Staying on course and supporting colleagues in challenging situations fosters trust and respect.

Leadership and interpersonal skills are essential for all electronics manufacturing services (EMS) management team members. These skills become even more critical in program management and sales roles, where individuals often need to execute with little or no authority over the teams they rely on. I teach these skills in a range of programs. Over the past year, I’ve had a surprising journey that reinforced how important it is to practice that knowledge daily.

As some readers know, I ride horses. Last year, my 27-year-old senior horse began to lose his battle with osteoarthritis. I bought Prim, a 5-year-old mare, so I could continue competitive riding without overstressing Max’s joints.

Prim is a masterclass in leadership in a multi-generational workforce. Feedback from a human teammate might bruise your ego, but when a 1,200-lb horse decides you're not leading well, it delivers the lesson physically: slamming you into a wall, kicking, biting, rearing or bucking.

None of these is acceptable behavior, so leadership skills are a must. Horses are flight-or-fight herd animals. They look to the leader for guidance. In the absence of leadership, they assume that role and react when they feel a threat is present.

Employees do this on a less physical basis, as well. When employees view a manager as a poor leader, resistance can range from subtle disrespect to rejection of requests for resources.

Leadership and interpersonal skills aren’t rocket science. The problem occurs when a hectic environment drives our actions in negative ways. Over the past year, I have become more mindful of the bad habits I’ve allowed to creep in and recognize the value of thinking about improvements. Here are five meaningful lessons learned from Prim:

• Be present. Prim behaved extremely well when I bought her, but her ground manners started slipping last winter. That told me that the problem was me, not her. I bought an online course focused on horse behavior problems. The first example given resonated with me. The person in the example went directly from work to the barn and rushed through horse activities because of time concerns. I was doing the same thing, thinking about work while handling the horse and rushing to get my ride in on cold, dark winter nights. Prim saw my anxiety and distraction as a sign that threats were imminent and became very spooky both on the ground and during the ride.

The fix was learning to be totally focused on horse activities in the barn and not worrying about time constraints. This change had an immediate positive effect on Prim. There is a huge workplace corollary. Many of us divide our time between cellphone messages and talking with team members. This behavior signals that we don’t prioritize team member interaction enough to give it our undivided attention. Such actions subtly communicate disrespect and can negatively impact working relationships. Similarly, when we rush a conversation because of time constraints, we send the signal that the person we are talking with isn’t a priority.

• Focus on successful outcomes. As mentioned, horses are attuned to biometrics. When I think about worst-case scenarios, my body language and heart rate convey to Prim that something bad is about to happen. This unnerves her, and the first visual surprise triggers a bad outcome. While team members can’t sense your heart rate, they do read body language and tone of voice. If you convey the message that a desired outcome is unlikely, they won’t put as much effort into achieving the goal.
• Leading through challenges generates respect. Prim and I started showing in dressage regionally this year. That put us in scary venues throughout the Southwest. I questioned my life choices at several of these venues, but then I put my lizard brain back in its hole and went out to compete. With each show, Prim became a braver horse. She was also more respectful of me as a leader because we navigated scary encounters. The more we did that, the more she realized that she could trust my leadership. Teams operate the same way. When your team sees you as a leader who stays on course and goes to bat for them during challenging situations, they will grow to trust and respect your leadership.
• Coach appropriately. Dressage tests have written judge comments. After one of our less-than-stellar tests, the judge wrote that my young horse was talented, but I wasn’t giving her all the signals she needed to succeed. She wasn’t wrong. I skipped the extra body language steps that helped prepare her for the next movement in the test, causing our transitions to lack smoothness. The same situation can exist with younger, competent team members who take initiative. It's easy to let them do their own thing, but by providing appropriate coaching that prepares them for more complex assignments, I can turn good work into great work.
• Be flexible. The biggest lesson I’ve learned this last year is how far I am into a comfort zone. Prim is a big mover, which requires a different kind of rider. I attributed a lot of my poor biomechanics to age and assumed nothing could change. Now, I’m training like an Olympian to restore flexibility through yoga, Pilates and a vibration platform, with surprisingly good results. The same thing happens with attitudes, particularly among boomers. We’ve been there, done that so often we start believing our own PR and shooting down new ideas with an inflexible mindset. Instead, we need to become continuous learners and embrace change and new ideas.

None of these lessons learned is new. These are simply skills that sometimes get lost in hectic work environments. Focusing on more consistency in these areas helps with team building and negotiation.

Susan Mucha is president of Powell-Mucha Consulting Inc. (powell-muchaconsulting.com), a consulting firm providing strategic planning, training and market positioning support to EMS companies and author of Find It. Book It. Grow It. A Robust Process for Account Acquisition in Electronics Manufacturing Services. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..