Be a host, not a hero. The new leap of leadership
We have been taught that leaders are ahead, are the ones that get there first, have and give all the answers, and get the credit or blame for the solutions they present to the challenges of organizations and life. We too often start from these assumptions, placing responsibilities in the hands of leaders. In the hands of someone else. As Margaret Wheatley (writer and teacher) said a few years ago, "Heroic leadership rests on the illusion that someone can be in control. Yet we live in a world of complex systems whose very existence means they are inherently uncontrollable."
To continue to entrust leaders with answers and responsibilities only reinforces these beliefs, strengthens a structure of command, control, and centralisation of information and feeds the vicious circle of dependency, lack of creativity and innovation; it, therefore, creates a chain of disengagement, complaints, quiet quitting, burnout and many other serious problems faced by companies and other institutions all over the world.
A fundamental shift needs to happen in what we understand about what it is to be a leader: there is a possibility that the place of the leader as a hero will soon no longer exist. This is not to say that we don't need leaders, on the contrary. We need many leaders with the energy and focus to enable actions that care for the world and choose leadership as a role rather than a position.
We are dealing with complexity, and things move faster than before, so we are under a lot of pressure and stress. In the world we are living in today, what we have learnt in the past is not enough anymore: we have to do things differently. More than the intelligence of only one person is needed to solve something, we need to use the intelligence of diversity to come up with new solutions for the problems that we have. This is why it is time for us to understand that the leaders of the 21st century need to leave the top of the pyramid or, even better, leave the pyramid altogether. They should see the company as a system and position themselves as part of a circle or as a space holder.
These leaders move from their position as Hero-with-all-the-answers to a new one as Host. The leaders that the world is asking for understand that every human being (as well as themselves) seeks happiness, and believing this, they nurture the essential impetus for people to grow, learn, and feel that they are doing something meaningful. The new leaders don't think that people do what they are told, but they responsibly provoke critical thinking and autonomy. The emerging future leaders know the importance of caring: they are not doing something for someone more fragile than themselves, but they care about getting the best in each person, the most adult, mature, self-responsible, creative, fulfilling, healthy, whole... human! And this comes from a double conviction: in human possibilities and their own growth through stimulating others' development.
They are curious, go to the edges of the system, ask questions to find answers with those who experience the problems, and encourage solutions from the people because, in a world of complex issues, it is necessary to understand that a greater number of interactions and diversity of views brings greater possibilities for a responsive, positive, realistic and often simple solution. We need to invite people to participate and contribute to addressing complex issues. It didn't happen up until now because both leaders and employees were taught differently, on a pyramid structure that sees the person that has the answers only at the top, on a no-questions-asked mode; but it is working on a process of trust and building a work environment that feels safe and welcoming is how you invite people to speak more and more and be involved.
The new leader is a facilitator, taking care of the team and relationships. The host leaders, who don't want to be heroes, and don't care about their visibility or position, are the most needed leaders, remembered and recognised for their relevance. That may sound like a paradox: what is my leadership relevance if I am not taking the decisions and knowing the answers? In a scenario where technology allows everyone to appear, express their opinions, and energize movements, everyone can be a leader of something and feel relevant. But, while so many "elbow their way" trying to find a space to be important, paradoxically, the host leader builds real relevance and authority. Indeed, relevance, as the historian Yuval Harari affirms, will be "the greatest anxiety of the 21st century." According to the writer, to manage the global challenges of the 21st century is to understand our limitations and biases and be ready for change.
We need to apply this vision to a new form of leadership because the 21st century world needs leaders who abandon competition to collaboration, generate value far beyond the tangible, understand that success is not achieving individual goals but creating value for everyone, and focus on building partnerships and networks that bring people together to solve problems and to create new ideas and perspectives. They do not get there first, and they don’t have all the answers, but they forge intangible values, which are immensely more important. They create learning, networking, knowledge, collaboration, and real solutions.
Photo by Edward Howell / Unsplash