This excerpt is from an e-mail Martin recently sent me. He alludes to a talk he just enjoyed about leadership and references the concept of VUCA, which describes organizational change:
VUCA stands for four adjectives: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. He said that in this context, volatile means "rate of change"; uncertain means "lack of predictability"; complex refers to the interconnectedness of factors; and ambiguous is lack of clarity.
He said that often, events that cause VUCA seem to come out of nowhere, yet in retrospect all events after can be seen to be responsive to that one thing happening. . . .
One thing he said really struck me. It was drawn from some leadership theorist. He said that we need to move from a hero mentality to a host mentality. The hero thinks: If I work harder, I can fix everything. If I think harder, I can solve the problem. If I take on more projects or causes, my lack of/need for relationship will diminish. If I do it myself, I can control my life.
Instead, Philip said, we should adopt the host mentality. He said the VUCA world is punishing to heroes. But hosts can flourish by inviting others to help, by acknowledging they are not in control, by being less resistant to change, and looking to relationship--and to empowering others.
I realized as he was talking that when I try to be the hero--write the script, control the outcomes--I lose. Yet we're programmed to take on the hero role. Our most popular movies are hero movies. The hero is a basic literary archetype. We like the idea of the self-made "man," the overcomer of obstacles, the individual who triumphs over adversity to earn (supposedly), money and accolades and, through these, satisfaction and peace.
But that is mostly illusory. The perfect job just over the horizon. The one job. The one book. The one perfect house.
We shouldn't stop dreaming--that's not what I mean. But I should also accept that the hero narrative arc may not be helpful for my personal or professional development. Perhaps the host is better: the widening circle, not the path onward and upward.
Not sure if this all makes sense. Just scribbling thoughts that essentially convey: I agree with you. Let's plan, but let's play. Let's "make good choices!" but let those include bicycle rides and hard cider and badminton and great fires and reading and rest.
Today, I widened my circle. At noon I ate soup and read a book--an untold luxury, to read in the middle of the day--and this afternoon I walked with a friend through a forest preserve on Bainbridge Island, where for a while we sat on a mossy stone bridge and took in the deep blue water, stark white sailboats, chalky cliffs. And tonight I will drink French 78s and eat pizza I didn't make. A good start.
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