Whenever this happens (juniors questioning decisions which have a lot of context requirements that they don't have OR VPs from other departments questioning something core to my world) I look at it as a problem with myself not presenting the case in a convincing manner.
The junior engineer is probably trying desperately hard to apply something he read in a book somewhere or hacker new the previous day. You will have to invest time to tease out the differences, ensure they feel listened to.
The VP is probably trying to either catch you off foot to make a point he is itching to make to belong OR is trying to ensure you know what you are doing. Good senior folk build knowledge like a tree: Some branches are full and dense, some are bare - but overall they make up the whole tree. The bare branches here would be your core world and once they get a sense of you knowing what you're talking about, usually you should be fine. Bonus if you add to their knowledge without being defensive.
RE time taken for this: I look at it as future investments. If it is a junior dev in my team OR a VP who can actually impact my day to day life, it is worth building that relationship where they get to a trusting spot. If it is a random person, I might just agree / nod my head and move on to wrap up the conversation.
And yes there are bad actors everywhere - tough luck if it is the VP (happens), hopefully you can manage out the junior fella.
The junior engineer is probably trying desperately hard to apply something he read in a book somewhere or hacker new the previous day. You will have to invest time to tease out the differences, ensure they feel listened to.
The VP is probably trying to either catch you off foot to make a point he is itching to make to belong OR is trying to ensure you know what you are doing. Good senior folk build knowledge like a tree: Some branches are full and dense, some are bare - but overall they make up the whole tree. The bare branches here would be your core world and once they get a sense of you knowing what you're talking about, usually you should be fine. Bonus if you add to their knowledge without being defensive.
RE time taken for this: I look at it as future investments. If it is a junior dev in my team OR a VP who can actually impact my day to day life, it is worth building that relationship where they get to a trusting spot. If it is a random person, I might just agree / nod my head and move on to wrap up the conversation.
And yes there are bad actors everywhere - tough luck if it is the VP (happens), hopefully you can manage out the junior fella.