Executive Presence by Sylvia Ann Hewlett

Author:Sylvia Ann Hewlett
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2013-03-10T22:00:00+00:00

Figure 8. Appearance blunders

Looking unkempt in ways that aren’t cool is the blunder that tops the list for men and comes in second for women. Fully 76 percent of senior executives say that being disheveled detracts from the EP of a man (rumpled jackets, ill-fitting collars, baggy or unbelted pants, scuffed shoes). In interviews they talked about how a disheveled appearance signals laziness and distracts attention. As one leader said, “Ketchup on a shirt or gravy on a tie catches the eye and makes it impossible to pay attention to more substantive qualities.” So take pains to avoid looking sloppy and schlumpy—shine your shoes, retire blouses with underarm stains, repair fallen hems, take up too-long slacks, and iron your clothes. This will telegraph to those around you that you won’t tolerate messiness in yourself or your work.

One distressing outcome: our survey respondents generated a list of appearance blunders for women that’s literally twice as long as the list they generated for men. It would appear that women are judged, and found wanting, on many more visual attributes than men. Take makeup. A professional woman can commit an appearance blunder by wearing either too little or too much. For a man—unless he is a TV anchor—makeup is a nonissue. In addition to the length of the list, women tend to be judged more harshly than men. On the weight front, for example, a woman can be struck off the list if she’s overweight, while a man has to be obese before he’s passed over. Later on in this book (chapter 5) we shall explore in detail how and why women are scrutinized so closely and held to higher standards. At this point, suffice it to say that some of this critical attention smacks of gender bias. As Linda Huber of Moody’s points out, “There are many more unspoken, unwritten rules for women than men. And while we’ve made progress, it’s likely to stay that way.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.