What to do when your authority keeps getting questioned?

You make a decision. A clear one. And before you've even finished explaining it, someone's already pushing back. Not with better information. Not with a genuine concern. Just... pushing. So you explain more. You walk through your reasoning. You try to bring them along. And somewhere in all of that, the decision stops feeling like yours.

If this keeps happening to you, it's not a coincidence. And it's not a confidence problem.

This episode of Career Espresso is about what to do when the questioning isn't a one-off but a pattern. Not the "just be more assertive" advice you've already heard. The real work of understanding why this keeps happening and what actually shifts the dynamic.

What you'll discover

• Why some people's decisions get accepted without question while yours get picked apart and what's really behind that difference
• The subtle things you might be doing that are accidentally inviting the pushback you're trying to stop
• How to tell the difference between someone who genuinely needs clarity and someone who's testing you and why your response to each should be completely different
• The conversation most leaders avoid having and why having it sooner changes everything
• How to communicate decisions so they land as decisions, not suggestions

Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts.

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