Article 1: What If Leadership Isn’t What We’ve Been Taught to Chase?

Apr 17 — 1 min read
Written by Dr. Chris Thompson

We’ve been trained to measure leadership by titles, headshots, speaking fees, and seat counts. But what if leadership isn’t found at the front of the room—but in the silence after a hard question is asked and no one rushes to answer?

What if the most transformative leadership isn’t loud, but deeply tuned in?

I’ve started asking myself—and the leaders I work with—not what they lead, but what leads them. Is it the pressure to prove, or the purpose to disrupt gently and justly?

Respectful Disruption Leadership (RDL) reminds us that our authority doesn’t come from asserting control, but from making space. It dares us to trade certainty for curiosity, perfection for presence. It asks:

• Who am I when no one’s watching?

• What systems benefit from my silence?

• How can I disrupt without burning it all down?

This isn’t theoretical. It’s about real leaders doing real work under real constraints. Sometimes you don’t need a five-year plan. Sometimes you just need a pause. A pivot. A question that sits heavy in the room like: What are we pretending not to know?

Leadership, in this time, isn’t a crown. It’s a mirror. Hold it gently. Look in it often.