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Corral Your Invisible Horses

-One Leader’s Perspective

By Greg L. Thomas

After the start of World War 2, the British were facing a tremendous challenge as western civilization was under assault by the Nazi regime. By July of 1940 France had fallen, and the powerful army of Germany controlled much of Europe. The United States was not yet in the war and on a clear day, Nazi soldiers could stand on French soil and peer across the English Channel to see the coast of Britain! German chancellor Adolph Hitler decided to launch “operation sea lion” in an attempt to conquer the British Isles. Step one of this plan was to destroy the British Royal Air Force, which protected Britain from invasion. The second step was to launch an amphibious invasion across the channel and seize control of the island. Naturally the British military leadership wanted to do everything possible to protect their homeland from German invasion.

vet However, as the story goes, there was a serious problem! The British wanted to place artillery in various strategic positions along the coast to shoot down German Luftwaffe planes or ships approaching from the sea. But the Brits were facing a shortage of younger men to operate the artillery. Most younger men of military age were needed elsewhere in the world to protect the Commonwealth and her widespread empire. The leadership decided to call upon older military veterans who had served in World War 1, which had ended 22 years earlier. These veterans were eager and willing to serve. The ones chosen for this task were experienced artillerymen from the previous war, but technology had changed dramatically. In World War 1, the artillery was transported or moved by using horses, but by the time of World War 2 the artillery was now being moved by diesel engine vehicles.

If Britain was assaulted by German planes or ships every motion and movement of an artillery team needed to be analyzed for efficiency and effectiveness. Wasted motion could be disastrous and would result in fewer shells being fired by the artillery battery. As the British military leadership observed the veterans in training exercises, a perplexing habit appeared! When these experienced veterans loaded the artillery piece and prepared to discharge the weapon, some held their hands out in front of them. At first the observers were baffled by this habit of seemingly wasted motion. Yet, time and again many of these older veterans used this same movement over and over. It eventually became obvious what the veterans were doing! In their minds, they were still trying to steady horses from World War 1. In the previous war, the artillery was moved by horses and these animals needed to be steadied and calmed when the artillery was fired. Over twenty years later, they were still trying to steady these invisible horses!

Here is the moral of this story. These fine and dedicated veterans were attempting to steady imaginary horses that no longer existed. They held on to an obsolete and outdated habit until they mentally “let go” and were re-trained to become more effective. Allow me to draw an analogy from this historical episode of World War 2. An “invisible horse” is an outdated, sometimes harmful habit or mindset that wastes our time, our energy, and is no longer very effective. What often makes it difficult to detect or reject an “invisible horse” is that at an earlier time it may have been a very effective and beneficial habit! But times change, people change and technology changes at a steady pace. What may have been an acceptable mindset or skill in the past can become an “invisible horse” over a period of time. Whether we care to admit it or not, we all have invisible horses in our lives. But, what causes a previously beneficial habit or skill to become obsolete or potentially harmful?

There are many causes and I will mention just a few. First there are generational and cultural changes that occur almost every decade. For example, different generations perceive distinct attitudes toward work and management methods. One generation may have a strong commitment toward the value of hard work and accept an autocratic approach toward management. Another generation may have less of a commitment toward work and reject an autocratic environment. There is also greater diversity in the world with wider cultures now represented in the workplace.

Secondly, newer technologies arising at an ever-increasing rate may suddenly change the way things are done. For example, to continue to use a mechanical typewriter or word processor may engender warm sentimental feelings, but they are woefully obsolete and ineffective compared to a personal computer with modern word processing software. Many technologies introduced just 3 or 5 years ago are now out of date.

The third reason a previously beneficial habit or skill can become obsolete is due to increased societal expectations of leaders. There is a continuing demand for greater educational achievement. In the past 50 years we have seen what was once achievable by acquiring a “diploma” after 12 years of public school education, to now become the minimum need of an undergraduate or graduate university degree! The “educational standard” has been ratcheted upward and this trend continues. Another societal expectation is that greater accountability is now expected of leaders. Modern society is more critical and suspicious of leaders today due to past abuses by people holding positions of power.

horse So we can’t deny that some of the attitudes, habits and skills that were effective in the recent past may no longer be effective in our new century. As leaders we must recognize this in ourselves as well as in others and “corral” our invisible horses. We do this by candid observation and admission. Then we replace these obsolete attitudes, habits and skills with better traits. Here are some common phrases we may say or hear that indicate invisible horses may be a problem…

“Things are different here at (fill in the blank”).

“It is all (anyone else’s) fault or the government’s, or the economy.”

“That’s the way we have always done it.”

“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks!”

“We have tried that before and it didn’t work.”

“Take me back to the good old days.”

As leaders we can and must “set an example” of change to others. Here are some ways we can “corral” our own invisible horses…

See things in an unusual or extraordinary way. Change your habitual patterns in life to discover new vistas and perspectives. Rearrange your desk, take a different route to work, plant different vegetables in your garden, get a new hobby or “brainstorm” over an old problem to find new solutions. Break your daily routine and expand your potential for creativity. In September of 1985, Business Week ran a headline cover story in its magazine entitled “Are You Creative?” Here is what was written about adulthood creativity.

“Modern education stresses logic and seems to squelch creativity. Tests show that a child’s creativity plummets 90% between ages 5 and 7. By the age of 40 most adults are about 2% as creative as they were at 5.”

We all need to take steps to activate our creativity and generate new approaches and ideas. We can begin to do this by first learning to rearrange the old and habitual.

Another thing we can do is constantly expand our education. This may include more formal education, reading of books, audio listening of worthwhile material or attending seminars like the ones offered by weLEAD. There are even new educational opportunities available through distance learning programs on the Internet. If you think a formal education still means sitting in a physical classroom, you need to corral an invisible horse. Increased education helps us to open our minds and expand our limited perception of ideas and events. It fuels more creativity and deeper thinking. Do you have a special subject or class you have always wanted to study? Then I encourage you to do it, perhaps not even for professional reasons but for personal fulfillment or even fun! Go ahead, and take it, and you will see it can make a difference in many different areas of your life. The beautiful quality about expanding our creativity is that it has a “ripple effect” within us. When we expand our potential for creativity by corralling an invisible horse, it also affects other areas of our life. Remember, we can learn to be more creative and also improve our depth of creative thought.

Finally we can observe others and how they are handling new situations and tasks. If you see someone with the latest “techno gizmo” gadget doing things more effectively, don’t be passive…ask a few questions! How do you like this? Does it really save you time? What don’t you like about it? Are there features it doesn’t have you thought it did? Know the difference between efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency is simply performing tasks quickly. Most managers are very good at directing others to do this. Whereas effectiveness is doing the important things right! This is a valuable leadership trait that can serve us well! The important things are those that center on growing others and achieving meaningful objectives. When you witness a new or challenging situation, how did someone else handle the challenge? Was it different from what you would have done or said? Was the “end result” positive or effective? What could you learn from witnessing the event? Perhaps it is an opportunity to corral an invisible horse!

analize Thankfully, the older British veterans manning the artillery guns during the “Battle of Britain” were never faced with an actual amphibious invasion by German troops. The Royal Air Force proved so stubborn and resilient that Adolph Hitler postponed the invasion by October of 1940. Eight months later Germany would invade the Soviet Union and divert attention away from invading Britain, as the war would now have both a western and eastern front. But the lesson of the invisible horses is as applicable today as ever before. We cannot allow ourselves to become stagnant or ineffective simply because the world has changed. Some important qualities like moral standards and ethical values should certainly remain fixed and steadfast. However, in many other areas of life we all have imaginary horses that need to be corralled and replaced. If we listen closely and observe ourselves intently, we can hear them still galloping in the background. If we are truly courageous we will ask those individuals we deeply love and respect to point them out to us!

So go ahead and put a lasso around a few of those obsolete habits or perhaps an “out of date” approach or mindset! Remember that leaders don’t fear change, they view it as an opportunity. Nothing alive stands still for very long. It is either moving forward and progressing, or moving backward and becoming outdated. Just like those brave British veterans of over 60 years ago we too can be re-trained and eliminate our own imaginary horses.

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About the author:

Greg has an extensive thirty-five years experience in public speaking and has spoken to hundreds of audiences worldwide. Greg has a Master of Arts degree in Leadership from Bellevue University, where he also has served as an adjunct professor teaching courses in business management and leadership since 2002. His first book, 52 Leadership Tips (That Will Change How You Lead Others) was published in 2006 by WingSpan Press. His second book, Making Life's Puzzle Pieces Fit was published in March 2009. Both are available at amazon.com. Greg is also the president of Leadership Excellence, Ltd and a Managing Partner of the Leadership Management Institute. Leadership Excellence, Ltd. effectively builds individuals and organizations to reach their highest potential through enhanced productivity and personal development using a number of proven programs. He is also the president and founder of weLEAD Incorporated.