In my career, I was an executive before the phrase Executive Presence was coined. You either had that job title or you didn’t, and moving up in the organization was based on bottom-line performance and who you knew.

Many of us have worked for corporations, served on boards, published articles and books, started businesses and spoken in front of thousands of people for decades – and we still feel anxiety before an important meeting, a new client workshop or stepping behind the podium.

When’s the last time you craved approval? I’m not referring to an official type of approval like from a bank for your mortgage or from a client for your project to move forward. I’m talking about someone else seeing you …

In their New York Times article, Speaking While Female, Adam Grant and Sheryl Sandberg powerfully illustrate the double bind professional women are in when it comes to speaking up at work.

Professional women continue to get mixed messages these days. The Confidence Gap seems to show that we are missing out on opportunities because we are less confident and willing to take risks than our male colleagues.

Risk taking is more art than science. It requires the balancing of information and action, and knowing you are your own “X” Factor.