What is the Art of Hosting,
and why Participatory Leadership?
The Art of Hosting and Harvesting Conversations That Matter is a highly effective way of stepping into Participatory Leadership through harnessing the collective wisdom and self-organising capacity of groups of any size.
We believe that people give their energy and lend their resources to what matters most to them – in work and life. The Art of Hosting is a suite of powerful conversational processes and practices that invite people to step in and respond to the challenges facing them in creative, authentic, innovative and effective ways. Built on the core values of trust, collaboration and accountability, the approach has been used to facilitate deep conversations with groups, from small groups to hundreds of people at a time, and address complex situations in a way that delivers alignment and actionable outcomes. Groups, organisations and communities using Participatory Leadership as a working practice report better decision-making, more innovation, greater ability to quickly respond to opportunity, challenge and change, and improved relationships. People who experience the Art of Hosting typically say that they walk away feeling more inspired and empowered and more able to help guide the meetings and conversations they are part of to move towards desirable outcomes. |
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What will we learn and practise together?
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This is a hands-on, intensive 3.5-day learning experience. Join us to:
We look forward to learning with you. |
What participants say:
The Art of Hosting was a revelation to me, except rather than discovering something new, it was about re-finding something that I had forgotten I had already known for some time. The pinnacle for me was participating in the Design for Wiser Action process, which felt like the most sophisticated design process I have ever been involved in and I just want to do more of it. Art of Hosting enabled me to meet a truly magnificent bunch of people, so talented and yet so willing to be vulnerable all at once. The processes we worked on felt like a homecoming and I arrived home passionately alive and brimming with enthusiasm for applying my new learnings. This is the best training I have had in the 20 years I have worked in the European Commission. I am consistently surprised how valuable the Art of Hosting training has been. Working in the spaces of environmental sustainability and community mobilisation, I now have the right tools to host myself to host communities, and for them to then host others and more communities. It's provided me with access and peace of mind when leading community mobilisation projects in Landcare. These courses are a hands down must-do if you want to create change. As an educator in a progressive institution, I have found the theory and practice of the Art of Hosting tremendously valuable as they increase the potential for learning and can create - when well used - a safe space where the learners' assumptions can surface. Some of the key insights about leadership for sustainability on the learning journeys of our MSLS students depend so much on the quality of the conversations we host, and such learning moments I believe would not happen without skillful use of AoH techniques. |
You can find more articles, resources and stories of practice here, on the Art of Hosting website.