The Necessity of Leadership

By Ryan McMillian

I've discussed leadership as load-bearing, as the setting of conditions that allow for weight to be carried intact under pressure without collapse. I believe the current climate of society could benefit from a healthy dose of it. Serious consideration of the character, mental capacity, and clarity of a leader who has faced the mechanisms that translate the world for them.

We need to be able to see what we are. As it has been said, we don't see the world as it is; we see it as we are. We interpret the words, actions, emotions, and directives of others through the layers of our own experience, through the hidden presuppositions we have yet to examine. We assume too much. We ask too few questions. We believe our first minds.

The difficulty is that the culture we operate inside is not oriented toward any of this. Our instant, dopamine-driven society struggles to leave comfort behind. The idea of pursuing purpose is noble; the road is difficult, because it requires us to step outside the silos of comfort and embrace the friction we encounter when we interact with the world. Legacy? That is for later. Today there is too much to perform for, too short a window to hold anyone's attention. No need to consider what remains when you are gone.

So, we avoid. Responsibility. Accountability. Serious consideration of anyone beyond ourselves.

Full of passion and empty of wisdom.

The distortions are real. Our inability to see ourselves clearly, to consider our own face in the mirror, is a very real blind spot. OATHBORN exists to shine a light. To remind the father in the driveway, the nurse on night shift, the executive juggling operations.

It is necessary.

Your leadership is necessary. Carry the weight well.

Tools of the Trade — Written by Ryan McMillian.

The OATHBORN Audit Field Manual — 19 pages. Seven rules. Three layers each: the Standard, the Distortion, and the Audit question that forces you to see which one is operating right now. Built for those who carry weight and want to carry it well. Get the Manual — $27.