Leadership
 in
 the
 Age 
of 
Complexity: 
From
 Hero 
to 
Host


For 
too 
long,
 too 
many 
of 
us 
have 
been 
entranced
 by 
heroes. 
Perhaps 
it’s 
our 
desire 
to 
be 
saved, 
to 
not 
have 
to 
do 
the 
hard
work, 
to 
rely
 on 
someone 
else 
to 
figure 
things 
out. 
Constantly
 we
 are
 barraged
 by 
politicians 
presenting
 themselves
 as 
heroes, 
the 
ones 
who
 will
 fix
 everything 
and 
make 
our 
problems 
go 
away.
 It’s
 a
 seductive
 image, 
an 
enticing 
promise. 
And 
we
 keep
 believing 
it. 
Somewhere
 there’s
 someone
 who 
will 
make
 it
 all 
better. 
Somewhere, 
there’s
 someone
 whose
 visionary, 
inspiring, 
brilliant, 
trustworthy
 and
 we’ll
 all 
happily
 follow
 him
 or 
her. 
Somewhere…



But 
the
 causes
 of
 today’s
 problems 
are
 complex
 and
 interconnected.
 There 
are
 no
 
simple
 answers,
 and
 no 
one 
individual 
can 
possibly 
know
 what
 to 
do. Leaders 
who 
journey
 from
 hero 
to 
host 
have 
seen 
past
 the 
negative 
dynamics 
of 
politics 
and
 opposition
 that
 hierarchy 
breeds,
 they’ve 
ignored 
the 
organizational 
charts
 and
 role
 descriptions
 that
 confine
 people’s 
potential. 
Instead,
 they’ve 
become
 curious.
 Who’s
 in 
this 
organization 
or 
community?
 What
 skills 
and 
capacities 
might
 they
 offer
 if 
they
 were
 invited
 into
 the 
work 
as 
full 
contributors? 
What
 do 
they 
know,
 what 
insights 
do 
they 
have
 that
 might
 lead
 to 
a
 solution
 to 
this 
problem?


Leaders‐as‐hosts 
know
 that
 people 
willingly
 support
 those
 things
 they’ve
 played
 a 
part
 in
 creating that
 you 
can’t 
expect 
people 
to 
‘buy‐in’ 
to
 plans 
and
 projects 
developed
 else where. 
Leaders‐as‐hosts 
invest
 in 
meaningful 
conversations
 among
 people
 from
 many 
parts 
of 
the 
system 
as 
the
 most 
productive 
way
 to 
engender
 new
 insights 
and 
possibilities
 for 
action. 
They 
trust
 that 
people 
are 
willing 
to 
contribute, 
and
 that
 most 
people 
yearn
 to 
find 
meaning
 and 
possibility 
in
 their 
lives
 and 
work. 
And
 these
 leaders
 know
 that 
hosting 
others 
is
 the
 only
 way
 to 
get 
complex, 
intractable 
problems
 solved.


Leaders‐as‐hosts 
don’t
 just
 benevolently 
let 
go 
and 
trust
 that 
people
 will 
do
 good 
work 
on 
their
 own
 Leaders
 have
 a 
great 
many 
things 
to 
attend
 to, 
but 
these
 are 
quite
 different 
than
 the
 work 
of 
heroes.

 Hosting
 leaders
 must:


• provide 
conditions
 and
 good
 group 
processes 
for 
people 
to 
work
 together.

• provide 
resources
 of 
time,
 the
 scarcest
 commodity
 of
 all.

• insist 
that
 people
 and
 the 
system 
learn 
from
 experience, 
frequently.

• offer 
unequivocal 
support—people
 know
 the 
leader
 is
 there
 for 
them.

• keep 
the
 bureaucracy 
at bay,
 creating
 oases
(or
bunkers)
 where
 people
 are 
less encumbered
 by 
senseless 
demands
 for 
reports 
and
 administration.

• play 
defense 
with
 other 
leaders 
who 
want
 to 
take 
back 
control, 
who
 are 
critical that
 people
 have 
been
 given 
too 
much
 freedom.

• reflect 
back
 to 
people 
on
 a
 regular 
basis
 how 
they’re 
doing,
 what
 they’re accomplishing, 
how
 far 
they’ve 
journeyed.

• work
 with 
people
 to 
develop
 relevant 
measures  
of 
progress 
to 
make 
their
 achievements
 visible.

• value
 conviviality 
and
 esprit
 de 
corps—not 
false 
rah‐ rah
 activities, 
but
 the
 spirit
 that 
arises 
in 
any 
group 
that 
accomplishes
 difficult 
work 
together.