Now, I have a confession to make…
I like power.
That sounds nasty, doesn’t it?
We are often told to shirk the desire for power and that it corrupts and if we like being in power what that means is that we like to control others and have others serve us without having them serve us back.
That’s not what I think it means.
See, I see power and leadership as quite the opposite. Having power and leadership requires you to serve others in a much greater capacity than following others.
The power I hold as director and producer is not power over another, in the way it is traditionally perceived as negative, but because I feel that my perceptions about things are often correct, I feel that by having the power to execute activities, I can guide myself, others and/or the group in the direction that is the right course of action.
And to not take on leadership and power when I possess the ability to do a great job of it on my behalf and on behalf of the people that look to me to take on that roll, I fail all those people.
FOR EXAMPLE: Let’s say that you are on a bicycle-build-for-two. You are great at steering, but for some reason the other person got the front seat and they are TERRIBLE at steering. Subsequently, you both end up crashing into a tree. Now, if you had stepped into leadership in an area that requires a skill-set that you know you have and comes naturally to you (steering a 2 person bike) you both would have had a much better ride.
Bringing this back to the film set, the course of action that I perceive when I’m directing and decisions must be made, usually provides the best result possible with the most optimal use of effort.
It’s like, I can see the tree coming, and even if it’s out of the blue, I usually instinctually know how to steer around it.
However, I can only execute this right course of action if I have power to do so.
Power only becomes dangerous if one does not have a clear vision of what a situation is.
In our example, if we switch rolls and I am the one who is now bad at steering the 2-person bike, yet I insist upon doing so and demand the other person sit in the back while I steer, then I have executed power in a negative way by (1) using force and (2) not recognizing what is best for our 2-person-bike excursion.
