Leading With Instinct

Younger generations in particular are finding their way back to something decidedly low-tech, gathering around shared interests, spending time together without an agenda, and simply being in the presence of other people. Maybe the lesson isn’t that we need more ways to connect. Maybe we need to rethink what genuine connection actually looks like.

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, look at the growing desire for real, in-person community, the difference between connection and connectivity, and what leaders can learn from the way horses naturally seek one another when safety, uncertainty and belonging come into play.

They discuss the importance of noticing the people who may be standing at the edge of the group, creating psychological safety, and making room for relationships that aren’t always attached to an agenda or task. Connection grows when people feel seen, valued and safe enough to be part of something. And so, the challenge for leaders is to build an environment where people choose to circle up.

Takeaways

— Connectivity isn’t connection. Being constantly reachable doesn’t necessarily mean people feel known, valued or part of a community.

— Belonging is a leadership issue. When people feel isolated or outside the group, engagement, productivity and their willingness to show up can suffer.

— Soft socializing has value. Time together without an agenda can create relationships that task-focused meetings and traditional networking often cannot.

— Noticing comes before fixing. Leaders can become so focused on getting the work done that they miss people who are quietly trying to find their place in the group.

— Connection can’t be forced. Putting people in the same office, meeting or activity doesn’t automatically create relationships or a sense of belonging.

— Relationships strengthen execution. Making room for genuine human connection isn’t separate from the work; it can help teams do important work better.

— Strong teams choose to circle up. Like horses forming a circle when they need unity and safety, healthy teams create environments where people naturally want to come togethe

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

Chapters

01:10 Introduction

02:41 Generational Loneliness

06:22 Digital Fatigue

15:15 Soft Socializing

21:03 Examples from the Herd - Circling Up

26:35 Creating an Environment of Noticing

31:35 Ways Leaders Can Create Community

Helpful Links:

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

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

There’s a growing trend in the workplace that’s hard to ignore: parents are becoming increasingly involved in their adult children’s careers. From helping with applications to sitting in on interviews and even contacting employers. At what point does helping someone succeed begin to prevent them from learning how to succeed on their own?

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, take a look at what happens inside a horse herd as younger members learn how to navigate boundaries, relationships, mistakes and uncertainty.

Rather than protecting young horses from every uncomfortable experience, older horses provide guidance, correction and protection when it’s truly needed.

Support doesn’t have to mean stepping in and solving the problem. Sometimes it means opening a door, asking good questions, allowing someone to experience disappointment or failure, and giving them safe opportunities to make decisions on their own.

Takeaways

— Support without taking over. Helping someone find an opportunity is different from navigating it for them.

— Let failure teach. Disappointment and rejection can build resilience when people are allowed to work through them.

— Create safe independence. Give younger employees opportunities to make real decisions before the stakes become higher.

— Correct, then move forward. Good feedback provides guidance without repeatedly reliving the mistake.

— Challenge stereotypes. Don’t assume younger workers want someone else making decisions for them.

— Prepare for uncertainty. Resilience comes from learning how to handle unfamiliar situations, not rehearsing every possible one.

— Know when to protect. Strong leaders recognize the difference between a growth opportunity and a situation requiring intervention.

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

Chapters

00:39 Introduction

02:30 Helicopter Parenting

11:33 Helpful Parental Roles

15:39 Lessons Learned from “Parental” Horses

21:07 AI’s Impact on Younger Workers

24:33 Lessons Learned from Young Horses

29:00 Understanding the Real Needs of Generation Z

33:05 Setting Boundaries

Helpful Links:

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

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

Disruption has become a constant companion for many leaders. Whether it's uncertainty in the marketplace, changes inside an organization, or challenges at home, the question isn't how to eliminate disruption. It's how to remain steady when it arrives. Nature may offer a better answer than we realize.

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, discuss relaxed readiness. Horses instinctively stay calm, alert, and prepared without living in a constant state of anxiety. Leaders can learn from this example

Horses naturally assess a threat, respond appropriately, and quickly return to grazing once the danger has passed. Ginny and Katie connect these observations to neuroscience, burnout, decision-making, emotional contagion, and leadership effectiveness to help you navigate uncertainty, make wiser decisions, and create calmer, more resilient teams.

Takeaways

— Leadership can’t eliminate uncertainty; But leadership is about developing the ability to stay calm and prepared within it.

— Horses demonstrate that true readiness comes from awareness and discernment, not constant tension or hypervigilance.

— Leaders who continually replay stressful events drain the energy needed to respond effectively to the challenges that truly matter.

— Emotional regulation is contagious. A leader's ability to remain grounded directly influences the confidence and stability of the people around them.

— Burnout often begins when we lose the ability to "return to grazing" after disruption, allowing stress to become our permanent state.

— Preparation creates confidence. Being ready for difficult situations allows leaders to respond thoughtfully instead of reacting emotionally.

— Relaxed readiness is a leadership practice that grows stronger every time we notice our stress, regulate it, and return to our best thinking.

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

Chapters:

00:56 Readiness During Forest Fires

08:56 Three Stages of Readiness

13:24 Get Back to Grazing

17:33 Relaxed Readiness Defined

24:58 Wired with a Negativity Bias

31:22 Examples from the Arena

37:10 Horses Release Stress Quickly

38:32 Can We Find That Reset?

39:01 Responding to Disruption

Helpful Links:

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

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

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/

When one thing has ended, and another needs to begin, it can be easy to feel stuck. You can feel the pull to move forward, but uncertainty, hesitation, and competing energy make it hard to act. That in-between space can feel uncomfortable. It can also be the place where real momentum begins.

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 what the Year of the Fire Horse represents for leaders stepping into 2026. They talk about movement, freedom, and intentional forward motion—and how horses model these qualities every day. It is an invitation to move with clarity instead of pressure.

Change is hard, but usually necessary. Often, leaders know it, but can’t move forward. Katie and Ginny explore how leaders can recognize what gives them energy, what drains it, and how intentional choices create sustainable progress rather than burnout.

Shedding your 2025 “Year of the Snake” skin might be hard to do, but it’s important. The Year of the Horse is about understanding when you’re ready to move, trusting your instincts, and stepping forward with clarity, confidence, focus and purpose.

Takeaways

— Letting go is the first step, while the next step forward requires clarity

— Forward motion is easy to do if you will simply do it

— Uncertainty is part of change. It’s a sign that you’re paying attention to what matters.

— Energy misalignment creates chaos for people and teams

— Horses model how intention regulates momentum

— Leaders must consider what gives energy and what drains it

— Sustainable progress comes from clarity instead of coming from urgency

— Self-permission often unlocks the next step

— Change works best when others are brought along thoughtfully

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

Chapters

00:32 — Introduction/Shedding the Old Skin

07:50 — From Snake to Fire Horse

15:31— Ready for Hard Change

22:03 —Creating Forward Motion

34:26— Questions to Ask Yourself if Stuck

Helpful Links:

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

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

Setting goals in the New Year? Good for you, but be careful. Beating yourself up for goals you didn’t hit is too easy. The hard work comes in setting clear goals from the beginning. If you’re feeling stuck, you’re not alone. And feeling stuck doesn’t mean you failed. Clarity, movement, and direction matter more than rigid destinations when it comes to actually hitting those marks.

In this episode of the Leading with Instinct podcast, Katie Navarra-Bradley, Professional Facilitator and Leadership Coach with Katie the Coach, and Ginny Telego, President of Collaboration Partners, reflect on the podcast’s one-year anniversary, (a stretch goal in itself!) and unpack what goal-setting actually looks like when leadership, business, and life collide.

This conversation weaves together stories of business setbacks and major life disruptions, with lessons learned in the arena with horses. Horses become powerful mirrors, revealing how unclear energy, misaligned intentions, or the wrong goal at the wrong time can stall movement altogether.

Rethink success, not as hitting every mark on a timeline, but as staying in motion, adjusting when needed, and choosing goals that fit the reality of the moment.

Takeaways

-Feeling stuck often means clarity is missing

-Direction creates movement; fixation on outcomes can create paralysis

-Course correction is leadership in action

-Shared leadership and trusted perspectives help prevent unnecessary self-punishment

-Breaking goals into directional steps builds momentum and resilience

-The “right” goal depends on timing, environment, and current reality

-Progress is often quieter and more meaningful than we expect

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

Chapters

00:34 — Introduction

02:52 — One-year anniversary. Goal Achieved!

05:39 — Destination vs Direction

08:47 — Major life disruptions and forced course correction

11:38 — Finding your “herd” for perspective and support

14:49 — Ignoring outside pressure to pursue the right path

19:09 — Imposter syndrome

22:16 — How Horses can show direction

25:31 — Setting the right goals

32:46— Directional goals vs. rigid outcomes

36:00 — Letting go of control and choosing intention

Helpful Links:

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

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

Confidence isn’t a permanent state for most leaders. Even highly capable leaders can find themselves questioning decisions, second-guessing instincts, or wondering if they truly belong in the moments that matter most. These “imposter thoughts” are likely familiar to you, and more common than most people realize. They are certainly more real than most leaders will want to admit.

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 talking about our common fears of inadequacy. Drawing from real client experiences, research, and their work facilitating leadership development with horses, they talk about what imposter thoughts actually look like in practice, how they affect decision-making, and why even highly successful leaders wrestle with them privately.

Through powerful stories from the arena, Ginny and Katie reveal how horses immediately reflect internal confidence and the lack of it, without judgment, bravado, or performance. Leaders who hesitate, overthink, or avoid uncertainty see those same patterns mirrored back to them by the horses.

Takeaways

-Imposter thoughts affect leaders at every level, including CEOs

-Fear of failure often drives hesitation and overthinking

-Horses reflect real confidence, not performative confidence

-Speaking self-doubt out loud reduces its power

-Grounded confidence comes from internal and external alignment

-Past successes can be used to interrupt imposter thinking

-Physical posture and breath influence confidence

-Clear expectations reduce anxiety and hesitation

-Community support weakens isolation and doub

Chapters

00:28 Snowy Days

02:28 Introduction

04:23 We’re all Imposters

09:59 Fear of Public Failure

13:43 Confidence in Context

15:06 Stories of Client Experiences

26:03 Building Self-Image

33:03 Physical Confidence

41:39 Closing Thoughts and Contact Info

Helpful Links:

Korn Ferry’s Workforce 2024 Global Insights Report: https://www.kornferry.com/about-us/press/71percent-of-us-ceos-experience-imposter-syndrome-new-korn-ferry-research-finds

Workplace Impostor Thoughts, Impostor Feelings, and Impostorism: An Integrative, Multidisciplinary Review of Research on the Impostor Phenomenon : https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/annals.2023.0100?journalCode=annals

Workplace ‘impostor thoughts’ may have a genuine upside: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/workplace-impostor-thoughts-may-have-a-genuine-upside

Psycho-Cybernetics: Updated and Expanded (The Psycho-Cybernetics Series) :https://www.amazon.com/Psycho-Cybernetics-Updated-Expanded-Maxwell-Maltz/dp/0399176136


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

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

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

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/