Why do I get defensive when my decisions are questioned?

When someone questions your call, something in you reads it as an attack on you, not the idea. So you bristle, you dismiss, you make it clear the conversation is over. It works. People stop challenging you. But look at what that buys you: a team that has learned silence is safer than honesty. That is not respect. It is a toll they pay to avoid you. Authority built on the cost of challenging it is brittle. You will make a bad decision one day, and no one will warn you, because you taught them not to. The strongest leaders are questioned often and are steadier for it. Being challenged is not the threat. Being wrong and unwarned is. Next time you feel that heat rise, do one thing: pause and say, that is a fair question, let me think about it. You do not have to agree. You only have to show that asking is safe. Do that a few times and watch what your team starts telling you.