The core of Roberts’ work lies in the notion of “starting” young horses instead of “breaking” them. He utilizes a round pen to introduce the horse to joining humans in a collaborative way. His Join-Up® process includes concepts which are easily transferable to any leader attempting to encourage followers to join up. These ‘round pen” concepts include the following four phases:

1. HOW MONTY ROBERTS CONCEPTS
HELP LEADERS IN ORGANIZATIONS

2. THE CORE OF ROBERTS’ WORK LIES IN THE NOTION
OF “STARTING” YOUNG HORSES INSTEAD OF
“BREAKING” THEM. HE UTILIZES A ROUND PEN TO
INTRODUCE THE HORSE TO JOINING HUMANS IN A
COLLABORATIVE WAY.
HIS JOIN-UP® PROCESS INCLUDES CONCEPTS
WHICH ARE EASILY TRANSFERABLE TO ANY
LEADER ATTEMPTING TO ENCOURAGE FOLLOWERS
TO JOIN UP. THESE ‘ROUND PEN” CONCEPTS
INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING FOUR PHASES:

3. In the round pen, a
human must enter to
introduce himself or
herself to a horse with
positive intent.
In the business world, the leader
must assure others that they are
entering with positive intent by
dropping manipulations,
showing vulnerability, and
asking for trust through actions
and open communication.

4. In the round pen, humans
begin the process of
openly communicating
with the horse in the own
language, the language
that Monty Roberts calls
Equus.
In the corporate world, the leader
must open up dialogue and two-way
conversation around their
purpose, shared responsibility,
roles definition, and clarity on
work processes.

5. In the round pen, a horse
makes a choice to stop
running and to enter into
a relationship with a
human. This process is
called Join-Up.
In an organization, followers
have to make the ultimate
choice to join up, or not based
on their perception of trust-worthiness
and their
willingness to follow.

6. In the round pen, a horse will
follow a human once it has
decided to Join-Up; this phase
is called Follow-Up®. The
horse has formed a
committed trust bond with
the human.
In an organizational world,
leaders must continue to
guide followers by providing
them with support, on-going
clear information, and
resources.

7. Take a look at our New
Leadership Workshop:
JOINING UP: WHAT HORSES CAN TEACH
US ABOUT LEADERSHIP
Monty Roberts lends his core trust-building concepts to
help leaders accelerate their leadership performance. We
will use a trusted leadership assessment tool to help
participants learn about their leadership style.
Click here to find out more!