More on Labor vs Management

I mowed the lawn the other day. I have such a hard time doing jobs like that. My mind goes in as many circles as the mower. I just don't know how to quiet it down, so I think a lot. I started thinking about the whole labor and management idea.

Often we are told, as riders, that we need to be in control. Slave and owner has been image in my mind. I hate that. This whole management/ labor idea does hold some promise for me. Although I grew up very pro union with the idea that management is the enemy, I see promise in this analogy.

A manger is just that, someone who manages. Managers come in all shapes and sizes. Some really suck! Just thinking about some of a- holes I have worked for get my blood to boil again. Everything from the manager that really doesn't give a rip what I do as long as my job gets done and I looks miserable doing it to ones that don't even know what my job is but still think that they can do it better. Micro managers that don't trust me drive me insane. Even worse are the ones that give no direction. Teach me to do my job and then just let me do it.

Wait. . . Did I hit on something there?

No seriously, it is not really a new concept to me. A new awakening? Viewing the concept form a new angle? I think I just had a slight shift of understanding. Teach the horse what you want them to do, then trust that they are going to do it. Of course it doesn't stop there. A good manager watches over her laborers. Supports them, makes sure they are doing their job, praises when they do a good job and corrects them when they make mistakes.

Maybe as I reenter the world of working with horses and not just keeping them as pets I have to reevaluate what I believe and what I know.