Leading Above the Line

Most leaders don’t realize how often fear is in the driver’s seat.

Recently, while listening to Kara Swisher ’s On podcast (Oct 9, 2025), I heard Brené Brown speak about the “above or below the line of fear” framework. What stuck with me was this: “When you’re under the line … fear’s driving. You’re not riding shotgun — you’re hog-tied in the trunk.” That image captured how fear often commandeers leadership.

Brené observed that most people, leaders included, spend much of their time in fear: fear of failing, disappointing, losing control, or simply not being enough. This is normal.

Fear itself is not the problem. It is information, a signal that something matters. If we did not care, there would be no fear of falling short. The challenge is not to silence fear but to keep it from quietly running the show.

When we are below the line, fear is in the driver’s seat. We micromanage, withdraw, or say to ourselves, “Fine, I’ll just do it myself.” We defend our value instead of creating it.

When we are above the line, fear is still there, but we are aware of it. We pause, stay curious, and choose courage over protection. As Brené and Kara discussed, “If you think you’re being brave… and there’s no uncertainty and no risk and no exposure, you’re not being brave.”

Those distinctions, first introduced in Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead and explored further on the podcast, have become a powerful tool for me: recognizing when I’ve shifted from curiosity into defensiveness and deciding to come back above the line.

Most of us do not remain on one side of that line for long. We cross from above the line of fear to below it multiple times each day. The real work is not staying permanently above this line; that is unrealistic. It is adopting the habit of noticing sooner when we’ve slipped and summoning the integrity to climb back up.

Listening to Brené Brown reminded me how much I want to model learning in real time, not just about systems and strategy, but about emotional awareness. The goal is not to eliminate fear. It is to acknowledge it without shame. To say, “I think I am operating below the line right now,” and know that statement will not meet judgment, but invitation.

That is the culture I aim to build: one grounded in psychological safety, where each of us can recognize when we’ve dropped below the line and feel safe enough to call it out, in ourselves or in others. When people trust that honesty will be met with understanding instead of judgment, accountability becomes easier and growth happens faster. Because when we can see it, we can shift it.

In a remote-first organization, those honest moments matter more than ever. They are how we build trust we cannot see and how we stay human in the work.

Fear will always be part of leadership. The difference is whether we let it steer us or simply inform us. The discipline of noticing, of calling it out in ourselves and others, creates space for courage to take the wheel again. Leading above the line is not a single act of bravery; it is a daily return to awareness, integrity, and connection.