Know When It's a Pattern

One shutdown is feedback. A steady habit of being dismissed — with no reasons, no path to yes — is a different problem.

Watch for these signs:

• Ideas are rejected without any explanation
• You're shut down mid-sentence, before you finish
• Other people pitch the same thing and get a yes

When the pattern is clear and the feedback never comes, it's no longer a communication issue. That's the point to raise it through a skip-level or another trusted channel — calmly, with examples.