I was in the middle of a two-day intensive with an executive team - ten leaders preparing for a massive company event. Thousands of employees flying in. Four days on stage. The kind of moment that can define a leadership team's presence for years.

The work with the team was going beautifully. They were leaning in, trying new things, pushing past their comfort zones. There's something special that happens when a group of leaders gives themselves permission to be in-process together. They stumble, they laugh, they sharpen each other. By the end of day one, I could already see the transformation taking shape.

And then the CEO walked up to me. Quietly. Almost like he didn't want anyone else to notice.

"I'm not quite ready yet," he said. And he pushed back his session.

I've seen this more times than I can count.

Here's what I've come to understand about CEOs in these moments. When I'm working with their leadership team, everyone gets to be a learner. That's safe. That's expected. The S...