Recently, Boulder Magazine ran a story about the work that’s been unfolding here at Gray Mountain Ranch, and it felt meaningful to see that story reflected back. For me, this work didn’t start as a business idea. It started as something much more personal.

A few years ago, I found myself burned out in a way many executives and professionals recognize. Life and work were moving fast, and somewhere along the way, I had lost the sense of presence and grounding that makes meaningful work possible. Going back to horses helped me find my way back to that. Being around them slowed everything down. I began noticing things again — attention, awareness, how energy moves between individuals, and how groups naturally organize themselves. Over time, those observations started influencing the way I work as an executive coach with leaders and teams.

Executive and Team Coaching Outside the Boardroom

Most executive coaching and leadership development happens in offices, conference rooms, or over Zoom.Those conversations are important. I still do a lot of that work. But I’ve become increasingly curious about what happens when leaders and teams step outside their usual environments. When executives come to the ranch, something shifts. The pace slows down. The distractions fall away. People begin to notice how they show up with each other in ways that are harder to see in a traditional meeting room.

Working alongside horses adds another layer to that experience. Horses are incredibly attuned to what’s happening in the moment. They respond to attention, alignment, and awareness. Because of that, team dynamics often become visible very quickly.

Executives start noticing things like:

• how decisions are actually being made

• who naturally steps forward and who steps back

• how attention and awareness move through a team

• what happens when communication becomes clearer

Those observations often open the door to very real coaching conversations.

What Horses Reveal About Teams

One of the most fascinating patterns that shows up again and again in this work is shared leadership. In a herd, leadership isn’t fixed. It shifts depending on who notices something in the environment and what the moment calls for. Sometimes one horse leads. Sometimes another steps forward. The herd responds to awareness and responsiveness rather than hierarchy alone.

For executive teams, this can be a powerful mirror. Leaders begin to see how leadership actually moves through a group — how awareness, decision-making, and trust influence how a team navigates complexity together. These insights often happen quickly when people step outside their familiar roles and into a more experiential environment.

The Collaboration Behind Gray Mountain Group

Along the way I realized I wasn’t the only executive coach drawn to this kind of work. Angela Chiarenza and Jan West had each been exploring similar questions about experiential coaching and the role horses can play in helping leaders and teams see their dynamics more clearly. Our conversations eventually led us to create Gray Mountain Group.

Gray Mountain Group brings together our perspectives as experienced executive coaches and leadership facilitators, combining traditional coaching work with experiential environments that help teams explore awareness, communication, and shared leadership.

Sometimes that work happens here at Gray Mountain Ranch, where the environment naturally supports deeper observation and reflection. Other times it happens wherever teams are located — working directly with organizations, executive teams, and leadership groups through Gray Mountain Group programs and leadership intensives.

Leadership Intensives and Executive Coaching

Much of my work today focuses on executive coaching and leadership intensives for leaders and teams navigating complex environments.

A leadership intensive creates space for a team to step back and explore questions like:

• How are we actually making decisions together?

• Where is leadership emerging within the team?

• How do awareness and communication influence how we move forward?

• What patterns are shaping the culture of the organization?

For some teams, working at the ranch creates a powerful environment for that kind of reflection. For others, the work happens within their organization through Gray Mountain Group coaching and facilitation. Either way, the goal is the same: helping leaders and teams develop deeper awareness of how they work together so they can move forward with greater clarity.

Grateful for the Story

I’m grateful to Boulder Magazine for taking the time to tell the story behind this work and the collaboration that’s growing around it.

You can read the full article here:

[Boulder Magazine Article]

Executive Coaching and Leadership Intensives

If you’re exploring executive coaching, leadership intensives, or experiential coaching for your leadership team, you can learn more about the work through Gray Mountain Group or reach out to start a conversation. Some teams come to Gray Mountain Ranch in Lyons, Colorado for immersive coaching experiences. Others work with us through Gray Mountain Group programs and executive coaching engagements wherever they are located.

What matters most is creating the space for leaders and teams to see their dynamics more clearly and move forward with intention.