Your looks matter

Today's Business Lessons 

 

                                                                                                                       

 

Your looks matter

BUSINESS MATTERS (BEYOND THE BOTTOM LINE) 

By Francis J. Kong

You have your eyes on the top floor of your corporate headquarters. You work hard, creating a name in your organization. However, as I’ve said in my seminars, don’t say, “I’m trying to be successful.” Instead, say, “I’m training to be successful.”

So you read books, attend non-company-sponsored seminars, and join Toastmasters to develop your speaking skills. Those are good for you. But why is it that you still haven’t gotten the promotion that you really want?

How you look and how you dress up may just be the factors keeping you from being promoted. How you look is your visual branding. Your visual branding builds images in other people’s minds about you – images that appear real and that, one day, may just become real. In order to get the part, you need to look the part. You may not like it, but the reality is, in many instances, just looking the part gets one at least halfway there.

Looking good is the price of admission in some careers. Some careers have dress codes because there are dresses that are industry-appropriate, and there are those that are not. In the banking industry, while banks prescribe uniforms, some people choose to wear fashionable clothes especially when they’re with clients. Many people in the creative department wear hip and trendy clothes as dressing up becomes an extension of their creativity and self-expression. But what works for one industry may not necessarily work for another. In the same way, what works for the creative department may not work for accounting.

Here’s a key thought to remember in dressing up: IF YOU WANT PEOPLE TO TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY, DRESS SERIOUSLY!

This doesn’t mean you have to look perfect. Don’t overdo it. Looking “too perfect” may come across as being “slick” or too high-and-mighty. People might get the impression that you’re unapproachable. Being perfect may also communicate being unreal or what we call “plastic”.

Also, keep in mind that looking good doesn’t mean wearing expensive designer clothes. It’s all a matter of taste. Instead of trying to look like GQ or Vogue cover material, simply wear appropriate clothes, keep yourself clean and neat, and always dress with the determination to be “real”.

Finally, don’t dress up with the intention of looking better than your boss. This is just impractical. I know of some people who have a mission of consistently wanting to prove to the world that they’re better than their bosses. This usually gets them in trouble.

Dress yourself up with pleasantness, skill, competence and truthfulness. It’s not true that clothes make the man; it has always been the other way around.