The CEO rejected my proposal by explaining, “Susan, your problem is you keep creating nine-ton elephants for two-ton cages.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This man was putting the kibosh on a cutting-edge product based on his limited perspective and lack of imagination. What did he know about instructional design? He might not appreciate my creativity and the impact it would have on participants’ learning, but others did. I had just accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award from NASAGA for my innovative training programs. Obviously, this CEO didn’t have a clue. Unfortunately, he had power.

My first impulse was to walk out of his office without another word. Clearly, he needed time to come to his senses, and only after he pleaded for me to return would I grudgingly agree to work with him. My second thought was, “This is where I need to practice what I preach about self-leadership.”

Today, I am grateful for that rejection. It gave me the opportunity to discover three realities and the right self-leadership techniques for dealing with them.

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