Most of us have learned to think of leadership as effort: getting people on board, creating momentum, driving change. Keeping everything moving.
And while these things matter, they can leave us carrying veiled assumptions:
That influence happens through force.
That movement must be manufactured.
That if we want something to happen, we must somehow make it happen.
Butterfly Lead invites a different possibility. One that many people experience as a rare and unexpected luxury.
What if influence didn't need to be imposed?
What if leadership could feel less like pushing and more like inviting?
What if connection itself could do more of the work?
This short documentary explores those questions through the eyes of people encountering Butterfly Lead for the first time.
Butterfly Lead practice - with someone encountering it for the first time
An uncommon luxury
There is a particular kind of luxury that has nothing to do with status.
The luxury of not forcing.
The luxury of not dragging.
The luxury of not carrying every ounce of momentum yourself.
The luxury of discovering that movement can arise through connection.
Most people have very little direct experience of this. We live in cultures that celebrate effort, persistence and determination.
Butterfly Lead does not reject these qualities. It simply reveals another possibility. A more graceful way of creating movement. One that becomes available when connection is alive and responsive.
Making the invisible visible
At its heart, Butterfly Lead is a practice for moving in connection with another person.
The practice originated in Eastern martial arts, where it is used to develop sensitivity: the ability to notice subtle signals early and respond with precision and ease.
Margarita Steinberg first adapted Butterfly Lead as a way into Argentine Tango, before developing it further as an embodied exploration of leadership, learning and human interaction.
Participants quickly discover that leading and following in the body mirror human interactions everywhere: at home and at work; in organisations and communities; in moments of collaboration, influence and change.
The invisible becomes visible.
The intangible becomes tangible.
Patterns that are usually hidden can suddenly be felt.
Two simple actions
At the heart of Butterfly Lead are two deceptively simple actions:
Create a connection.
Move you.
That second instruction often comes as a surprise.
Many approaches to leadership focus on moving other people. Butterfly Lead begins somewhere else.
When connection is alive and vibrant, movement does not need to be forced. What is invited begins to feel like the most natural response. Leading is no longer about making another person move. Following is no longer about complying with instructions.
Both become part of a shared and responsive exchange.
About the film
This documentary follows complete beginners as they encounter Butterfly Lead for the first time.
The camera captures moments of uncertainty, curiosity, laughter, frustration, discovery and recognition.
Not as participants learn a technique. But as they begin to experience a different relationship with influence itself.
Alongside the practice, the film includes:
- reflections from participants as they make sense of the experience
- moments of trial, adjustment and discovery
- glimpses into Margarita's approach to embodied leadership and learning
Rather than explaining Butterfly Lead from the outside, the film invites you to witness what unfolds from within.
Why this film?
Leading and following are often discussed in abstract terms. Connection is even harder to talk about.
We know when it is present.
We know when it is absent.
Yet the process itself often remains invisible.
Butterfly Lead offers a rare opportunity to see that process unfold in real time. To watch influence emerge. To watch connection strengthen. To watch people discover that there may be more than one way to create movement.
And perhaps to glimpse a form of leadership that is not only effective, but beautiful.
Get involved
This project is currently in development.
If you would like to get involved as a participant, collaborator or supporter, you are warmly invited to get in touch.
If you would like to follow the project as it unfolds — or be among the first to see the finished film — you're very welcome to stay connected.
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Project updates
Future updates will be shared here as the project evolves.
March 2026
Initial concept and development phase. Early design of participant sessions and filming approach underway.