Creating Your Personal Leadership Brand - Dress Code

Here is a great article that I saw today, I want to share about your taking responsibility for your personal leadership. How you present yourself is a key component in defining your personal brand, even on Casual Fridays.

4 Steps to Creating a Powerful Image

Submitted by Lori Grant on May 15, 2009 – 7:32 amNo Comment

Don’t pull a Meredith on casual Friday at office. Clothes matter, even on Fridays. Business image is vital to personal branding. Selling Power’s article “From Model to Mogul, How Three Supermodels Turned Great Looks into Big Business” by Kim Wright Wiley, perfectly summarizes image in personal branding. Linda Thomas, who presents seminars on such topics as “Creating a Powerful Appearance,” “Color Me Promoted,” and “What to Do When the Spotlight Is on You,” says she’s usually “brought in when companies have a promising individual they want to promote who doesn’t know how to dress.”
“Managers recognize when salespeople are diluting their own effectiveness through their appearance, but they don’t want to play the role of fashion police. So they call me.” Thomas says an image of “dynamic and powerful” goes further than “handsome or pretty.” Why? “Pretty attracts people but it doesn’t affect their behavior as much as when you seem dynamic. Then the client perceives you as someone who has goals, who has a plan, and they want to go with you.”

Four Steps to Creating a Powerful Image

Below are Thomas’ four steps to a powerful image with my commentary:

1. Wear clothes that fit: according to Thomas, “men tend to wear clothes that are too large. Women, in contrast, are more likely to wear clothes that are too tight, leading to unintentional (and unprofessional) displays of skin.” From my personal experience, I used to buy suits that were one size too big. What was I thinking? Today, I make sure I have them altered for the perfect fit. The devil’s in the details. Even your sleeve length on your suit is a tell, so make sure your sleeve length is the appropriate length.
2. Be conscious of color: “Light colors in general are relaxing and good choices when you want to reassure people. The darker the color, the more authority it exerts; a navy suit practically commands ‘Follow me.’” Personally, I wear red sparingly, since it’s a powerful color. I don’t want to accidentally scare people. If scaring people is not an issue, but need a bold statement, then I’ll wear read.  I wear black when I want to be more guarded in my situation. I wear black all the time. What does this mean? Nothing, it’s one of my favorite colors. But I do use it strategically, when I have to. Yellow? I can’t find a function for yellow. I don’t understand this color. It’s like brown for me, which is not one of my colors.
3. Beware of Casual Friday: “Business casual has turned into business sloppy,” says Thomas, “with people wearing clothes that are so unimpressive that they’re actually losing power in the work place. You don’t have to wear a suit, but your clothes should still be well-fitting, clean, and professionally appropriate.” I used to mimic what my boss and colleagues wore on casual days; it made me feel like part of a team.
4. Create a Signature Style: “Be a walking illustration of your brand. Women have many accessory choices, from scarves to purses to jewelry. Men can make a similar statement with yellow ties, suspenders, Italian loafers, oversized spectacles, or cuff links. But not all at once – if your clothing has too many interesting elements, it can look like a costume. Choose one signature element and stay with it.” My signature style? Black. Yes, I wear it when I want to be at a distance, but I also wear it because it’s one of my signature colors.

Lions Don’t Need to Roar

Supplement this reading with Lions Don’t Need to Roar: Using the Leadership Power of Personal Presence to Stand Out, Fit in and Move Aheadby D. A. Benton. She offers additional advice on how to create and maintain a favorable impression, starting with appearance, eye contact, posture and other body language designed to develop professional presence. My lessons learned about business image? Over the years, I’ve learned how to use colors for the right situations or meetings. If you combine your image with self-confidence, then I think you have the making of a dynamic and powerful image. Or you could let it all hang out like Meredith in The Office.