"The fact that they are probably right just adds to the pain." 100% true. It's the dichotomy of leadership. Typically in engineering environments, the debate

"The fact that they are probably right just adds to the pain." 100% true. It's the dichotomy of leadership. Typically in engineering environments, the debate will be to take a risk or not. Risks can have rewards, but they can also have costs. The old guy knows the costs, but the rewards are less certain. The young guy only has a fuzzy idea on the rewards and the risks. As a leader, you have to look at both sides and assess if the reward is worth the risk. Sometimes that means telling the old guy, you're right... but I want to try anyways.