Decision trees for people who will be asked to decide
Sit in a real office. Walk two documented crises. Leave knowing who can stop you.
Leadership Seat is an educational platform. Each seat is a real officeholder as of September 2026. Each office has two playable historical cases. Briefs and trees show what the office can do, what it cannot, and who can block a decision.
- Two cases per seatDistinct documented crises. Forks show what the office could do, and who could block it.
- CitedSources with URLs. Disputed facts labelled. Primary quotes come from the public record.
- TeachableAcronyms expanded on first use. After a path, short feedback on how you used the office.
Hard power (force and survival)
Offices that can order force, set nuclear and war red lines, or decide whether a state fights.
United States
- The Invasion Week18–24 February 2022 (historical reconstruction)
- The Baghdad Strike27 December 2019–8 January 2020 (historical reconstruction)
People’s Republic of China / Chinese Communist Party
- The Speaker’s Aircraft2–7 August 2022 (historical reconstruction)
- The AwardJune–August 2016 (historical reconstruction)
Kremlin.ru · CC BY 4.0
Russian Federation
- Recognition Week21–24 February 2022 (historical reconstruction)
- Little Green Men21 February–18 March 2014 (historical reconstruction)
Kremlin.ru · CC BY 4.0
Islamic Republic of Iran
- The Unseen LeaderMarch–September 2026 (composite
- The Red LinesJune–October 2015 (historical reconstruction)
khamenei.ir · CC BY 4.0
Money (who can freeze, fund, or flood)
Offices that set interest rates, write sanctions, lend to governments, or move capital at market-structure scale.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Par Value Weekend10–13 March 2023 (reconstruction)
- No Buyer Weekend12–15 September 2008 (reconstruction)
European Central Bank
- The First Hike and the TPI21 July 2022 (reconstruction)
- Whatever It TakesJuly–September 2012 (reconstruction)
United States Department of the Treasury
- The Fiscal Signature10–13 March 2023 (reconstruction)
- The Reserve FreezeLate February 2022 (reconstruction)
International Monetary Fund
- An EFF Under FireMarch 2023 (reconstruction)
- The Referendum WeekendJune–July 2015 (reconstruction)
World Bank / Grant Ellis · CC BY-SA 4.0
BlackRock
- Fiduciary to the Facility22–31 March 2020 (reconstruction)
- The Russia BookFebruary–March 2022 (historical reconstruction)
Wilson Center · CC BY-SA 3.0
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- The October Cut5 October 2022 (reconstruction)
- The Price WarMarch–April 2020 (historical reconstruction)
IAEA Imagebank · CC BY 2.0
Agenda and coalition power
Offices that set what a cabinet, a union, or an alliance discusses — and what language the table can live with.
United States
- The Paper That Reaches the President18–24 February 2022 (historical reconstruction)
- Days, Not WeeksMarch 2011 (historical reconstruction)
European Commission
- The Second Energy ShockApril–August 2026 (composite built on AccelerateEU COM/2026/370, METSAF, and later NEC energy-security guidance)
- Next GenerationMay–July 2020 (historical reconstruction)
Etienne Ansotte / European Commission · CC BY 4.0
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- Allied ForceMarch–June 1999 (historical reconstruction)
- Unified ProtectorMarch–October 2011 (historical reconstruction)
Intelligence and covert leverage
Offices that brief principals and recommend covert tracks. Played at policy and oversight level only.
Central Intelligence Agency
- The RecommendationApril–May 2011 (historical reconstruction)
- The EstimateSeptember–October 2002 (historical reconstruction)
Ministry of State Security of the People’s Republic of China
- The Attribution WeekComposite teaching case built from the public genre of MSS-related indictments and from Chen Yixin’s 2022–2026 public writings
- The Revised LawSpring–summer 2023 (historical reconstruction)
Mossad (Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations)
- Mandate Without a StatuteJune–July 2026 (composite teaching case
- The Reactor File2007 (historical reconstruction)
IDF Spokesperson’s Unit · CC BY-SA 3.0
Gatekeepers
Offices that control paper flow to a president, or the rules of a public market.
Executive Office of the President
- The Week the Paper Had to Move24 February–15 March 2022 (reconstruction)
- The Evacuation WeekApril–August 2021 (historical reconstruction)
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Circuit Breakers and 8-K ReliefMarch 2020 (reconstruction)
- The Emergency Order17–21 September 2008 (historical reconstruction)