Everyone is different, but a skill you develop over the course of a PhD is how to set the tone of the conversation and how to make things move in the right direction when engaging apathetic or even resistant attitudes. Simply put you learn how to set the agenda. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. But with an issue as big as your research question, be receptive to ideas, but only you can see the big picture. Otherwise it will be a hard 3-4 years.