Dismount the Dead Horse: A Leadership Wake-Up Call

“When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.” – Dakota Tribal Wisdom

Dismount the Dead Horse: A Leadership Wake-Up Call

“When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.” – Dakota Tribal Wisdom

At first glance, “The Dead Horse Theory” seems humorous—an old tale turned into corporate satire. But look closer, and you'll see it's shockingly real in its reflection of how many leaders and organisations behave when faced with clear failure or dysfunction.

The uncomfortable truth? We’ve all seen these behaviours in action:

Hiring consultants to evaluate the horse.
Lowering the standards so dead horses are acceptable.
Rebranding the horse as “living impaired.”
Throwing more money, training, or process at what’s fundamentally broken.

It’s funny until you realise:

These aren’t jokes. These are actual strategies being used in businesses every day.

Why We Stay on the Dead Horse

Max DePree once said, “We cannot become what we want by remaining what we are.”
Yet when change stares us in the face, we often do everything but the one thing that will move us forward.

Why?
Because the real solution—the honest one—is uncomfortable.
It often requires us to:

Admit we were wrong.
Confront difficult truths.
Start over or end something familiar.
Make decisions that don’t guarantee immediate results.

So, we delay. We excuse. We polish the saddle and try a new whip.

And in doing so, we choose what feels easier over what is right.

The Real Cost of Dead Horse Thinking

Let’s be clear:
Choosing to avoid truth, delay decisions, or cling to outdated systems has a price.

When we cling to broken strategies or systems:

It erodes trust.

It drains resources and morale.

Progress and execution stalls.

Morale declines – as the team begins to question your leadership.

Leaders must understand:
Execution is not about perfection—it’s about progress.

That progress dies the moment we tolerate inaction disguised as action.

Leadership That Executes Well Does Three Things:

1. Faces reality head-on.
Surface and address ethical violations, execution errors, or strategic drift.
No sugar-coating. No deflecting.

2. Makes uncomfortable decisions quickly.
Delayed decisions are decisions. And they often cost more later.

3. Leads with intention and urgency.
Execution is dynamic. It demands conscious decisions in the best interest of the whole organisation—not what’s easiest or most comfortable.

So, What’s the Dead Horse in Your Organisation?

Ask yourself:

What problem am I refusing to confront?
Where have I been applying effort with no real return?
What’s no longer serving the vision we claim to pursue?

Because if we’re honest, we all have a dead horse somewhere.

And the greatest sign of leadership is the courage to dismount—publicly, decisively, and with integrity.

Faith-Inspired Leadership Reflection

Leadership rooted in faith requires both courage and wisdom.

Proverbs 4:7 reminds us, "The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding." (NIV)

Also, in Ecclesiastes 3:1, tells us "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens." (NIV)

Sometimes the wisest action is not to push harder, but to recognise when God is calling us to release, redirect, and rebuild.

Trust His prompting.
Lead with courage.
Move forward with faith.

➤ Final Thought

Dismount the dead horse.

Face the truth.

Lead forward with wisdom, boldness, and hope.

Let’s talk: What’s a “dead horse” you’ve seen in your organisation or leadership—and how was it handled?

Let the record show:

No actual horses were harmed in the writing of this post.
Although some sacred cows may have been!

#Leadership #FaithDrivenLeadership #ExecutionMatters #DeadHorseTheory #DecisionMaking #CourageousLeadership

Source: Infographic created by Monte Pedersen

Categories: : General Leadership