Looking Back at a Team-Building Exercise from 2009
Recently, the team at The Law Offices of Sam Maguire, Jr. P.C. were discussing various team-building exercises we have done in the past. We got to talking about one particular exercise that was very memorable and beneficial to our team – Equine Facilitated Learning at Chastain Horse Park.
We did this exercise back in 2009 as part of a retreat for our team. We were all new to the exercise and had no idea what to expect. By the end of the day, we had all bonded with each other and our horses in a way that was truly unique.
Below is a letter written to the facilitator of the event to declare our satisfaction with the experience. This letter is a testament to the success of the team-building exercise and how much our team enjoyed it.
A Letter to the Equine Facilitated Learning US Inc.
Equine Facilitated Learning US Inc.
Attn: Mary Lee Nichols, MPA
Dear Ms. Nichols:
“Awesome”, “Inspiring”, “Relaxing”, “Refreshing”, and “FUN”… were just a few of the superlatives that our group expressed following our experience with your Corporate Team-Building Program at Chastain Horse Park. I must say that none of these words can truly capture the excitement and pleasure that the employees at our law firm experienced with your Equine Facilitators and the gentle horses, Bud, Sunny, and Penny.
I have to admit that our expectations were low. We couldn’t imagine how spending a morning with horses and simple exercises would prove useful to a group of employees that have worked together closely for over 15 years. When you first presented the idea to us, it all seemed simplistic and even childlike. Boy, were we wrong! The exercises you put our group through were actually very challenging and effectively demonstrated the limits of working alone and the importance of working as a team. It was amazing what lessons were learned as a result of our teams’ interaction with each other and the horses. One of the exercises particularly stood out for its practical implications in the workplace. The teams were asked to get one of the horses to jump over a bar without touching or bribing the horse. The teams had some difficulty with this task because there would inevitably be a person on the other side of the bar trying to coax the horse across when in fact they were actually blocking the horse’s path. The conclusion of this exercise was obvious and inescapable: often, when we think we are doing everything we can to achieve a goal we are actually blocking our own progress. The exercise was a subtle but powerful illustration to everyone of how we can get in the way of achieving our own goals.
Our facilitators, Ed, Leslie and Donna were consummate professionals who were engaging, thought-provoking, and right on target in their descriptions of the various personalities at play. They gathered a group of “city-slickers” who knew very little about horses and creatively put together some team-building exercises that made us all come together as a group and caused us to really think about how we communicate with our clients and with each other. And there was something wonderfully intangible about working with those gentle and noble beasts that was exhilarating and purifying for the soul. We all came back better for the experience, both as individuals and as employees.
We would not hesitate to recommend your program to any organization or group of people who would benefit from bringing its members closer together. Equine Facilitated Learning not only provides a unique learning experience in a tranquil and beautiful setting, your mission to raise funds for the Chastain Horse Park’s hippo therapy program for children with special needs makes everything a WIN-WIN-WIN! Thank you for giving us the opportunity and it is something we will never forget.
Very truly yours,
Sam F. Maguire, Jr.
Attorney at Law
Lessons Learned: We All Win When We Work Together
An important lesson from that experience was the power of collective intelligence. We were able to accomplish so much more as a team than we ever could have on our own. It was a great reminder that we are all stronger when we work together.
We also learned the importance of clear communication. The horse exercise was a perfect example of how miscommunication can lead to disaster. If we had been better at communicating with each other, we could have easily avoided that problem.
Finally, we learned that it is always best to stay positive and optimistic. Even when things seem impossible, there is always a way to succeed if we keep our heads up and believe in ourselves.