He looks at me right in the eye and states it flatly. “You’re not doing anything.” Excuse me? I think I have misheard him. “You’re not doing anything.” At the moment I’m leading six committees, consulting to the executive of the business and designing and facilitating three-hour Diversity council meetings monthly. I protest.

“All that. Yeah. It’s not doing anything.”

I’m on a listening tour, meeting with each of the senior executives in my business to collect feedback. I’m sitting with the head of sales and I have to admit I did not see this one coming. He is one of the most important and vocal executives on the team. I am really confused. And pissed. In this moment he has given me an incredible gift, I just don’t realize it yet.

This when I first learned the importance of carefully managing your image. I really assumed that my contribution would be obvious to anyone who saw me working so hard and...