What does a leader look like? Who are leaders choosing to develop? Many organizations still rely on assumptions about ability, and about who looks like a leader, unintentionally overlooking people whose experiences may have developed exactly the skills modern leadership requires.

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 a question that began with a challenge: How can equine-assisted leadership programs become more inclusive for people with different physical abilities?

his episode is a deep examination of leadership pipelines, workplace assumptions, and who gets invited into opportunities for growth.

Drawing parallels between herd dynamics and human organizations, they discuss how horses assess safety without judgment and why humans often default to assumptions rather than curiosity. The strongest leaders pause long enough to question assumptions, ask better questions, and create space for people to contribute in ways that align with their strengths.

Takeaways

— Leadership potential is often hidden behind assumptions about capability.

— Curiosity is more valuable than certainty when evaluating people.

— Inclusion begins with conversation, not accommodation.

— Horses respond to authenticity before appearance.

— Quiet leadership qualities are often overlooked.

— Discernment requires pausing long enough to question assumptions.

— Value does not disappear simply because someone contributes differently.

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

Chapters

00:29 Introduction

02:04 Inclusion of Employees with Disabilities

06:05 Disabled Horses in the Herd

10:56 Creating Opportunities

18:09 Making Assumptions

21:47 Developing Partnerships

25:58 Shifting Perspectives and Perceptions

28:18 Rethinking Inclusion Options

32:19 Takeaways and Final Thoughts

Helpful Links:

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

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

The strongest leaders are the ones who can stay grounded long enough to notice what matters, regulate themselves under pressure, and create enough trust that others are willing to move with them through uncertainty. When a crisis comes, panic can follow. And if leaders lose trust, chaos will ensue.

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, share a personal conversation centered around a real wildfire evacuation experience in Colorado. Ginny walks listeners through the emotional reality of seeing smoke near her home, the memories it triggered from previously losing her home in a fire, and the leadership lessons that surfaced as she prepared to evacuate her horses before an official order was ever given.

Together, they connect the experience to business leadership, emotional regulation, trust, decision-making, and how leaders navigate uncertainty in real time. These are real leadership situations businesses face every day, including crises, emergencies, organizational uncertainty, and moments where teams take emotional cues from the leader before they ever hear the words being spoken.

This episode challenges leaders to think about where uncertainty currently exists in their own leadership, how they communicate during pressure, and whether they are creating trust or simply demanding compliance.

Takeaways

– Leadership under pressure begins with regulating yourself before trying to lead others

– Trust built before a crisis determines how people respond during one

– Horses respond to energy before commands. People often do too

– “Notice, decide, move, lead” creates clarity during uncertainty

– Presence and emotional awareness help leaders avoid panic-driven decisions

– Calm direction creates trust far more effectively than forced compliance

– Leaders need a “North Star” they can return to during uncertainty

– Pausing before communicating during a crisis can completely change outcomes

– Emotional congruence matters as people sense what leaders are truly feeling

– Small moments of intentional leadership practice prepare us for bigger challenges later

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

Chapters

00:57 Introduction

01:27 Stories from a Colorado Wildfire

07:39 Past Experiences with Loss from Fire

10:18 Presence during Crisis

18:38 Navigating Our Emotions

29:07 Forced Compliance vs Earning Trust

38:29 Closing Thoughts/Channeling Your Inner Ginny

Helpful Links:

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

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

We’ve all noticed it. Maybe we’ve even felt it ourselves. Something feels off…but no one says a word. The meeting moves forward, heads nod, decisions get made. Yet, underneath it all, there’s hesitation, concern, even disagreement that never surfaces. It looks like alignment. But sometimes, it’s something far more dangerous. Strategic silence can cripple an organization.

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, unpack the concept of “strategic silence,” inspired by a Benjamin Laker article in Forbes Magazine on why employees stop speaking up and why leaders often miss it.

Strategic silence is a hidden cost in organizations, from lost trust to wasted time and massive financial impact. And it can happen to leaders as well as employees, in themselves, and in how they encourage their team to share and engage.

Takeaways

– Strategic silence isoften self-protection from risk, judgment, or consequence

– When leaders ignore or dismiss input, people stop speaking up altogether

– Silence in teams creates hidden costs such as lost time, poor decisions, and damaged trust

– People may withhold ideas out of fear, especially in environments of uncertainty (like AI and job security)

– Leaders must actively notice who isn’t speaking as well as who is

– Asking better questions (“What are we missing?”) invites real input vs. surface-level agreement

– Horses model shared awareness, where everyone notices, and every signal matters

– When concerns are acknowledged, confidence and trust in leadership increase

– Internalizing unspoken concerns drains energy and impacts performance

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

Chapters

00:48 Introduction

02:47 Horses Speak Their Minds

10:32 AI’s Influence on Strategic Silence

13:02 The Cost of Strategic Silence

21:00 Encouraging Sharing

27:11 Noticing Tensions and Risks

32:40 Listen to the Silence

37:59 Closing Thoughts

Helpful Links:

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

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