Leverage Your Leadership Presence: Part 2
Your leadership presence is a valuable contributor to your effectiveness as a leader. It influences how you are perceived and the impact you have. In Part 1 of this post, I talked about how leadership presence is not a given based on your title, smarts, expertise, or leadership skill, but is a quality that needs to be cultivated and managed.
In this post, we’ll explore the power of your Clothing & Appearance on how you are perceived as a leader.
Clothing & Appearance
Your appearance matters as it gives those you lead another way to assess your leadership presence. Your choice of clothing, accessories, the colors you wear, how you style your hair all impact your appearance and can work towards enhancing your leadership presence or minimizing it.
Context is so important in determining what is appropriate for you to wear to work. Are you in a corporate or informal environment? Do you own your own business? Do you telecommute and primarily interact through Zoom meetings? Does your company have a dress code policy? What type of industry are you in? What is your role? Are you in the public eye? What outfits make you feel most confident? Where do you work? Snazzy boots and skinny jeans may work in a creative office environment in New York City but can be career suicide on the Hill in Washington DC. The key is to be smart about your career wardrobe, no matter where you work or what you do.
If your sights are set on the corner office or the equivalent then you’ll want to know how to perfect a polished professional presence using these six wardrobe tips.
1. You’ve heard this before but it is worth repeating. Always dress for a higher position than you currently occupy. Dressing for the position you are aspiring to will also boost your confidence in your ability to achieve it.
2. Invest in quality pieces. Your clothing can be one of your more important career “investments”. Look for timeless well made designs and mix these up with more stylish accents depending on your personal style.
3. Pay attention to the accent pieces that make you stand out and where you can express more of your own unique élan.
4. Only wear what fits you perfectly. Have your clothing altered by professionals as needed or pay attention to the designers and brands that work well for your figure and proportions. If your $1500 Calvin Klein suit puckers, pulls, or is too tight or loose, you’re better off wearing a cheaper alternative that fits you impeccably.
5. Ask yourself what type of image is important for your career. The context of your job demands certain expectations, and you need to be clear on what you need to communicate (via your image) for your position, corporate culture, and industry.
6. I can never emphasize enough the importance of using color strategically. This is especially important from the waist up, and if most of your meetings are happening virtually.
While your wardrobe is what people notice first, it is important to emphasize that your non-verbal cues like your posture, eye contact, aura of confidence, personality, energy, and more have as much to do with how you are perceived as your clothing. Need more style tips? You can read lots more in my Amazon best-selling book, Frumpy to Fabulous: Flaunting It.
If you feel your image misfires have less to do with your clothes and more to do with other aspects of your presence, let’s chat.
In the meantime, abound in your brilliance!
Natalie Jobity is a leadership and career coach, consultant, brand strategist, bestselling author, mentor, speaker, and facilitator who has earned a reputation as "The Brilliance Unveiler." She empowers female leaders to live in the fullness of their purpose and unveil their brilliance by leveraging the power of their strengths, expertise, and distinctiveness, so they make transformative impact in their sphere of influence.
Visit Natalie’s website to learn more about how she partners with leaders with her signature “Unveil Your Brilliance” program and her "Brand Your Biz Like a Boss" consulting service.