Some seasons of leadership feel like a sprint. But every so often, something forces you to take a breath, slow your pace, and pay closer attention to what’s happening around you. That pause can feel uncomfortable, but it often reveals the very clarity you’ve been missing. Fast is fine, but speed without intention isn’t progress at all.

In this conversation on the Leading with Instinct podcast, Katie Navarra-Bradley, Professional Facilitator and Leadership Coach with Katie the Coach, and Ginny Telego, President of Collaboration Partners, explore why slowing down is often the smartest, most strategic move a leader can make.

Using stories from the horse world, neuroscience insights, and real-life leadership experiences, they unpack how urgency can create misalignment and how intentional deceleration helps teams move faster, with fewer mistakes and far more clarity. They share practical tools from equine training experiences, such as energy check-ins, five-minute resets, and the “stop your feet” cue that teams can use to prevent chaos before it starts.

When leaders slow down long enough to see clearly, they regain momentum with purpose, accuracy, and authenticity.

Takeaways

-Slowing down prevents mistakes that speed often creates

-Horses model relaxed readiness, not wasted energy

-Leaders can use pauses to assess and realign

-Rushing can cause systems to compensate in unhealthy ways

-Energy check-ins reduce stress transfer to teams

-Soft focus creates better awareness and decision-making

-Intentional pacing leads to better long-term outcomes

-Authenticity suffers when leaders rush into change

The Leading With Instinct Podcast is brought to you by Collaboration Partners and KatieTheCoach.com.

Chapters

00:34 – Introduction: Global travel and reconnecting

01:56 – Leroy’s story and “slow down to go fast”

04:20 – Research: why speed creates mistakes

08:51 – Tech, AI, and the myth of faster = better

11:55 – Horses mirroring human energy

18:24 – “Stop your feet” and preventing chaos

25:58 – Neuroscience, stress transfer, and energy check-ins

31:04 – Final reflection: slow is smooth, smooth is fast

Helpful Links:

Slow Management/ScienceDirect.com: Leading With Instinct_Go Slow to Go Fast

The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge :https://a.co/d/bFEF4tv

To Go Fast Your Company Needs to Slow Down, https://chiefexecutive.net/to-go-fast-your-company-needs-to-slow-down/

Katie Navarra-Bradley, Katie The Coach: https://katiethecoach.com/

Ginny Telego, Collaboration Partners: https://www.thecollaborationpartners.com/

Sometimes the simplest truths hit the hardest. A new Gallup study has revealed that what followers crave most from their leaders isn’t strategy or pay—it’s humanity. These four things matter most: hope, trust, compassion, and stability. But why are these qualities so difficult to deliver, and how can they change the way we lead, live, and connect?

In this conversation on the Leading with Instinct podcast, Katie Navarra-Bradley, Professional Facilitator and Leadership Coach with Katie the Coach, and Ginny Telego, President of Collaboration Partners, explore the powerful Gallup study through the lens of their equine-assisted leadership work.

Together they unpack why these four human needs are the foundation of real leadership and how horses, as natural truth-tellers, reflect what happens when our energy, intentions, and actions fall out of alignment. They also share deeply personal and practical stories that show what it looks like to rebuild hope and trust, both in the arena and within organizations.

The conversation is a reminder that leading with instinct isn’t about control—it’s about courage, connection, and creating space for others to succeed alongside you.

The Leading With Instinct Podcast is brought to you by Collaboration Partners and KatieTheCoach.com.

Takeaways

-Hope is the emotional foundation that connects today’s work to tomorrow’s outcomes.

-Trust grows through consistency, honesty, and transparency.

-Compassion means listening deeply, asking questions, and caring about people beyond their performance.

-Stability comes from routines and reliability that anchor teams through change.

-Command-and-control leadership may feel safe but often erodes engagement and confidence.

-True leadership requires vulnerability and the courage to let go of control and build a partnership.

-Energy matters: your team (and your horse) feel what you bring into the space.

-Culture shifts begin with self-awareness and presence, not new systems or slogans.

-Giving people hope doesn’t mean avoiding reality; it means creating belief in what’s possible.

-Meeting human needs isn’t “soft.” It’s a strategic essential that drives results and retention.

Chapters

00:50 – Finding Presence & Setting the Stage

02:31 – What Followers Need Most: Insights from Gallup

07:00 – The Real Challenges of Human-Centered Leadership

11:42 – Lessons from the Arena: Hope, Trust, and the Power of Connection

18:40 – Control vs. Trust: Stories That Change How We Lead

26:38 – Rebuilding Confidence—With Horses and Teams

32:58 – Practical Takeaways: Leading with Instinct and Impact

Helpful Links:

Gallup Study: The Four Things Followers Need: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/251003/strengths-based-leadership-things-followers-need.aspx

Ginny Telego, Collaboration Partners: https://www.thecollaborationpartners.com/

Katie Navarra-Bradley, Katie The Coach: https://katiethecoach.com/

Leaders often rely on quick decisions and familiar patterns, but lasting impact requires something deeper. Transformation begins when we quiet the noise, notice what is happening in the moment, and open ourselves to what is emerging. Presencing mastery offers a way to unlock clarity, trust, and authentic connection.

In this conversation on the Leading with Instinct podcast, Katie Navarra-Bradley, Professional Facilitator and Leadership Coach with Katie the Coach, and Ginny Telego, President of Collaboration Partners, are joined by Lissa Pohl, Chief Engagement Officer at the Engagement Quotient and a pioneer in Equine Assisted Learning (EAL).

Drawing from her recent article in the International Journal of Presencing Leadership and Coaching, Lissa explains how presencing moves beyond mindfulness and presence, offering a path to access deeper somatic and relational intelligence. The focus turns to how horses act as clean feedback experts, showing leaders how to disrupt default behaviors, shift from predatory to relational approaches, and practice leading from the future that wants to emerge.

These small shifts help leaders build resilience, foster trust, and create the space for genuine transformation in their organizations and relationships.

The Leading With Instinct Podcast is brought to you by Collaboration Partners and KatieTheCoach.com.

Takeaways

-Presencing is deeper than mindfulness. It’s accessing a state of stillness where new possibilities can emerge.

-Horses model presence naturally and offer clean, non-judgmental feedback.

-Equine Assisted Learning brings leadership concepts from the head into the whole body.

-Relational leadership shifts us away from unconscious predatory habits.

-Leaders must integrate intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual intelligence.

-Clean feedback creates calm, clarity, and authentic learning.

-Presencing helps leaders respond in the moment rather than relying on old patterns.

-Everyday practices like pausing, observing, and asking curious questions build presencing skills.

-These approaches create clarity and connection even in complex situations.

Chapters

00:40 Introduction/Meet Lissa Pohl

3:10 Unpacking Presencing Mastery

08:00 The Body as Intelligence

15:09: Learning Presencing from Horses

22:00 Horses as Clean Feedback Experts

25:53 From Predatory to Relational Leadership

33:06 Practical Steps for Presencing

Helpful Links:

Article - The Effectiveness of Equine Assisted Learning to Develop Presencing Mastery : https://revues.ulaval.ca/ojs/index.php/ijplc/article/view/54168

Lissa Pohl, The Engagement Quotient: https://enqcoaching.com/

Ginny Telego, Collaboration Partners: https://www.thecollaborationpartners.com/

Katie Navarra-Bradley, Katie The Coach: https://katiethecoach.com/