It is never only you. Building on the previous comment, several questions immediately come to mind. When ED “agrees,” do they _really_ agree, e.g. your suggestions are implemented but not by you? Have any of your co-workers complained - even jokingly - about your collaboration style? What have your stakeholders said about your contributions to past projects? When in the past has overloaded bandwidth negatively affected the team or the company? How would your proposals lead to a different outcome? Can you get any insights from observing how other directors interact with ED? I agree with Jiang that until you get to the true source of ED’s concerns, you will not be able to address the problem. Figuring out how your actions may have contributed to this scenario will take subtle detective work because if someone is uncomfortable with you, what they say to your face will not be what they say to ED. Generally I have found more success when framing requests in a goal-oriented way. For example, “I have been in this role for X years and am looking opportunities for professional growth. Taking the lead on this project would increase Y and Z skills, which would help accomplish [long-term professional goal].” The key is being specific enough that if you are not granted this specific request you may be given a similar one.

I guess we have to look into the specific parts or reasoning behind why would the ED not supporting your lead. Does the ED have bigger leadership or visionary concerns? Would a full-scale plan/presentation of how you will lead the project help the ED to visualize where everything is going? Getting down to the core of the problem usually solves the mystery. These are just my intuitive thoughts based on what you have shared :)