The Collective Ensemble and the Subtle Art of Leadership in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among?Thieves

(Also on Medium)

In this week’s contribution to Nuggets from Narrative Culture, and picking up on the theme of organisational culture, which I’m currently exploring in my Cambridge Judge CTO programme, I want to talk about one of my favourite types of storytelling — the collective ensemble.

There’s something just magical about stories told through a collective ensemble; a narrative form where diverse characters, each with their own strengths, quirks, and flaws, come together to create something far greater than any individual could achieve alone. Whether it’s the tightly bonded Gaang in Avatar: The Last Airbender, the unlikely yet endearing adventurers in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, or the cunning, cutthroat crew of Six of Crows, these stories always hit the right emotional chords for me.

I love how these narratives showcase that it’s not individual heroics but cooperation and collaboration that create the most compelling stories. The best teams, like the best ensembles in fiction, don’t succeed because of a singular genius but because of chemistry, adaptability, and trust.

And the secret ingredient? Contingency. The best teams aren’t just built to execute a single plan; they’re designed to react, adapt, and pivot. There’s hubris in assuming one approach, one lineup, or one strategy will work flawlessly. Assembling an effective team means thinking ahead; covering blind spots, ensuring adaptability, and planning for failure without being paralysed by it. Much like twisting a Rubik’s Cube a few times to test the pattern, leadership is about assessing whether the structure holds in different scenarios.

The Role of the Collective Ensemble

The pull of Dungeons & Dragons lies in its emphasis on the collective over the individual. Each character brings a unique skill set, with their own strengths, weaknesses, and eccentricities. Holga’s brute strength complements Simon’s wavering magic; Doric’s wild shape fills in gaps the others can’t cover. Together, they’re a chaotic yet perfectly balanced force that, when stitched together, can tackle anything, even a Red Wizard.

This mirrors real-world team dynamics. Success doesn’t come from stacking a group with high performers who all think the same way; it’s about creating an ensemble where individual strengths compensate for each other’s blind spots.

Much like Kaz Brekker’s crew in Six of Crows, the best teams aren’t just built for when everything goes smoothly; they’re designed for when things go sideways. Jesper’s sharpshooting is backed up by Inej’s stealth; Nina’s Grisha powers are as useful in combat as they are in negotiations; Wylan’s demolitions expertise is both an offensive weapon and a problem-solving tool. Kaz never builds a plan with a single outcome in mind; his genius lies in constructing multiple layers of fail-safes so that if one route is blocked, another is already forming.

And this isn’t just a trait of morally grey heist crews; it’s at the heart of Team Avatar. Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph don’t just work together; they compensate for each other’s weaknesses. Sokka, the strategist, doesn’t have bending abilities, but he provides the team with leadership and tactical foresight. Katara, the heart of the group, brings emotional intelligence alongside her formidable waterbending. Toph’s earthbending might be unmatched, but her blunt, no-nonsense attitude needs Katara’s patience and Aang’s optimism to keep balance. The result is a team that isn’t just powerful but resilient, they can shift and adjust depending on the challenge at hand, rather than relying on one fixed way of winning

This is how the best teams operate: deliberately creating redundancies, planning for worst-case scenarios, and building in flexibility. It’s not about assuming failure; it’s about ensuring that when failure happens, the system bends instead of breaking.

Edgin’s Paradoxical Leadership

Edgin, the bard and self-proclaimed leader in Honor Among Thieves, isn’t the smartest, strongest, or most skilled member of the group. But he doesn’t need to be. His real strength lies in identifying and orchestrating the talents of those around him. His plans, despite their tendency to unravel, serve a greater purpose; bringing people together, setting a direction, and fostering trust. His self-awareness and humour, especially when faced with the group’s scepticism, highlight the humility of a leader who doesn’t need to dominate but simply facilitate.

The running joke about Edgin’s plans “always failing” actually highlights an important leadership truth; not every plan needs to succeed, but every plan should serve as a framework for creative problem-solving. In failing, the team learns to adapt, improvise, and lean on each other’s strengths. A good leader understands this dynamic; failure isn’t a dead end but a redirection.

Interestingly, Kaz Brekker operates in a similar yet contrasting way. His plans are meticulous, but they are layered with contingencies. His genius doesn’t lie in creating one flawless strategy but in constructing a network of possibilities, ensuring that if one domino falls, another is already tipping the balance back in his favour. He never assumes a plan will hold, he assumes it will break, and that’s why his team thrives.

There’s a lesson here for leadership; never assume the first iteration of a plan or a team is the final one. Test it, question it, and assess the blind spots before they become the problem.

The Leader as a Connector with Vision

Edgin’s real power isn’t in his plans but in his ability to connect people, keep them aligned to a shared purpose, and remind them of what they’re fighting for. In modern workplaces, the best leaders do the same. They don’t just manage or direct; they inspire. A great leader provides a clear moral compass and a compelling vision. This vision isn’t just about hitting a target; it’s about giving the team a purpose they believe in and that they can hit the target as a group.

Leadership is about creating emotional connections, helping every individual see their role in the bigger picture and feel the weight of their contribution. A leader’s moral compass provides stability in moments of uncertainty, while their vision keeps the team moving forward when things get tough.

Even in the morally grey world of Six of Crows, Kaz understands this. He knows his crew isn’t just in it for money, each of them has their own motivations, fears, and hidden scars, and his strength as a leader lies in knowing what drives them and aligning their goals. He doesn’t just assemble a crew; he builds a system that compensates for weaknesses, amplifies strengths, and ensures no single failure dooms the mission.

End Credits

The idea of the collective ensemble is deeply resonant for me, not just in storytelling but in how I approach life and teamwork. I’ve always seen the makeup of a team as greater than the sum of its parts. My ethos is to look at the unique strengths and contributions of each individual and work toward synergy and complementarity rather than obsessing over perfection or chasing an ideal of ‘elite talent’.

But I also believe in contingencies. A leader’s job isn’t just to assemble a capable group — it’s to ensure the ensemble holds under stress, through failure, and in the unknown. Leadership isn’t about having a singular ‘best’ plan; it’s about ensuring that when the first option falters, the second or third option is already in motion.

As in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Avatar: The Last Airbender, or Six of Crows, the real magic happens when we embrace diversity, value adaptability, and build something extraordinary together. Leadership isn’t about perfection; it’s about creating the conditions for people to thrive, plans to evolve, and solutions to emerge.

References

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Avatar: The Last Airbender (TV Series 2005–2008)

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

About Nuggets from Narrative Culture

Nuggets from Narrative Culture is my way of sharing the cool ideas and life lessons I find in the stories I love — whether it’s a movie, TV show, book, anime, or comic. For me, consuming stories isn’t just about entertainment; it’s about sparking curiosity and expanding the way I see the world. Stories inspire me, challenge me, and help me grow.

Through a series of posts, I’ll take you on a journey into narrative culture — a fancy way of saying “the stories we create and share.” I’ll pull out lessons, insights, and takeaways you can use in your own life. Whether it’s a thought-provoking line, a character’s growth, or a moment that shifts your perspective, Nuggets from Narrative Culture is about finding meaning in the stories that spark our imagination.