Although often perceived as a solitary endeavor, in practice it is unlikely for the editor to participate in the process on their own. The social aspect is an important one. When there is a team that weaved the story, gathered footage, and performed during pre-production and production, they will unlikely abandon the project once it is in the Editor's hands. They too are invested in the outcome. Being the power of editing is great and can be pivotal for the project, their input will find its way to post-production processes. In turn, this circumstance can turn into a sizable amount of pressure for the Editor.
This is where it is of utmost importance for the Editor to foster the collaborative spirit. This requires soft skills only seen with the career professionals, as no editor becomes one without them.

The soft skill of the Editor and other creatives that encapsulates the social aspect of the role, may be captured by these simple principles:
* Share the project
* Respect the vision
* Hold your ground

Sharing the project
is the recognition that not all investments in it are only of the Editor. Likely, the director invested themselves unmeasurably more and might have a lot to say about the editing process. Requesting things to be done a certain way, even if clashing with Editors approach, might have a lot of merit to them even if they are uncomfortable to consider. The team's input, even if colliding with the Editors perspective, could viably produce a better outcome, therefore must be considered, tried, and tested.
Here, it might be useful to ask oneself.
Am I listening carefully enough?
Communicating and only proceeding to the next point of argument once made sure the previous one is understood, grasped correctly. Seeing oneself as what course of action should be taken, in Editors role, as a correct response to each and every point of the argument.

By respecting the vision,
the editor falls in line with the rest of the team. Researching the experience that had brought the idea about can be helpful at observing the angle it is derived from. Walk in the storyteller's shoes. The composing of a scene has everything to do with the feel it is meant to portray. The editor must translate all the subtleties that are offered in the footage and sound. Therefore, understanding the feelings that drive the story is a given prerequisite.
A useful question might be:
Is every decision I am making contributing or subtracting from the idea the project is meant to communicate?
There are always many creative avenues to take when presenting a moment, solving a problem and they might differ subtly, but there often is the best choice in the given circumstance.

Hold your ground.
This sounds like it'd be at odds with sharing the project and that's why it is all so tricky. A role such as that of a Director may become too invested in the project, as they may not see the forest from a tree. As an example, becoming emotionally tied to footage or scenes that do not serve the project and therefore insist on including them. The editor, as less partisan in the process and access to more clarity with having the final outcome in mind, might be in a better position to make more rational calls and if that indeed is the case, these contributions need to be defended.
While closely examining arguments before making and delivering them in a calm and articulate manner, here you must ask yourself:
Am I correct with my perspective with respect to the story and the audience?

This brings us to the psychological aspect of Editing. It is something best contemplated by an individual, so exploration of your perspective and flexibility to acquire new ones is entirely an inner quest, but I will leave you with the following: