Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to June Gunter. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

June, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I had been working in the field of leadership development for 15 years when it hit me that most of what we understood about how to lead was no longer true or useful. The world had changed and our beliefs about leadership had not. I was watching people with the character to lead say no to the job and I began to understand why. Our leadership beliefs are littered with clichés like, “It’s lonely at the top.” “There is no rest for the weary.” “Never let them see you sweat.” “All the responsibility falls on your shoulders.” Truthfully, who would want that job? Grappling with these truths, including my own deeply personal experience with them, set me on a path to find new ways of thinking about leadership. Ones that create healthy, sustainable communities.

My first step was to return to my roots. I had grown up with horses and remembered how much of my character was shaped by life with animals and in nature. And I found the perfect guide for my new path. Her name is Yani and this horse has given me the education of a lifetime. Yani taught me that in order to earn her trust, I had to use my attention to notice myself, others, and the environment around me. I also had to be able to set clear direction with focused energy. And finally, I had to be congruent, meaning that I had to be honest with her about my experience and emotions.

My journey with Yani led me to an introduction to Return to Freedom, a wild horse sanctuary in Lompoc, CA (returntofreedom.org). I immersed myself in the study of wild horse culture. It was at Return to Freedom where I observed hundreds of wild horses in their natural habitat. The lessons I learned have changed what I believe to be true about leadership.

In a herd of horses, leadership is shared. The lead mare sets the direction and pace of the herd. The lead stallion keeps the herd together and protects it from predators. Each member of the herd has a role in protecting the health of the herd. All of the horses in the herd contribute to the socialization of new or young members, teaching them what behaviors are acceptable and correcting those who behave in ways that could compromise the health of the herd. The ever-present goal of herd leadership is health, harmony, and unity.

Leaders are chosen based on their ability to demonstrate four capabilities. First, leaders must demonstrate that they are paying attention and can detect even the most subtle shifts in the environment. Second, leaders are able to give clear direction on how to respond to the shifts. Third, leaders are able to follow that direction with focused energy, providing the herd with guidance on the pace with which to respond. Fourth, leaders display congruence of their inner and outer expressions. Ultimately, the herd members must know that the leaders have their best interest as their source of motivation at all times.

To gain our confidence, leaders must demonstrate that they are paying attention to what is going on in their communities/organizations, are able to give clear direction with focused, inspiring energy, and are so authentic that their intentions can be fully trusted. Confidence in leadership makes a community or an organization agile when the time for change can no longer be avoided (Gunter, 2007).

One of the greatest gifts I have received is the opportunity to combine my love of horses with my talent for developing leaders and teams.

In 2004, I took a true leap of faith and created TeachingHorse, LLC. Our mission is to create experiences for people to learn what horses know about leading through uncertainty. Our vision is to prepare generations of leaders to guide healthy sustainable organizations and communities.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

As you can imagine, the pandemic brought our work to a halt. We were faced with the need to reinvent ourselves. We chose two strategic pivots. First, we developed a virtual learning product to bring the wisdom of how horses lead themselves through uncertainty to people around the world using innovative approaches to experiential learning. We are proud of the experience we have created and the impact it has had on helping leaders make sense of and navigate through our current reality.

Even now, we live in a hybrid world. We created blended learning programs that include a virtual introduction. Here we learn about the client’s objectives and introduce them to the Diamond Model of Shared Leadership. Next, the clients attend their first experiential learning session with the horses at an equestrian center located near their offices. After the session, we host another virtual learning session to have conversation about how their approach to leadership has been affected by their experience and deepen the application of their learning. Approximately 6-9 months later, the clients return to have a second experiential learning session with the horses that include advanced experiences and challenges. We close with a final virtual session to be in dialogue about the progress the organization is making and prepare them for the road ahead. The experiences is truly transformational.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

TeachingHorse has a reputation in the market for being the premier executive development provider of experiential learning with horses. TeachingHorse created The Diamond Model of Shared Leadership as a simple framework to guide decision-making in the midst of complexity and uncertainty. The bottom line is that our work is relevant to the issues business leaders are facing and we provide a solution to make their leaders and teams more effective.

Our reputation is built on the fact that we deliver what we promise, every time. Our network of facilitators are the best in the business. We developed a global network of facilitators and equine facilities so that we can meet the client where they are and minimize travel costs.