OREANDA-NEWS. The Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO has contributed to an extensive training and development programme for Philip Morris Sales and Marketing employees. In one of its educational modules, SKOLKOVO's Corporate Programmes team acted as the organizer and one of the developers of equine assisted training for the company employees.

A series of equine assisted training events, provided for Philip Morris Sales and Marketing employees participating in the corporate educational project, took nearly two months. The objective of the training was to reveal personal potential of the participants, as well as to develop their leadership competencies and communication skills through interaction with horses. The employees, many of whom had never engaged in horse riding and had no experience with horses, had to do several consecutive exercises, the goal of which was to make contact with the animals and to persuade them to follow and overcome unfamiliar obstacles. All participants were divided into several groups that performed various tasks simultaneously. Each team included a professional facilitator from Team Training company, who explained each task and then helped the participants analyze the behaviours, feelings and reactions, as well as understand how they can be related to professional life.

Tatiana Doronina, one of the training developers, explained why horses can help in unleashing leadership and communication skills: "For horses there are no posts, regalia and ranks. They react to a person just the way he or she really deserves. A clear vision of one's purpose, confidence in actions, ability to convey one's message, calmness and goodwill - all these qualities, so very necessary when working with people, are also required to win the trust and respect of a horse. A horse's behaviour and its attitude to a given person show to what extent these qualities are present. To make a horse do something - walk beside you or overcome a minimum obstacle - you must become a leader for it, that is, show your strengths. Equine assisted training in business education does not teach specific skills, but serves as a catalyst for deep personal transformation."

Sergey Zaytsev, development director at Philip Morris Sales and Marketing, LLC, commented: “Our company has always viewed its employees as its main value and the warrant of effective business development. Success directly depends on the people, and, above all, the leaders - their professionalism and focus on results. We are increasingly manifesting our leadership through modern communication channels - emails, texts, phone calls - not always thinking how it is perceived on the other side. With horses, this approach does not work. We need casual contact and confidence in our rightness and our actions. For our company, which has a highly responsible approach to corporate learning, this training is about developing leadership skills, growing the ability to motivate others and having the opportunity to rethink ourselves and our actions. The effect of these things is long-lasting."

A series of training sessions for Philip Morris Sales and Marketing was the first large-scale equine assisted training event used for corporate training in Russia. About 250 people took part in the classes that were held in the suburban Divny Equestrian Centre. The centre, located in Moscow region, meets the highest European standards and, as of now, knows no equals in Russia.

"I can safely say that we are all pioneers here. Philip Morris Sales and Marketing supported the idea of the training and was the first in Russia to have ventured into the use of this technique company-wide. The Equestrian Centre served as the first platform for its implementation. When I see the changes the participants experience within a few hours - their faces and their mood when they leave the training site - I have no doubts in our choice. During the training, many of the participants were able to understand their inner blocks that prevent them from achieving their goals. This kind of awareness can certainly be applied in everyday life and business, in leadership development and assuming responsibility for one's actions," - says Svetlana Pashkevich, manager for corporate programmes development at SKOLKOVO business school.

Equine assisted training is a part of a larger corporate programme designed by the SKOLKOVO business school for Philip Morris Sales and Marketing.