David Duchovny, of The X-Files fame, was working incredibly hard, pushing himself from all angles, overworked, and just not seeing the fruits of his labors earlier in his career. He was wondering…what have I done?! He thought he had blown it! He was in the wrong field, at the wrong time, and he had really made the wrong choice with his life and career. How many of us have been there…or are there? He thought back to a teacher’s advice many years ago…

Have you ever been dressed down by someone seemingly smarter than you just so that person could make a point? Have you ever been called out – or even worse – dismissed because you were behind the learning curve on a particular issue? Have you ever been interrupted or talked over, implying that your opinion or perspective was not worthy of even being heard? I have; and it is the worst feeling in the world.

I work with many clients who are struggling on how often to tweet, post to Facebook, or even what to include in their LinkedIn profile. Many wonder how to ‘align’ their public persona on the Internet with who they are, what they want, and how they wish to be perceived; especially those senior executives in large Fortune 500 companies who are unsure if they even need to have an online social presence, and if so, what should they include and how should they move forward? Me too…it can be daunting and a real time-sink.

How many of us have ever worked for someone or with someone that when we saw their name on the caller ID we dreaded picking up the phone?! Frankly, I believe most of us have probably been on both ends of the phone at one point of another – the caller AND the person being called. Lets face it: neither position ever feels good. What are a few basic steps we can take proactively to minimize having to make the “dreaded call”?

We have all experienced betrayal at one time or another. The form of betrayal could be as seemingly minor as a collection of friends excluding us from a special celebration to something as major as a colleague stealing intellectual property or bearing false witness against another. These are certainly not pleasant experiences in life; yet, that is why this life experience is is called ‘earth school’ – we are all learning lessons.

Each of us, at one time or another, may feel we have been thrown into the deep end of the pool. I have personally watched many executives over the years use techniques when they were trying to raise capital for a new round of financing or when they were attempting to lead through influence in a new position – and they have confided in me, after the fact, that they were not really sure what to do. What can we do so we at least appear (or sound) like we “get it” and know what to do?

Anxiety and stress seldom lead to anything productive. Stress can be paralyzing and frustrating. I have a number of CEO clients who are juggling as fast as they can, and they still are not feeling on top of their game. We have all been there at one time or another – and many have unfortunately made stress an integral part of their lives. What can we do?

Years ago I wrote an article on whether it was important to be liked to be successful. My readers weighed in on all sides of the discussion. Amazingly, this topic continues to come up over dinner tables, cocktail conversations, and even executive coaching sessions. Is it really that important – or is respect really what we want? Are they mutually inclusive or exclusive?

A number of my clients are working alongside mentors. Some of these mentors have been chosen by the leader. With others, the mentors have singled out the leader as a high-potential individual with whom they want to partner; and still others have been assigned a mentor through a formalized mentoring program sponsored within their organization. Often I am asked, how do I make the most of this relationship?

Recently I had a friend tell me, unsolicited, that I needed to consider a complete makeover…..hair, dress, make-up, and an overall updating of my appearance, given that I was growing older. After the initial hurt feelings, I began to wonder if she was not only right; it also led me to consider what other areas beyond just my appearance may need a complete overhaul as well.