The Meeting That Almost Ended My Career
What happens when your most experienced employee calls you out in front of the entire team.
I walked into what I thought was a routine team meeting at Oracle.
Twenty minutes later, I was questioning everything I thought I knew about leadership.
What happened next changed how I lead forever.
When Your Authority Gets Challenged
Picture this: You're presenting your carefully planned Q3 strategy to your global sales team. Slide deck perfected. Talking points rehearsed. You're ready to inspire confidence.
Then your most experienced rep interrupts:
"Lilah, can I be honest? This isn't working."
The room goes dead silent.
"Half the team is talking about updating their résumés. And frankly, we're starting to wonder if you really understand what we're dealing with out here."
You can see heads nodding in agreement around the room.
In that moment, you have two choices.
The Decision That Separates Good Leaders from Great Ones
Everything in me wanted to defend my position. To explain why they were wrong. To reassert my authority.
But I did something that felt completely counterintuitive.
I closed my laptop.
And what happened in the next hour taught me more about leadership than any MBA course ever could.
The Hidden Truth About Leadership Failures
Here's what most leaders don't understand about setbacks:
Your biggest breakthrough is usually hiding inside your most recent breakdown.
That project that didn't go as planned? The team meeting that went sideways? The decision that didn't work out?
Most leaders try to forget these moments as quickly as possible.
Activated leaders do the opposite.
What Really Happened in That Room
In this week's newsletter, I reveal:
The exact words that made me realize I was failing my team
What I discovered when I stopped defending and started listening
The simple reframe that turned my biggest failure into our team's greatest success
The three changes we made that led to exceeding our goals by 23%
Plus, the "failure forensics" process I now teach to hundreds of executives—and how you can use it to transform your own leadership challenges.
The Questions That Change Everything
The leaders who don't just survive setbacks but use them as launching pads for breakthrough results all ask different questions when things go wrong.
Instead of "How do I defend this?" they ask "What is this trying to teach me?"
Instead of "How do I save face?" they ask "How do I get better?"
The difference between these two approaches isn't just philosophical—it's career-defining.
Your Leadership Curriculum Is Waiting
Right now, you probably have a recent leadership challenge that's still stinging a little. A moment where things didn't go as planned. A situation that's keeping you up at night.
What if that failure isn't evidence that you're not cut out for leadership?
What if it's your curriculum for becoming the leader your team actually needs?
New to The Activated Leader? Subscribe here and get the exact framework for turning leadership setbacks into competitive advantages.
Because the meeting that almost broke me ended up being the making of me as a leader.
What's your version of that meeting?
