We are holding our first public open meet-up on Tuesday 30 June 2020 at 6pm UK (19h CET) for 90 minutes. These are open to anyone, aimed at those with at least a little existing understanding or interest about Host Leadership. (There will be other online introductions to Host Leadership – the first was in May 2020 and can be seen here.)

The topic of this meet-up is ‘Could it be that simple? When implementing Host Leadership feels natural’ and will be led by Gery Derbier.  Gery is experienced at using Host Leadership in Agile and other fields, and has found that simply introducing the idea into a conversation can have significant and long-lasting results.  Gery says:

“Considering the vast amount of literature available, it seems leadership and management in organisations is a complicated matter. But is it? Since Mark McKergow told me about Host Leadership for the first time some six years ago, I have run several workshops in conferences and incorporated the material in the Agile Management trainings I give with Laurent Sarrazin. Each time, the response of the participants in these events has been very positive. But the most satisfying results I have seen came from rather simple conversations.”

“I will share some stories and then we can discuss together about all our ideas about how to best convey and spread the Host Leadership metaphor.”

Please see more details and sign up for this online meet-up at https://connexxo.com/events/host-leadership-workshop-with-gery-derbier/. We look forward to seeing you on the call!

Our Village-In-The-City manifesto has been attracting attention. Now it’s time to open an invitation to anyone wanting to find out more, share ideas and build on what works in building and sustaining micro-local communities in our cities and towns.  (And even our villages too…). As the post-COVID recovery gathers pace, we can build on the local initiatives which started with the pandemic and look to connect, share and invigorate local activities.  The Manifesto gives a powerful and coherent framework for creating and building Villages-In-The-City.

This Zoom call will be led by Dr Mark McKergow (Host Leadership), Dr Wendy Ellyat (Flourish Project) and Adrian Hodgson (urban development consultant, Berlin) to discuss why the Village-In-The-City is an idea whose time has definitely come, to engage with a range of voices, to share resources and to discover what might be some next steps to build back better.

The call is on Monday 29 June at 4pm UK time (17h CET) for one hour.  Please register using this link – you will receive the call link by email. If you have any questions in advance please contact Mark McKergow.

We are beginning to run online events which will be accessible world wide. Many of these events will be run by members of the Host Leadership Stewards community, who themselves use and teach about Host Leadership.

The first of these is a FREE online 90 minute workshop introducing Host Leadership with Pierluigi Pugliese. Pierluigi is the co-editor with Mark McKergow of the Host Leadership Field Book, and has been using and teaching about Host Leadership for some years in Germany and Italy. (The workshop will be in English!)

For more details and to register, please click here to visit the relevant page of Pierluigi’s website.

We plan to hold similar workshops every couple of months, alternating them with online meet-ups to discuss and learn about particular aspects of leading as a host. More news soon!

“When the future is uncertain and the past is contested, good hosting can bring hope and co-operation into the present.

Any Dialogic OD practice will bring people together for creative conversations, expanded horizons, mutual connection and committed action. The way these events are hosted can make all the difference. Mark McKergow offers an image of superb hosting as a mix of detailed planning and openness to whatever emerges, taking the lead when needed, with the intent of stepping back as quickly as possible so participants can lead themselves.”

The book is designed to be read in two hours, and is illustrated with a punchy and lively case study of OD in action in the Robson Royal hospital. It’s available in paperback and Kindle formats worldwide, priced at around $20US. And of course you can ‘look inside’ the book on the various Amazon websites around the world.

Information and links to place to buy the book are on the BMI website.

“Change the way people think and things will never be the same” epitomises the impact that Mark McKergow has had over the years. His work in Solutions Focus is now being used in many of the world’s leading organisations. I have every confidence that in years to come, his most recent profound work about hosting will become common knowledge and practice too.

Trevor Durnford, Chair, International Association of Facilitators

People who do OD work on the ground and aim to foster effective organisational change will find this book extremely useful. Mark McKergow combines two models – Host Leadership and generative change – in an insightful way, illustrated by a detailed application case. This approach fits perfectly the needs of both OD workers and organisational leaders.

Susanne Burgstaller, Usolvit, Vienna, Austria

In times of constant flux, how do we host generative change? First our diagnostic approaches need to give way to the generative discussions that create emergent change. Mark McKergow writes another first, providing the guide on how leaders and facilitators can transform themselves to host these generative change events.

Carey Glass, organizational psychologist, Melbourne, Australia

If ever we needed an apt metaphor for leadership in complex times, it is now. Hosting rather than directing seems to be a much more useful way of thinking about leadership and change. There has never been a better time for leaders to start engaging their communities in facing up to a complex collective problems, and Mark McKergow’s book is a well written and lucid guide into how to do exactly that.

Mike Brent, Faculty and Professor of Practise,  Ashridge Executive Education @Hult International  Business School, co author of best-selling books The Leaders’ Guide to Influence and the Leaders’ Guide to Coaching

We have at long last found a way to help you to get email alerts to new blogs and news here on the Host Leadership community website. Just look to the right hand side, and you’ll see a button ‘Follow the Host Leadership Community’. Click it, and you’ll be able to get notifications of events, publications, blogs and innovations right to your inbox. Go on, do it now!

There’s a new and very high quality video available featuring Host Leadership pioneer Dr Mark McKergow in conversation with Andy Shone of Southpac International and HOPLAB, about how leading as a host can fit very well with the latest developments in in building safety (sometimes called ‘Safety 2’).  Mark was in Brisbane, Australia to lead a Host Leadership masterclass, and this 28 minute conversation is a great introduction to hosting as leading and also to the parallels and connections with safety leadership specifically.  Take a look!

There are more videos on our Video page – check them out.