A host is someone who receives or entertains guests. This is a position with which we are all familiar, at some level. Think about your experience of hosting people in your home or at a celebration. Hosts sometimes have to act heroically—stepping forward, planning, inviting, introducing, providing. They also act in service: stepping back, encouraging, giving space, joining in. The good host can be seen moving effortlessly between them. Hosting has ancient roots and is found across all cultures. We all know good hosting (and good “guesting”) at an instinctive gut level.
Leadership seems to put the focus on the leader. We think this is a mistake. Leading is about a relationship—between the leader and the others. The word, “followers,” is not a great term for those people, and we will be examining some alternative relationship definitions shortly. It takes two to have a relationship—but the leader is only one person. Host leadership is about building relationships—at work, in the community, in society, at home—to engage others. This engagement is the key ingredient that leads to increased performance and results.
We find that many people around the world find the metaphor of the leader as host to be an instantly appealing one. They then look at us as if to say, “Aha! But what about…?” You may be thinking of some of these questions right now, so let us give some initial answers and thoughts, which may help you set aside whatever initial concerns you may have.
Can I use Host Leadership at any level of an organization?
We often are asked about how Host Leadership can apply within an organization. Can there only be one host? Of course, not. We think the principles and practices of Host Leadership can be applied at all levels within an organization and beyond.
- If you’re leading a group, then you can be a Host Leader.
- If you’re leading a temporary group such as a project team, you can be a Host Leader.
- If you’re working with others, you can be a Host Leader and start to use the six roles to enhance your working experience.
- If you are working with customers and/or suppliers, you can be a Host Leader and host their interactions with you and your organization.
- If you are working with patients, learners, or other kinds of service user, you can be a Host Leader with regard to their experiences with you.
Within an organization, it’s very common to find Host Leaders who are hosting their teams and also being good “guests” within wider teams of which they are members. Good Host Leaders also know how to be good guests and play great roles as team players and effective participants and contributors.
Is this idea too simple?
The beauty of a metaphor is that it conveys a great deal in just a few words. We already know about hosting—so when we start to think about leading as being hosting, we instantly understand a lot, all of it rooted in our existing knowledge and experience. The wonderful thing about hosting is that there is so much to it. We find that exploring the details of hosting, the different ways to think about it, and different practices from around the world helps enormously to expand awareness and potential for new action.
Can hosts have a purpose or intention—apart from looking after their guests?
One early reaction we had to the idea of Host Leadership was about how the relationship connects with a common task. Professor John Adair, known for his task/team/individual model, wondered about how hosts and guests could come together for a common task. To us, this does not seem to be an issue, once we get to the idea that a host can invite people to join them in something, rather than simply look after them. There are many examples of this, from the student who invites his or her friends to help move stuff into a new flat with the promise of a good night’s fun afterwards, to the more tacit expectations of the charity ball organizers inviting wealthy people to their glittering event and celebrity auction. There is a great deal more to hosting than simply organizing some catering.
I didn’t invite my team! I inherited them when I took the job.
This is, of course, a common situation. The Host Leadership metaphor is a rich and varied one, and you will find some other way to begin to work with your team. The point is to think like a host and see where that takes you. You might like to do some listening to see what might be initiated, or look at the space you are creating, or do some connecting…
One thing to start with is to remember that hosting is about a relationship. So get together with your team members, either one-on-one or in small groups, and spend some time finding out about them as people, as well as about what they do for the organization and what their concerns are. This could mean taking the chance to be “with the guests.” Or you might even invite some of them into your “kitchen” for a focused and personal discussion. In a competitive job market, you may even end up wanting to invite them to stay.
My boss is not at all hostly! What can I do?
This is a question we get all the time. Two possibilities jump out. First, you can start thinking of yourself as a guest, and see how that produces ideas for working with your boss. What would a good guest do in your situation? Maybe it’s bringing a little something useful or nice to the next meeting? Maybe you can ask about bringing some useful person with you to a forthcoming planning session? Maybe there’s an opportunity to do some connecting with your boss? Maybe there is something that you could offer to initiate, and you could invite your boss to be involved in some specific way?
You also can start to think of yourself as a host to those around you—Host Leadership is not solely the privilege of the top dog. As we saw above, we can host at all levels of the organization. So invite some people to discuss an important issue. Help to make your space more useful, recognizable, and engaging.
Host Leadership is a way to take a leading position, in a way that draws others in, in a natural way. This builds engagement, leading to performance and results.
Adapted excerpt from “Host: Six New Roles of Engagement for Teams, Organizations, Communities and Movements” by Dr. Mark McKergow and Helen Bailey (Solutions Books, October 2014). For more information, visit www.hostleadership.com
Dr. Mark McKergow is an international speaker, consultant, and teacher. A “recovering physicist,” his work over more than two decades has focused on responsive and emergent approaches to complex situations. Dr. McKergow has developed and hosted many aspects of the International Solutions Focus (SF) community since 2000, is co-author of three related books, including best-seller “The Solutions Focus,” and is a visiting research fellow in philosophy of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire.
Helen Bailey is a coaching and change expert and previously held a senior management position with The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. In 2004, she started PINNA Ltd, where she is head of Coaching and in 2010, completed her Master’s degree in Developing Professional Practice.
