The Art of Hosting

How to Facilitate Meaningful Conversations and Use Them as a Leadership Tool

The Art of Hosting (AoH) describes the skill of being a host for meaningful conversations. AoH leverages the collective intelligence of diverse and colorful groups, creating a framework that allows as many people as possible to participate on equal footing in decision-making and other group processes (such as change) from the very beginning. This enriches the decisions and simultaneously makes the contributors co-owners—without undermining the formal decision-making authority of leaders.

Organizations face complex questions, often lacking an overview of the various facets of potential solutions. People are dissatisfied with decisions that affect them; they want to have a say and contribute. Democracies raise more questions through elections and referendums than they can answer. In all these scenarios, the potential and creativity of those affected by the decisions remain untapped. In contrast, we see an unstoppable drive in neighborhood initiatives, online forums, and groups that self-organize around a shared purpose. Examples include the "Augenhöhe" films or the book by Frederic Laloux.

AoH can bring both together: it is used for complex questions, makes collaboration more human, and listens to those who might otherwise remain unheard. Leaving their knowledge, competence, and experience untapped would be a loss. The Art of Hosting offers settings, access, and tools to organize this kind of participation. It counters the all-too-human temptation to provide simple answers to complex questions. It harnesses collective strength. Thus, it is suitable for groups of people who want to work co-creatively and step away from the struggle of argument against argument.

AoH proves particularly effective in processes of change.