[Intro]

Monday comes without the badge.
The building looks the same.
The lift still stops on every floor.
The screens still know my name.
But no title waits beside it.

[Verse]

Nora leads the architecture call.
Owen keeps the questions small.
Maya says the testing plan
Needs one more week and one more hand.
No one turns to me at once.
The silence feels unfamiliar.
Then someone asks what I have seen,
Not what I will guarantee.

[Chorus]

I can lead without the badge,
Without standing where the pressure lands.
I can guide without pretending
Every outcome fits inside my hands.
Trust is built by standing side by side.

[Verse]

The calendar has one white space.
I walk outside at half past twelve.
Sabine joins the weekly review.
The Director receives the risks.
No private route around the record.
No green status without context.
Leon asks who owns delivery.
Nora says, "We own the work."

[Chorus]

We can lead without the badge,
Without one body taking every demand.
We can guide without pretending
Responsibility means silent hands.
Truth begins where hidden labor ends.

[Piano Bridge]

I used to think protection
Meant absorbing every blow.
Now I leave the problem visible.
Now I let the answer wait.

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse]

At 5:45, the room is free.
No crisis waits outside the door.
Maya brings a fresh-filled cup
And does not apologize anymore.
We talk about the work she wants,
The skill she wants to learn.
When the meeting ends, she stands
And says, "See you tomorrow, Dan."

[Final Chorus]

We can lead without the badge,
Without becoming walls for every plan.
We can guide, refuse and listen,
Place decisions in the proper hands.
No title makes a person worthy.
No title makes a person free.

[Outro]

The four-note phrase returns.
Three clear notes. One note opens.
Clean guitar joins distorted guitar.
The office lights turn off by rows.
Daniel closes the notebook.
For the first time, all three lists remain unfinished.
He leaves anyway.
