I've not been called a prima donna, but I am most definitely a charter member of the b*tch club. I've been told that I'm not very "approachable" (read: lobotomized smiling doormat). I suspect it's mostly because I do not suffer fools or slackers gladly. I work hard and at a high level of excellence, and I expect the same level of work and professionalism from everyone else.
How did I handle it? For the admins, I started asking folks to lunch ("you want to do some lunch? It looks like Wednesday will be nice--we can walk over to ....."). That way, folks got to know me personally. I also worked on cultivating a facade of pleasant professionalism. It's not me, but we are ALL actors in one way or another, and if acting will get me what I want, then so be it. (given my former life as a professional musician, this was not that hard, once I learned to transfer that skill).
Fortunately, I have a boss who thinks the same way, so as long as I am professional (and I am), she supports me. It also helps that I'm a proletariat worker-bee in corporate america (*grin*), and with all the downsizing, rightsizing and reorganizing, a lot of the deadwood is gone, and what's left are the people who REALLY work and do not consider the job an imposition on their day.
I do have an arsenal of guerilla weapons, mostly used on the young bucks who think admins are their personal work slaves. It only takes once or twice before they learn... *evil grin*
