Ashlee Gadd’s book Create Anyway was released on Tuesday. My own copy showed up in the mailbox and it is beautiful. Read the interview and grab your copy!
Last fall, I conducted a meeting that went not great terrible. I gathered a group so that together we could decide what was needed and the best way to meet the need. We did unearth an idea that I had not considered, but the meeting also seemed combative. Some people were quiet because of other overwhelming personalities and some people attempted to dominate the whole conversation. Instead of a conversation, it felt more like an argument. I wasn’t quite sure what went wrong. At least, not until I read one of this month’s books.
I had seen The Art of Gathering when it first came out and because gathering people is one of my favorite things, it caught my eye. But that was in 2018 and it hadn’t moved up my list. However, a friend loaned it to me, raving that it was amazing and she had just reread it for the second time. Unless I read a large quantity of extraordinary books this year, this book will end up on my best-of list at the end of the year.
In that meeting, I abdicated my authority as host. Instead of setting the stage for the people who were coming, I thought it would be kinder to lie back. In fact, this was unkind and Parker explained why. It’s the job of the host (whether of a meeting, a party, or any kind of gathering) to set up the structure for the meeting and make it a place for everyone to thrive. If the host does not do that, chaos results. Or at the least, no one is glad they came. Everyone ends up being at the mercy of the most dominant personality if the host will not manage the scene for everyone’s good. I’m taking notes on the book1 and I’ll buy my own copy too. This is a book that I will return to over and over.2
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Becoming by Lisa Hensley to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.