We often hear about Servant Leadership. But what if that's not enough, and not what's really needed? In our creative and knowledge work environments, there's another type of leadership that might be even more applicable. This introduction & overview of Host Leadership will look at the six roles - not rules - that make a great Host Leader. When combined with with explicit positions that Host Leaders take, we'll discover that leading is all about relationships with others. And, when we evolve how we think about leading, we open ourselves up to amazing possibilities. The idea of Host Leadership is a metaphor rooted in hundreds of years of human history. It's a simple, yet powerful metaphor that we can use as we focus on providing a great environment for our modern workplace.

1. AN INTRODUCTION TO
HOST LEADERSHIP
Jeff Kosciejew

3. Hero
Leadership

4. Hero
Servant
Leadership
Leadership

5. Hero
Servant
Leadership
Leadership

6. Hero
Servant
Leadership
Leadership

7. Hero
Servant
Leadership
Host
Leadership
Leadership

8. Leadership
‘Leading’ requires at least two people.
You can’t be a leader without having someone else who is willing to be led.
‘Leading’ isn’t a role. Leading is a relationship.
And that relationship manifests itself through the interactions between two or more people.

10. What if leadership isn’t about being great?
Look at me…
I’m great!!!
Look at us…
We’re great!!!
What if it’s about enabling & supporting others to be great?

11. R U L E S

12. R U L E S
R O L E S

14. Leading can be a lot like hosting a party
SETTING UP A GREAT
ENVIRONMENT
BRINGING PEOPLE
TOGETHER
DECIDING WHO GETS
INVITED…
AND WHO DOESN’T
HELPING GUESTS HAVE
A GOOD TIME
INTRODUCING GUESTS
TO EACH OTHER
SETTING SOME RULES
& BOUNDARIES

15. Host Leadership
Six Roles Four Positions

16. Initiator
■ Providing the initial spark of what might become a broader initiative

17. inviter
■ Inviting the relevant people to join our idea

18. Space Creator
■ Creating an environment – both physical & emotional
where something is really happening

19. Gatekeeper
■ Defining and protecting the space created,
allowing people in and out as necessary

20. Connector
■ Putting people in touch with others who may otherwise
not come together, enabling new & useful conversations

21. Co-Participator
■ We become an important part of the system
and environment we helped create, not just being the creator

22. Host Leadership
Six Roles Four Positions

23. On the Stage
■ Where we’re the centre of attention

24. Among the People
■ Where we are one, among the many

25. On the Balcony
■ Where we’re letting the event happen and unfold
while observing, learning, and ready to intervene if necessary

26. In the Kitchen
■ Where we do our preparation work, behind the scenes

27. Host Leadership
Six Roles Four Positions

28. Host Leadership
Different combinations of
Role + Position
is a creative stance we can explicitly choose to take
Based on a given situation,
we might choose or change
how we approach leading

29. A Couple Examples
■ Space Creator + On The Stage
– What we do when we explain to our audience the purpose, or desired
outcome of a meeting or event
■ Connector + Among The People
– What we do when we, based on our knowledge of the organization or of the
work, suggest that a certain person should talk to another person, in another
department, on another team, or in another area of our business entirely,
because they might be able to help solve a certain problem
■ Inviter + In The Kitchen
– When we’re adjusting who is included for tomorrow’s continuation of
this this event, based on noticing certain people are missing

30. Jeff Kosciejew
www.AgileMagic.ca
@kosciejew
What if I want to learn more?
■ http://hostleadership.com/
■ https://www.infoq.com/articles/host-leadership-agile/
■ https://sfwork.com/resources/Lead-as-a-Host-not-a-Hero-Leadership-that-Builds-
Engagement-and-Performance.pdf
■ Books:

31. Other sources subtly referenced
Jeff Kosciejew
www.AgileMagic.ca
@kosciejew

32. AN INTRODUCTION TO
HOST LEADERSHIP
Jeff Kosciejew