlie walked away, Kathy, turned to the next closest horse which was our draft mare Tigger. Tigger was also not interested in moving, unless it’s necessary, though she was very much a people-horse, loving the attention. A former Amish horse, we surmised that she was grateful for the kindness, a gentle giant that appreciated being in a space where she felt loved and seen.
Tigger dropped her big head, letting Kathy halter her. Though when she asked her to move, she basically said “No”; firmly planting herself where she stood. The board members that were assigned to be supportive and help where possible, were all busy talking with the board members assigned to specific roles. Not one of them recognized the opportunity to support Kathy. Interestingly Kathy didn’t immediately ask for help, from either them or Stacie and I. She kept trying to move all 1,800 pounds of gentle giant by tugging on the lead rope.
Kathy tried on her own for several minutes with the entire board unaware. I looked at my watch, realizing we could use the remaining time together to process what just took place. They had physically experienced what mirrored our organizational behavior, we could now spend the balance of our time brainstorming solutions. Identifying actions, accountability, and metrics to proactively shift toward more board involvement. The EAL experience could help us unstick our stuckness!
Have you ever found yourself repeating a behavior over and over, being stuck and not being able to see a clear path forward?
Have you had a breakthrough where you became unstuck? What were the conditions that supported this new behavioral change?
What can you apply from your experience in the future?