Arizona in the Saddle September 2014 Issue | Page 30

Leadership from a Pair of

Smelly Geese, go figure!
by Michelle Shelton, askmichelleshelton.com

I

n the 1990’s we lived on a farm in Iowa.
Since I grew up in the country, I thought
I knew everything there was to know
about country living. Imagine my surprise
at learning something life changing from a
couple of smelly old geese!
When we obtained the farm I wanted
to have the full experience so I began to
collect animals. We acquired cats, dogs,
chickens, an old horse, guineas and the
pair of geese. I recall the wisdom that
came from the animals. One such piece of
wisdom was on leadership.

developed. True leaders find out what
others want and then they weigh the best
solution to create a win / win situation.
Leaders face the challenges head-on and
don’t whine, ‘It’s too hard.’ They take the
time and energy required to develop their
character, skills, philosophies, attitudes,
and goals and then? Well, then they allow
these things to be their guiding force. Fine
leaders understand that others look up
to them. They grasp the concept of this
immense responsibility and joyfully take on
the task. Good, bad or ugly.
On the farm we owned 4 acres of woods
and at night it was crawling with opossum,
raccoons and coyotes. Of course that meant
that each night all the feathered animals
would have to be secured in the chicken
coop. The chickens and guineas didn’t

Leadership, as most horse owners know,
can be applied to our families, friends,
business associates, co-workers and
relatives. True leaders are not born, as
we are often taught. True leaders are

have a problem with going in at night. The
geese? Well, the geese were another story!
The geese were stubborn. The geese had
ideas of their own. The geese did not want
to be told what to do. Does this sound like
anyone you know? A person perhaps?
Each evening all five kids, two dogs and
I would do the ritual goose dance where
we would chase the geese with big sticks,
brooms and any other intimidating item we
could find. We would attempt to forcibly
push and shoo them into the chicken coop.
At times my husband would strategically
suggest some new technique to lure the
geese into the coop. Yet, NOTHING
worked! Barking, yelling and honking were
standard sounds during the nightly ritual
continued on page 32

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September 2014

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