Beth Anstandig Teaches Natural Leadership with 'The Human Herd'

Professor, licensed psychotherapist, and author, Beth Anstandig, talks to us about her first book, The Human Herd: Awakening Our Natural Leadership. Part memoir, part self-help, the book introduces readers to her Natural Leadership model, a concept she pioneered and has taught for the past 25 years. The idea is that our Natural Leadership can emerge from within us if we take the time to tap into our body’s natural signals, which then guides us to take better care of ourselves, build meaningful relationships, and live more authentically. Anstandig organizes the book in a way that draws in readers by introducing each chapter with one of her own personal stories. She said, “The structure of the book is based on the way that people learn…When we learn things emotionally and personally we learn them very deeply and so every chapter begins with a story, and they’re my stories, and my hope is that people reflect on those and think of their own. They’re my stories about my own experiences with my animals, and the core lessons that come from each of those stories…then there’s a section of the chapter that describes the concept and is about the Natural Leadership model and then the last part is a practice or how to take that concept and bring it to life… really bringing it to life in your own experience as an individual or in relationships or in groups.”

Having worked with horses throughout most her life gave Anstandig a profound understanding of how animal herds functioned. The idea for the title came from recognizing that humans are also considered herd animals. “As I studied human psychology over the years, I was always drawn to the animal mammal part of us and to looking at the primitive things that drive us as humans. I was really interested in the early psychological writings of Freud and then looking at the neuroscience that came out in the early 2000’s and really understanding the organism of the animal of us and how it drives our psychology and the more I put those pieces together, I was thinking, ‘we’re herd animals and we are not really learning how to act like herd animals’…We haven’t really studied other herd animals to understand what do they do to have these mostly peaceful, stable groups that allow them to survive, and thrive, and evolve. What are the lessons there that we could be capturing?”

In the final chapter of the book, titled Herd, Andstandig summed it up by saying, “…This is about what it’s like to really lean in to being a herd animal, and what it really takes to be a fully supported mammal, and what it means to share needs and share resources.” Sharing needs also includes tending to our own needs and seeking help from our “herd,” or community of support. She added, “…Safety in numbers is the main rule of the horse herd….it’s like, better together. They’re very, very quick to want to befriend and partner and so their motivation is to partner with us as quickly as possible, to be part of the herd, and to share resources. It is self-serving. I watch them gift each other all day, they’re always sharing needs… and I think we’re the same. I do believe that. We’re just not tapped into it.”