The Boring Truth About Wardrobe
Ben Butina, Ph.D., SPHR
?? Host of Department 12: An #IOPsych Podcast | Director @ ASPCA | Learning & Development Leader
Heads up, new managers! You will be judged based on your appearance. Your employees, your peers, and your boss are all going to make assumptions about you based on what you're wearing.
They won't do this because they're judgmental or superficial. They'll do it because they're human. It's part of our wiring. This kind of snap judgment is immediate and involuntary. We don't even do it, really. It just happens to us.
Let's pretend you've just had an accident and you're limping toward the closest emergency room. As you approach the hospital, you see this guy sitting on the curb.
Is he a doctor?
Maybe. Maybe he's the best damn doctor in the hospital. But you're mind doesn't go there at first because of the way he's dressed. If he starts giving you medical advice, you're going to have to overcome a mental hurdle to take him seriously. He placed that mental hurdle in front of you because he's not dressed the way you expect a doctor to dress.
Like it or not, your clothes send a message. And here's the most important thing to remember: The message you intend to send doesn't matter. What matters is the message the other person actually receives.
This gap between the intended message and the received message is where some new managers mess up. Here are the three most common rookie mistakes.
Underdressing
Example: Everyone in your investment firm wears suits, but you're rocking khakis and polo shirts.
What You Intend to Communicate: "I'm laid back and not too hung up on myself or appearances. You can talk to me anytime."
The Message Others Actually Receive: "I'm not taking this job seriously."
Overdressing
It's a factory floor where everyone gets their hands dirty, but you show up every day in khakis, a button-down shirt, and a blazer.
What You Intend to Communicate: "I'm taking this role very seriously."
The Message Others Actually Receive: "I think I'm too good for this job. I'm slumming it briefly, but I'll be gone in six months, tops."
Dressing Weird
Your non-profit tends toward business casual, but you wear long, flowing dresses and scarves.
What You Intend to Communicate: "I'm a free spirit expressing my individuality. I'm bringing my real self to work and you can, too."
The Message Others Actually Receive: "I lack the social skills to know how to dress properly."
So you shouldn't overdress, underdress, or dress weird. That leaves you with only one choice, right?
Be Boring
The guideline is dead simple: Figure out what other managers at your level are wearing in your company and wear that. The only message you want to communicate to others is: "I am a manager at this company."
Boring, right? That's the point. People shouldn't notice what you're wearing and you shouldn't place any mental hurdles that get in the way of them taking you seriously as a manager.
This is part of a series of articles for new managers. If you enjoyed this post, check out the other articles in the series: Promotion Shock, The Boring Truth About Wardrobe, The Near Mentor, Listen to Everything, Promise Nothing, Your First Day, Don't Mention It, Ask And You Shall Receive, What Got You Here Blah, Blah Blah, You are Not the Yardstick, The Most Important Meeting, You're on the Air, Your People Come First, Your First One-On-Ones, and Perspective-Taking: An Overlooked Skill for New Managers.
Higher Education Administrator
5 年The old adage still holds true, “When in Rome, Do as the Romans do”.
I have to agree with this article somewhat and in some respects I do not agree. Given the millineal generation, ethnic groups, different religions, and LBGTQ employees in the work place this is changing drastically. Here is an article on an act that addressed natural hair https://thegrio.com/2019/07/05/the-crown-act-california-becomes-the-first-state-to-protect-natural-hair/?? Additionally, I presented a PDW at a conference entitled The hair revolution: An Emergence in Organizational Management at the Boje? 8th Annual Storytelling Conference, December 2018 that had the diverse group sharing their hair stories or non-hair stories in the case of a gentleman that experienced bias due to baldness which was hereditary. ???????????????????????????????????????? Just this week alone I attended an induction ceremony of a Native American female CEO at El Pomar foundation. I discovered that I had much in common with this culture as a Sierra Leonean descendant, yet a descendant of the African Diaspora (now a dual citizen). The inductee's brother Don Coyis, a Native American tribal member's speech highlights were relatable. Coyis is the founder of White Bison, an organization that has a mission to help Native American's beat alcoholism and remain sustainable socially. I learned about Native American tribal beliefs, values, and norms and their importance to this ethnic group and this organization's mission. Cultural awareness including attire was an underlying theme. Even by colleagues from Finland shared with me that ethnic group name vs. calling someone black or white was more appropriate and scholarly. Coyis shared that Finland has a tribe too which was new to me. ? ?? Another example was a tour of a facility for a financial firm that I was invited to take while there to meet with managers. Most of the interns had tennis shoes, jeans, and many of the female gender had short skirts and no panty hose on. I looked at what I was wearing and thought "Why are they dressed this way as college students in this professional setting?" "Am I overdressed in my navy professional mid-calf dress with my pearl necklace and earrings?" I encourage all of us to become organizationally and ethnically cultural aware especially since much is becoming the law and this would extend to workplace attire.
Strategic Growth Orchestrator | Champion of Innovation & Operational Empowerment | Board Member with a Heart for Community Advocacy
5 年Sometimes our personalities must show up in different ways - though our work output and interactions. Clothes are a different way to create a container for perception. I’ve seen it over and over professionally ...sometimes playing to others perceptions opens doors for us.
Director of Talent
5 年I agree, to a point. I think the message is awareness of perception and adjusting when needed. But, I think expressing creativity through your clothes doesn’t have to die if you take a manager role, you just need to know when you can amp it up versus down.