[Stakeholders] A senior leader wants an exception to process. How do you respond?

I would treat the request seriously, but I would still want the reason for the exception made explicit. Some exceptions are justified. The problem is when exceptions happen casually and no one owns the precedent or risk they create.

So I would frame the conversation around consequence: what the exception solves, what it bypasses, what risk it creates, and whether there is a cleaner way to meet the business...