I myself came from a consultancy background always working with like minded people. It was quite a shock when I moved into an in-house role and started working with people whose interests and paths have taken them to different disciplines. Design thinking and processes that I had taken for granted were totally new concepts for many of these people and trying to convince them/educate them can be very difficult task. Reading alot and building up a vocablulary to articulate some of these concepts and looking at the reasons behind them will help and the insights you gain from this in terms of design process/thinking will make you a better designer.

I would say keep believing in yourself, work hard, keep learning, let your work do the talking and you will get noticed.

I acknowledge all the things mentioned above by Rashid, Rutiso.
Few tips for Jane:

a small story again, I know this guy who was in a design school, none in the class would like him so much, so as to many different reasons he had during his school days possibly not financially strong as others, new place completely, unknown language,so he couldn’t mix with them. He went to school in the morning and worked in the evening at a place, did his homework in the night. This was his usual routine.

The homework he did was not quite appreciated by the teachers, everyday he would make it and the teacher would say its JUST OK. But, deep inside this guy knew that he did the best among all( akinda my baby syndrome? may not be), but he believed his work was true and original. He didn’t try to convince his teacher and others. And the days passed still same critics he faced. finally during the exams, the teacher came to him and said,” you did the best among all, you really kept the things right all the time, you’re the best”.This guys today is doing good.

the moral: Its a simple story i wrote above. there is one thing i want to mention always believe the work you do, do it with passion. The results would come when they would have to.

and about the boss, leave him alone.u’re best judge for yourself, you know what to do.

all d best ,
Raj

I learned two things from it:
a) I wasn’t that good I assumed I was … and reminded me of “learning” more on different topics to advance myself.
b) You have to learn the language of presentation. If you present your work bad and without self confident you will alway loose the fight. Even if taste is nothing you can fight for.

But there are possible solutions for it without leaving the job.

Negotiation: Give a little – Take a little. If you offer to change here a bit and there a bit you might not have to kill your darlings.

Explanation: Try to convice with the right arguments. If you can explain you design and the benefits of it … that’s half the rent.

Knowing: Your work and your person are two different things. Sometimes you find yourself beeing attacked. Your work is a part of you. But you have to be able to stand back and look at it as if you are the client. That makes it easier for you and your boss more comprehensible.

Everything takes time Jane. Don’t loose the fun and passion for your work. It won’t kill you, it just makes you stronger. Cheer up.

What dawned on me was when my boss just decided to peer over my shoulder and asked what I was doing. It was then that I realized that it was easier to convince when that had seen some of the process such as paper mock ups, moodbaording or even just plain observational photos that would give insight.

From then on, whenever I had to do a proposal, I would request for a bit of time to throw in some extras that would show them part of the process. And it worked like a charm after that. Though only they have the final say, at least they did not go about questioning my design ability. And all of these happened while I was just an intern. I hope you could imagine what it felt like to be presenting when you know that you’re only a small fry in the company.