The woman who builds her professional edge in the way of gentle persuasion isn't condemned to loneliness and isolation. You can be firm without being unpleasant, and being tough doesn't mean being rude or confrontational. Persuasive and assertive are the watch words."To make the right decisions and push them through, you will need the kid glove more often than the boxing glove," Lumley suggests. And a sense of humor is vital.If you're doing your job properly you'll seldom be everyone's favorite person. But the payoff comes in the form of a deeper liking and admiration. Respect is like money in the bank: You have to put it in before you can draw it out. Don't worry about popularity, work on respect. That will take you a lot further in the long run.