Me as a lead
Four cards about how you lead others: what you take on, what you avoid, what people actually get from you, and what you are learning.
The technique below lives inside Self-Work Navigator on our platform – open it and the steps walk you through automatically.
Open Self-Work NavigatorAbout this technique
Me as a lead is a 20-minute self-reflection technique with metaphorical associative cards (MAC). Four cards about how you lead others: what you take on, what you avoid, what people actually get from you, and what you are learning. The session is designed to be run on your own, in your browser, without a therapist or a registration step.
It fits when you lead people: a team, a group, a project, a family business, a community. On the platform the steps walk you through automatically inside Self-Work Navigator, so you don't have to remember anything beyond the question you brought. We recommend starting with Momentum – it lands well for this kind of work.
When this technique fits
- You lead people: a team, a group, a project, a family business, a community.
- The role of the lead appeared recently and it is unclear who you are in it.
- The feeling of carrying everything yourself, and you want to see what exactly you took on.
When it doesn't fit
- If you have no experience of leading yet, the technique has nothing to work with. That is not about being too early: the layout leans on what has already happened.
- If the question is a specific conflict in the team, take the Four-point cross: it is about the exchange between you and the other side.
- If things are so hard right now that the role feels beyond you, start with a resource technique.
What you need
- 20 minutes alone.
- A general-purpose or portrait deck.
- Recall one recent situation where you were leading.
The layout
4 positions. Each one has its own question, and the card in it answers that question rather than the whole request.
- 1I take onWhat do I count as mine?
- 2I avoidWhat am I putting off in this role?
- 3What they getWhat reaches people?
- 4I am learningWhich skill is missing?
How the session goes
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1
Recall a situation where you led
Recent and specific: a meeting, a conversation, a decision you had to make for others. The layout will be about that, not about leadership in general.
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2
Card 1 face up: what I take on
Pick with your eyes. This is about what you count as yours: responsibility, the mood of the group, the result, other people's mistakes.
- What do I see on the card?
- What of this is genuinely mine?
- What did I take because nobody else did?
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3
Card 2 face down: what I avoid
Draw face down. Every lead has something they put off: a hard conversation, a refusal, admitting a mistake, asking for help.
- What do I see?
- What am I avoiding in this role?
- What happens if I do it within the week?
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4
Card 3 face down: what people get
Not what you give, but what reaches people. These are often different things.
- What do I see?
- What do people actually get from me?
- Does that match what I would like to give?
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5
Card 4 face up: what I am learning
Pick with your eyes a card about the next step in this role: a skill that is missing.
- What do I see?
- What am I learning right now?
- What can I try in the next situation where I lead?
Closing the session
Gather the cards. If the second card surfaced a postponed conversation, set a day for it. The role of a lead changes through conversations like that, not through thinking about it.
If a lot came up
Sometimes the layout shows that the role is not your size right now, and that is information rather than a verdict. It is worth discussing with someone who sees your work from the outside. If long tiredness stands behind the feeling, start there rather than with skills.
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About metaphorical associative cards (MAC)
Metaphorical associative cards (MAC) are a projective tool used in self-reflection, coaching and therapy. Unlike tarot or oracle cards, they don't predict anything – the image becomes a mirror for what is already happening inside you, helping you put words on something that was unclear or hard to say directly.
You can work with MAC cards alone, with a therapist, or in a group. The card itself is not the answer; it is a frame for asking yourself a more honest question. The same image can mean very different things to two different people on the same day, and that is exactly what makes the tool work.