Humpty, Bo Peep, and the Summit: A Leadership Lesson in Information

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Introduction 
 
We don’t often think of nursery rhymes as leadership lessons, but perhaps we should. I recently participated in the Harvard Everest Leadership Simulation. The experience reminded me of the workplace. In the simulation, each team member had distinct goals and partial information, I was struck by how quickly decision-making falters—not from bad intentions or lack of expertise, but from how information is shared, interpreted, or ignored. 
 

It also reminded me of three familiar rhymes: 

• Humpty Dumpty - a cautionary tale of systems that fall apart. 

• Little Bo Peep - a story of passivity and delayed action. 

• The House That Jack Built - a reminder of how everything we do is built on what came before. 

 
These rhymes are more than just childhood stories - they’re powerful leadership metaphors. Humpty Dumpty warns us about fragile systems, where a single misstep or failure can cause everything to fall apart. Little Bo Peep illustrates the risks of reactive leadership, where waiting for problems to resolve themselves can lead to lost opportunities. The House That Jack Built reminds us that every action and decision is built on what came before, and neglecting the foundations can undermine future success. These metaphors mirror the challenges faced in the Harvard Everest Leadership Simulation, where teams must navigate uncertainty and incomplete information to succeed. And in Everest, as in organisations, those incomplete information can cost you the summit. 
 
The Science Behind the Metaphors 
 
The Everest simulation is designed to reflect the reality of team dynamics under pressure. In the simulation, each team member receives asymmetric information—meaning everyone has different pieces of the puzzle, but no one has the full picture. Psychological safety, a concept championed by researchers like Amy Edmondson, is essential here: it’s the shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking. In practice, this means people feel comfortable speaking up, sharing concerns, and admitting mistakes. Success depends not just on having information, but on the group’s ability to openly share, interpret, and integrate these clues to make strategic decisions. 
 
This isn’t unlike real leadership scenarios: a project manager with a deadline, a marketing lead with a customer insight, an HR professional aware of morale issues. Everyone holds something important, but no one succeeds unless that knowledge is shared, understood, and aligned. 
 
It is important to note, that psychological safety alone isn’t enough. Information must also have clear pathways: structured agendas that surface diverse input, tools that make knowledge visible, and leaders who actively invite and integrate perspectives. Without both the culture and the system to support open flow, insight gets stuck—and Humpty falls. 
 
Key Learnings: The Leader as the Conductor of Clarity 
What made the simulation so powerful was this: the best leaders weren’t the loudest or the smartest—they were the most transparent. They surfaced tensions. They asked better questions. They brought the hidden into the open. 
 
This is what I took away: 
 

1. Avoid the Humpty Effect: When information sits on a wall, unshared and unchallenged. It is precarious. One gust of wind (a misinterpreted goal, a changing forecast) and it falls. And even the best team may not be able to put it back together. Leaders must prevent the fall, not respond to it. 
2. Don’t Be Like Bo Peep: Bo Peep’s sheep may eventually return, but delayed leadership is dangerous. Waiting for people to figure things out on their own is often a gamble. Great leaders go looking—they check for gaps, missing data, unvoiced assumptions. They initiate clarity, not just respond to confusion. 
3. Build Like Jack: Everything you do rests on something that came before. When leaders help their teams understand the layers and how one decision impacts another, they create a cohesive narrative. You can’t “build” if people are unsure of the foundation. 

 
What This Means for Leaders (and You) 
 
Most leadership literature will tell you to be visionary or decisive amongst other things. But what if your most valuable job is actually being a curator of clarity? 
 
That means: 

• Making goals visible (even when they conflict) 

• Prompting quieter team members to share their knowledge 

• Mapping how each role’s insight contributes to the whole 

• Curating information thoughtfully: sharing what’s relevant and actionable, while protecting the team from unnecessary distraction or anxiety 

• Balancing transparency with discretion: knowing when to share details and when to summarise or protect sensitive information 

• Facilitating open discussion: creating space for the team to explore options and make sense of new information together 

 
By embracing these practices, leaders create an environment where teams can navigate uncertainty, make better decisions, and move toward shared goals—whether on Everest or in everyday organisational life. 
For example, imagine a tech company on the verge of a product launch. The product manager learns confidentially that a competitor is preparing a similar feature. Instead of broadcasting every detail which could trigger anxiety or distract the team, a skilled leader highlights the essential message: “The competitive landscape is shifting, so we need to stay agile.” They avoid specifics that might overwhelm the team, but encourage open discussion about how to adapt. This way, the team remains informed, focused, and ready to respond without unnecessary stress. 

In Everest, the teams that did this succeeded. The ones that didn’t, failed to reach the summit. In real organisations, the outcomes may not be as dramatic, but they are no less real: missed opportunities, disengaged teams, burned-out employees. Whether you’re a new manager or a seasoned executive, these lessons are universal. The challenges of information sharing, psychological safety, and building on past decisions are present in every team, at every level. Recognising and addressing them is the first step toward becoming a more effective leader. 
 
A Quote to Reflect On 
 
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” 
— George Bernard Shaw 
 
A Question to Reflect On 
 
What piece of information do you know right now that your team doesn’t—and what’s stopping you from sharing it? 
 
Further Reading 
 

• Amy Edmondson, The Fearless Organization 

• Michael Roberto & Amy Edmondson, Everest Leadership and Team Simulation 

• Karl Weick, Sensemaking in Organizations 

• HBR: Michael Useem, The Leadership Lessons of Mount Everest (Harvard Business Review, May 2001) 

 
 

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