54. How are you using the four positions of a host?
This part of the Host Leadership model is super-flexible and super-relevant for hosts, facilitators, scrum-masters and Agile folk as well as managers at all levels.
I was excited to see an excellent short video appearing about the four position of a host. I came across Carsten Lützen when he was working for the legendary Danish firm Lego. He is a great enthusiast for hosting and has been publishing lots of short talks online in the past few months – check out his Youtube channel. Here is Carsten’s very nice summary of the four positions:
Four positions of a host
I talk about Host ‘Leadership’ a lot, because that’s how I originally conceived the idea as a response to both servant leadership and hero leadership. However, hosting is a great way to work in all kinds of situations. It is both a metaphor and a model. The metaphor is very powerful in its own right; think of yourself as a host, thinking of the other people as your guests, and then see what you need to do next to help things along. We all have experience of hosting and guesting and so the ways that this works are deeply embedded.
There there’s the model. There are two main parts to this, the six roles and the four positions. The six roles (initiator, inviter, space creator, gatekeeper, connector and co-participator) tend to get top billing as they are interesting and attractive, they can be brought into play at any time, and they offer something proactive to do. The four positions, on the other hand, can in my experience be overlooked. They relate to different ‘places to stand’ as the gathering you are hosting progresses. As such they are not all about being active, more about different ways to see what’s happening right now and think about what needs to happen next.
Carsten’s video talks about the four positions in terms of facilitation. I included it for OD people running workshops in my book Hosting Generative Change. Anyone who has give a party will have some acquaintance with these different stances. How are you using these positions in your work?
In The Spotlight
Being in the spotlight is very much the public-facing part of the leader or facilitator’s role. It is where the action is, in full view of everyone—and everything about you gives off messages. Being comfortable taking the spotlight from time to time is a key part of everyone’s job these days. ‘Spotlight’ moments are the times when everyone’s eyes are on you - the team briefing, the pitch meeting, the presentation to potential customers. These are of course key times. However, there is much more to building successful engagement than simply being a confident presenter. Let’s look at the other positions.
With The Guests
Taking the metaphor of hosting, a good host knows the value of spending time with their guests. This is also time spent in public, although the focus will be different. Rather than being in the spotlight, with all eyes on you, you can take time to go around and “work the room.” This is a much less formal process, and often involves spending time with people individually or in very small groups. It’s time for catching up, asking how the person is getting on, and connecting with others. This is time for discovering and remembering people’s strengths, interests, particular concerns and so on. Lots of key information can be discovered and stored away for future use. Think of how good it is when someone takes enough interest to remember your football team, children’s names or dream holiday plans.
In The Gallery
The gallery is a place high above the action. From there, the room can be surveyed from a position above the hubbub and interaction down where the party is happening. From a spot such as this, it’s possible to take an overview, to see what’s happening without (for a moment) the distraction of being in the hubbub. Time in the gallery is time observing from above. In our normal work life, this might include:
Stepping back from everyday business and distraction
Taking a pause to look at the big picture
Taking a “helicopter view”—looking from above at wider issues, progress and challenges ahead.
In The Kitchen
As a host, we will invariably sometimes retreat to the kitchen. This is a more private place—where preparation is done, where family members may come and go, but which the guests are normally steered away from. The kitchen will be the place in which we work in private, out of view of most of the guests. This can be the most challenging place to find time – after all, life is so busy getting out there! Effective leaders and managers know the value of private time in the kitchen – to reflect and review, to discuss things with trusted colleagues and confidants, to take time to learn with a coach. Even a focused and scheduled hour per week in the kitchen can make a huge difference.
Conclusions
In organisations valuing humane and effective practice, managers and leader will be using all four positions to help gain the connections, perspectives and influence to move things forward smoothly. Which position do you feel most comfortable in? Which one could you use a bit more often? Where is the most value you can gain from spending a few minutes standing somewhere different?
You can download our free ‘four positions’ PDF resource sheet here, and there plenty of other useful things including a video introduction, posters and articles on the Host Leadership resources page.
Dates and Mates
The new fully revised third edition of my book The Solutions Focus (with Paul Z Jackson) will be published on 9 May 2024. It is now available for pre-order on Amazon both in the UK and USA.
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Solutions-Focus-3rd-Transforming-consultants/dp/1399816527/
Amazon USA: https://www.amazon.com/Solutions-Focus-3rd-Transforming-consultants/dp/1399816527/
There is also a Kindle edition and an audiobook is forthcoming. This new edition is subtitled ‘Transforming change for coaches, leaders and consultants’. It’s a way of putting transformational change into action, and also a way of transforming our view of change and how it works. I hope you like the new cover! There will be more about this exciting new edition in the coming weeks.
Follow Carsten Lützen on Youtube with all his short talks on tips and tricks for Agile coaches (and lots of the readers of this Substack too, I think!). https://www.youtube.com/@CarstenLutzen
The Host Leadership Gathering 2024 will be in Sofia, Bulgaria on 3-4 June 2024. Come and talk post-heroic leadership practices with some experienced leadership developers. Open to all, no previous knowledge of Host Leadership required! The list of conference workshops is growing, and there will also be plenty of Open Space time to bring questions, topics and matters of immediate interest.
