To the Protege: Thoroughbreds Must Run
I live in central Kentucky, the Bluegrass. In the spring, people travel from all over the world to Kentucky for the Kentucky Derby. It's a spectacular event. With preliminary celebrations that go on for weeks marked by elaborate rituals and bright colorful clothing topped with outlandish hats, signature bourbon libations and of course the fierce run off of the fastest horses from all around the world, the whole state seems to come together for one grand party.
But for those of us who live here, who crisscross the rolling green hills in our cars, driving to work, school, church, and play, we are often treated to breathtaking scenes that make it easy to understand why this area is called "the horse capital of the world."
On my drive home from work, I pass no less than 10 horse farms. These are vast outlays of land, peppered with the glistening muscle bodies of stallions and mares bred and trained as competitors in the racing industry.
While I consider myself a fairly careful driver, habitually keeping my eyes on the road, it's hard to resist the scene of a herd of thoroughbreds whiling away the hours in field of verdant grass. On occasion, I've allowed myself to be momentarily distracted because thoroughbreds have a particular habit.
They run.
It is not at all uncommon to be cruising down the road, running alongside a fenced horse farm, and to find one or two horses breaking away from the herd, running at full speed along the side of the road coming close to what seems to be the matching speed of the car. If you've ever seen it, you will never forget it. And if you've seen it once, you will be tempted to look for it every time you drive along the fence of a horse farm.
You see, whether anyone is looking or not, thoroughbreds must run. Thoroughbreds, even often race among themselves at neck-breaking speeds in their deep green pastures. To us, they have no idiosyncratic names as they do when they run the Derby, the Preakness, or the Belmont. Instead, they transform common scenery into a spectacle of excellence. At times, I pull over just to watch them run.
The month of May is the month of the race. More pointedly, it is the month in which races come to their end. By the end of May, the horseracing world knows whether one of its thoroughbreds will be a Triple Crown winner or not. But, the month of May is also known for another race: it's in the month of May that many high school students graduate, many collegiate students finish their course of study, and many graduate students end their educational careers and enter the workforce. It's another opportunity to recognize the natural power and giftedness of the thoroughbreds in our midst.
I've had the distinct privilege of being a commencement speaker three times in my life. It's a strange assignment. The main players in the audience, the graduates, would like nothing more than for the ceremony to be done and over with. They subscribe to the "when all has been said and done, too much has been said and done." They want short speaking. However, the parents and supporters are enjoying a lasting experience, celebrating yet another rite of passage in their loved one’s life. They will never pass this way again. How would I go about resolving these short/long conflicting requirements from the commencement experience if I were the chosen speaker at one of those events?
As a mentor to emerging executive leaders, in this season of my life, if I were asked to be a commencement speaker my thoughts may meander in this direction: thoroughbreds are going to run.
Enjoy your nature. The Kentucky Derby has been described as "the most important two minutes in sports." Usually, in less than two minutes, whole fortunes are won and lost. This brief moment of bursting performance leaves the impression that a horse race is a game of chance. People who live in and around the Bluegrass realize an entire industry exists to support the outcomes of those famous two minutes, mainly concerning breeding. The horse race does not begin when the bugle sounds, it begins when a breeder bets on the kind of stock a horse comes from. The bet begins with the raw materials of what the horses made of. Field horses, working draft horses, and miniature ponies are not chosen to run horse races, instead those with the disposition to run and win are given the best chance to do so. Are you embracing your nature?
Build on your nurture. In the last couple of years, horseracing has been amazed to witness amateur horse buyers putting forth horses that cost them only $3000 against horses costing more than $1 million. The cheaper horses have won two years in a row. These "bargain horses" prove the principle that "nurture must go hand-in-hand with nature." It's not enough to come from the right family, the right neighborhood, or to have the right connections…you've got to cooperate with the right lessons, the right conditions, and the right surroundings. Are you embracing your nurture?
Play with your future. In my position as a leadership educator in higher education, I have the privilege of working with other creative leadership developers. One group I work with uses equestrian dynamics to teach leadership development principles. When I'm with this group of trainers, it gives me an opportunity to get up close and personal with some of these amazing beasts. I get to observe them on their "days off." Horses "play" their way throughout the day. In between munching meals of grass and hay, horses nibble upon one another, push one another around, out run one another. While there is a distinct order in terms of who is the alpha male, and who is the alpha mare, some of the other positions are less determined and that's where jockeying for position comes into play (pardon all of the puns). That's why they call it "horseplay." While the horse business is indeed serious business for horse owners, horses are wholly unaware that they are central to an industry’s business proposition. They're just playing their way through life. Are you embracing your future?
Seize the adventure. Graduation morning can be a moment of high exhilaration for many, but high anxiety for some. As a species, we like certainty. We like to know that someone wants us, that we are employable, and that all of our efforts to learn and develop have mattered. For many, graduation morning begins and ends with a definite set of next steps. We've been selected by the company to enter their management-training program. We're going to go on to graduate school, a tour of military service, or we're going to tie the knot in marriage. These are wonderful developments, but others are less sure. The job didn't work out, the lease is up soon, and the new housing isn't settled. We're on the waiting list at our favorite college. Or perhaps we awakened late to how important the GPA is to some of our future hopes and there's remedial work ahead. Even though we have not been selected to run the Kentucky Derby, it does not mean we are left "unselected" to run a different kind of race. Work and living is noble in its own right. We should seize upon life with a kind of flair that lets the adventure unfold before us, rather than rigidly gripping with a stranglehold on hopes and horizons which are not right for us. Are you embracing your adventure?
Just like thoroughbreds are going to run, when no one was looking, you have been doing your version of "running." Each of us is gifted with distinct contributions to make in this life. I believe that to the depths of my core. I've observed the brilliance of emerging leaders over and over as they have embraced who they are, how they're made, and what they are able to do in the world. The fleeting experience I have from time to time that comes from living around thoroughbreds encourages me to say: you are what you are, especially when no one is looking, when you are swept up in the unscripted moments of genuine play.
The horses that win are often the horses that have been deeply exercised, deeply trained. Partner with your mentors. Accept the outside help of caring others who can assist you in your journey to become what you are designed to be.
In the month of races, enjoy these questions:
What race do you run when no one is watching?
What race should be running?
Are there trainers and investors in the stalls or the stands watching you go through your paces?
