on leading before you're a leader

a weird thing happens when you're building something real. people start looking at you like you know what you're doing. you probably don’t. not fully. and that’s okay. i used to think leadership was this clean thing. clear decisions, confident voice, good posture, that kind of vibe. but that’s not what it is. not early on. when you're building from zero, leadership is just consistency in chaos. it’s showing up every day when the world doesn’t care yet. when nothing works. when your models break. when no one replies to your emails. and you still ship. real leadership, at this stage, is boring. it’s not speeches and vision boards. it’s choosing the hard path when the easy one is sitting right there. it’s staying calm when stuff falls apart. and it will, constantly. it’s being the one who believes even when the numbers suck. and yeah, people will question you. sometimes silently. sometimes out loud. sometimes you’ll question yourself too. but if the thing you're building really matters, you can't afford to spiral. you adjust, but you don’t lose the thread. that’s your job. hold the thread. even when no one else sees it. you also have to protect your team’s energy. in early teams, energy is the real currency. burn it the wrong way, and everything slows down. build around trust, momentum, shared ambition. and it compounds. people don't follow founders who act like bosses. they follow ones who feel real, obsessed, and in the trenches with them. another thing i realized: leadership is not about being the smartest in the room. it’s about being the clearest. the most intentional. people don’t need you to have every answer. they need to know the direction is not random. and maybe the hardest part. you lead by example even when you feel like falling apart. when you're exhausted, broke, stressed, behind on college or life. you show up anyway. not out of ego, but because you said you would. and because the future you're building deserves that level of seriousness. until next, ciao, basab