Clawed: What a Micro-Budget Film Taught Me About Leadership

"Come with me. Save yourself. You don’t owe these people anymore. You’ve given them everything."
"Not everything… not yet."

There’s something about that exchange between Catwoman and Batman that has always stayed with me.

Leadership, at its core, lives in that tension — between stepping away and stepping forward. Between comfort and responsibility. Between what you’ve done… and what’s still required.

The Setup

In the summer of 2018, I was operating in a familiar space — producing small creative projects, building a network, and executing behind the scenes. I was comfortable there.

Then an opportunity presented itself.

Jasmine Wright, a talented actress I had worked with, wanted to create a short fan film — something bold, character-driven, and rooted in a morally grey superhero world. She asked me to direct.

It sounds simple. It wasn’t.

• Budget: Under $3,000

• Timeline: Tight

• Crew: Small, largely meeting for the first time on set

• Expectation: Make it feel far bigger than it was

And me?

I had experience producing.
Directing — especially someone else’s vision — was different.

The Leadership Challenge

Directing this project meant stepping into a role I hadn’t fully claimed yet.

No title was going to make me credible on that set.
No prior project was going to carry me through uncertainty.

The only thing I had was behavior.

This is where leadership became real.

Not theoretical. Not positional.

Operational.

Modeling the Standard

Going into production, I didn’t overcomplicate my approach. I focused on a few principles that would define how I showed up:

1. Show Up — Fully

Presence was non-negotiable.

Whether it was pre-production meetings, virtual check-ins, or the long overnight shoot, I made a simple commitment:

If I expect the team to give their best, I need to be visibly invested at every stage.

No shortcuts. No half-engagement.

2. Create Trust Quickly

Most of the crew would meet me for the first time on set.

That meant trust had to be established fast — not through speeches, but through signals:

• Preparedness

• Clarity

• Respect for their craft

I didn’t micromanage. I empowered.

3. Set the Tone Early

At the start of production, I shared three simple philosophies:

• Show up as yourself — bring your creativity to the table

• Operate with autonomy — act without waiting to be told

• Communicate early — problems shared early are problems solved

That wasn’t just direction.
That was culture — set in minutes.

4. Lead Through Behavior, Not Authority

On a set like this, titles don’t carry weight — execution does.

So I focused on:

• Staying composed under pressure

• Making decisions quickly when needed

• Remaining collaborative without losing direction

If something needed to be done, I moved first.

That became the standard.

The Lesson

Before this project, I thought leadership was something you grew into over time.

After it, I understood something different.

Leadership is not something you wait to feel ready for.
It’s something you step into — and then prove through behavior.

No one followed me because I was the director.

They followed because:

• I showed up

• I was prepared

• I respected their contribution

• I made the work matter

That’s what leadership looks like when stripped down to its essentials.

Final Thought

There will always be a moment when you’re asked — directly or indirectly — to step forward.

To take ownership.
To carry the weight.
To lead.

And in that moment, the question isn’t:

“Am I ready?”

It’s:

“What standard am I willing to model?”

Because in the end, that’s what people follow.