Influence grows when people trust your motives during decisions they dislike.

Agreement is easy to obtain when people like the decision. What actually builds influence is being trusted during the decisions people dislike, when they conclude you weighed it honestly even though they would have chosen differently. That trust is built beforehand and spent in those moments.

When you make an unpopular call, explain what you considered and what it cost. Do not pretend it was easy. People can accept a decision they oppose from someone whose reasoning they believe.