About Us …
Meet Mindy Wong …
You never know where your life lessons will come from … this is true for all of us.
Horses have led me to so much knowledge — knowledge I use every single day in my personal and professional life. It is knowledge I will impart to you so you can find direction in your life and career.
Direction — that word means so much in horsemanship. It also impacts us deeply in our lives. We must have direction to accomplish our goals. We must be able to provide direction to those on our team. We must be able to take direction from our leaders. Direction is critical — and to achieve the best direction, sometimes you need help from an outside resource (like a coach!).
The equine discipline I participate in involves jumping my horse over an obstacle. Here, direction takes on a critical meaning. I must be able to navigate my mount over the jump; my mount must be willing and able to listen to my direction; we must achieve our goal as a team, both listening and doing with consideration of each other.
One of my most memorable — as far as a learning experience — moments occurred with one of my horses in an arena. I had pointed my mare at a jump, giving her direction. I felt we had the correct distance and pace. From my perspective, everything looked like a “go.” From her perspective, however, the view was different. I was off in my direction and she knew it — she expressed this to me through her actions and I chose to push her forward. The jump ended poorly because I didn’t listen to what she was trying to tell me as a team member. If I had been open to her perspective of the direction we were going, I’d have seen we were off. I would have been able to shift and the jump would have been successful for both of us.
This scenario can occur in one’s professional life as well as in the arena, so I took note of how to use this observation in my career to create advantage. I am a team leader with over 20 years of global corporate leadership experience, but if I don’t respect and partner with my team, I am blind to both the hazards and the opportunities. Being a good leader requires a lot — experience, education, exposure, understanding. Horses — and my leadership positions — have taught me a great deal about being a better leader.
Consider for a moment the size of a horse — and the size of a human. I am 1/20th the size of my horses — yet, they trust me as a leader. They allow me to provide them with direction. They even allow me to influence them because they know I will both listen and inspire them. You can not really force a horse to take direction from you — not without some mechanical intervention anyway. You have to connect with them as a partner.
If you are really the leader of your team, they should want to follow you — like horses follow their leaders both human and equine.
Now let’s consider the role of a coach in creating direction and leadership; a huge lesson I have gleaned from the horse world is the incredible progress you can make with the assistance of a coach.
Horseback riding is a sport — a team sport of you and the horse at the very least — and sports teams large or small would be lost without a coach. I have both been coached by some amazing humans (and horses!) and in turn done my share of coaching with my horse.
My coaching history has made me keenly aware of the benefit and impact coaching can have on performance. As a corporate leader, I am keenly aware of the need for team development. As a former small business owner, I fully realize how the decisions (and the maturity of those decisions) can impact team members at both life-changing and day-changing levels. I know what it’s like to make the calls that impact employees and customers — lives — and how mistakes matter to everyone. This realization lead me to search for the perfect collaboration of my coaching experience, leadership experience and horse experience that would help others be able to fast track their way to team and individual success!
Through Hoofprints to Wisdom, I use a toolbox that draws on popular strength-finding concepts; corporate and personal development strategies such as goals, objectives, and visioning; plus experiential insights with the horses to assist individuals and teams in reaching a level of success they never thought possible.
It doesn’t matter the size of the firm, or the size of the team, you are working within; if you really want to take your career and the careers of your team members to the maximum level of performance, the coaching I offer will give you the chance to make it happen! Know that I get it — I get what it’s like to be both a leader and a member of a global corporate team. I know what it’s like to work in the culture of a fast-moving, high-tech environment with a very large and complex structure. I know what it’s like to be responsible for both big and small business decisions. I also know what it’s like to evoke breakthrough moments — those turning points that take disparate individuals and create a cohesive group who will work together seamlessly.
Let’s get moving in the right direction!
Meet the horses …
Wisdom
Princessa
