52. The host is both the first and the last... a real-life example of leading in a crisis
Captain Chesley Sullenberger shows excellent host leadership in the 'Miracle On The Hudson'.
This week we have a guest piece from my friend and colleague Leah Davcheva. Leah is organising the 2024 Host Leadership Gathering in Sofia, Bulgaria on 3-4 June. She posted this blog as part of the build-up to that event and I loved it - so crisp, so relevant and so rooted in the new yet ancient art of leading as a host.
“The host is both the first and the last”
– Old Arabic proverb
This is the epigraph that authors Mark McKergow and Helen Bailey have chosen to set up their Host: Six New Rules Roles of Engagement (2014) book. As we make our way through the pages and start thinking of the leader as host, we find ourselves building multiple layers of meaning into the ancient saying. The closing paragraph of the book shines another bright beam of light on thаt same quotation:
“This is a good example of the profound and the mundane. The host is physically there first as they have to prepare the space and get ready to welcome their guests. They are also the last as they have to clear up and turn off the lights.”
and further – an invitation to ponder on how we do hosting and leadership:
“The host is the first – it starts with me. If I do not have an open door, a warm welcome and an open heart, then nothing will happen. Of course I will engage others, we will quickly build things together, the future will emerge, for better or worse.” (2014: 205)
In the work that I do, it sometimes happens that people wonder what the old Arab proverb has to do with leading and leadership. I then remind them of the 2016 biographical film titled Sully, with Tom Hanks and Aaron Eckhart.
The film, a true story, follows captain Chesley Sullenberger’s emergency landing on the Hudson River after his plane strikes a flock of birds and loses power in both engines. All 155 passengers and crew survive and are rescued, none seriously injured.
Sullenberger is the last to leave the aircraft, after twice sweeping through the gushing waters to make sure all passengers and crew had evacuated.
It has never taken long to connect the film action with the old proverb. Sully is both the first and the last. He is the one in the spotlight when he makes the decision to land his damaged plane on the Hudson river and he is the one to execute this difficult task with precision. We also see him mobilising and guiding his co-pilot and crew while taking the controls through the miraculous landing.
And finally, the last one to exit the plane, he first wants to know how many survived. He also credits everyone aboard and the rescue team for the success.
The Sully story is truly powerful and to bring the point home, I have rarely had to resort to any negative leadership examples such as that of Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, misleading its investors and profiting hugely from the collapse of the mortgage market in the financial crisis of 2007-2008. Instead of stepping back and doing what is best for the client, the Goldman Sachs leaders maximised their own wealth and did what was right for them and them alone.
And so, to complete the quote:
“The host is also the last – the one who will put themselves last, the one who may not be noticed in the excitement and wonder at what is developing, the one who knows when to step back.” (2014: 206)
Dates and Mates
The start of the list of sessions and workshops for the Host Leadership Gathering has been published this week. Check it out at
https://hostleadership.ahamoments.eu/#session
and then come and join us for two full days of learning, sharing and innovating as we take forward this new, practical and profound approach to post-heroic leading. Yes, Sully was a hero, and he was a hero in a particular way which focuses on others.
We would welcome workshop and conversation topics for the Gathering. Download the form and offer to lead or host something! We’d love to join in around your topic/experience/question/idea.
