It sounds to me like the problem you suffer isn't SEO, it is the people involved, you included. It sounds like you have poor leadership (Especially if they are

It sounds to me like the problem you suffer isn't SEO, it is the people involved, you included. It sounds like you have poor leadership (Especially if they are failing to listen to your input), an unwillingness to compromise (Both you and the SEO team), and a me against them attitude (Which most likely hurts your cause) when it comes to the parts of a website that you work on. Great user experience and highly effective SEO can co-exist, but it is much harder than most people think and it takes high quality individuals willing to work together, compromise, and execute on a vision that will benefit the corporate vision over all. I’ve worked in the SEO business now for a very long time and I can also tell you that you are not the only one that feels the way you do and every single time I have seen this it has always come back to the quality of the individuals involved.