Lead Well! with Christine Schickinger

We see behaviour and almost instantly create a story around it.

The aggressive horse. The difficult employee. The defensive manager. The uncooperative teenager.

But what if the behavior is real, while the story we tell ourselves about it is not?

In this episode of Lead Well!, I share what struck me while watching Trust Technique creator James French work with horses in Mongolia and, more recently, with elephants in Nepal. Animals considered difficult or even dangerous began responding very differently when the interaction itself changed.

That raises a much bigger question, one that applies far beyond animals:

What happens when...

When does professional adaptation become self-abandonment?

Self-leadership coach Ruth E. Andermatt joins Christine to explore what it takes to preserve your integrity when expectations are high and your position may be at risk.

Ruth recounts a defining leadership decision. She refused an order to dismiss an employee unfairly, choosing instead to tell him the truth and give him the opportunity to step up. Within 90 days, his store was performing at the top of the country.

The conversation also examines quiet leadership, honest feedback, conflict avoidance and the responsibility leaders have to connect with people who think and communicate differently...

What happens when criticism reaches your nervous system before your thinking mind has time to catch up?

A critical comment can trigger an immediate urge to explain, defend yourself or push back. The response may take only seconds, but it can leave both people feeling uncomfortable and create tension that later needs to be repaired.

In this episode, I share an insight from a recent coaching conversation and connect it with a principle used in dog training: impulse control is first practiced under manageable conditions, before the level of distraction is gradually increased.

You’ll learn:

• why criticism can activate...

Can a feeling become part of a relationship?

Looking back at my life with three horses, I can now see a different emotional theme in each relationship: freedom with Chio, not belonging with Serena, and resignation and rejection with Maggie.

In this solo episode, I explore the Trust Technique concept of Shared Feelings and why I only understood its real significance much later. This is not about claiming that an animal simply mirrors our emotions. Animals have their own bodies, histories, needs and experiences. But our feelings, expectations and habitual responses also enter the relationship.

What becomes visible when we...