Track Down These Details That Undermine Your Authority
30 November 2011
Read by 2098 persons
In leadership, even the slightest dissonance between your image and your status can ruin your credibility. Here's how to bring them into alignment.
A wrinkled shirt, a poorly fitting jacket, a rebellious strand of hair... It's hard to believe that an individual dressed like that could be the marketing director of a major bank! Yet that was the case: this manager, no doubt unaware of his appearance, conveyed an image totally inappropriate to his status as number 3 in the company. And he was surprised that his opinions were hardly ever listened to...
Without our even paying attention to it, many details in our appearance can, in the eyes of our interlocutors, constitute flagrant signals that can undermine our authority, regardless of our level of competence. Looks are not the only issue: posture, the way we move, speak, and present ourselves to others are just as crucial. To avoid being betrayed by our image, let's learn to align our gestures and attitudes with our hierarchical status.
From the roots of your hair to your shoes, take care of your appearance
Authority is largely asserted through appearance, so start by adopting the company's dress code. Show complete rigor, perfecting every detail, from the knot of your tie to the shine of your shoes. Also watch your hairstyle, as it speaks volumes about your personality. Visible roots or dandruff on a jacket reveal a lack of self-respect and poor time management. This advice also applies to women, who sometimes believe that wearing long hair is enough to hide the lack of structure of a haircut. "Known for being women of authority, Hillary Clinton and Christine Lagarde have one thing in common: impeccable hair in all circumstances," observes Elena Fourès. "How can you claim to manage a team if you are not able to discipline your own hair?"
Adopt gestures in line with your status
"Posture plays a decisive role as well," adds Elena Fourès. "I remember my first meeting with the strategy director of an industrial group: she appeared before me stooped and visibly embarrassed, a cup of coffee in her right hand and a pile of files under her left arm. She looked like an overworked assistant." We now know that most of our messages are not transmitted through speech but through body language. A curved back, shifty eyes, an unsure gait, or bitten nails immediately suggest a lack of self-confidence.
To embody authority, you must therefore align your speech and attitude. "Track down the discrepancies between what you do and what you convey," sums up Sandrine Meyfret, associate director of the Alomey Conseil firm. If you don't know what to do with your hands, keep them clasped in front of you or cross your arms when you're standing. Place your feet flat on the ground and make sure to look your interlocutors in the face. You will immediately gain credibility.
Free yourself from the dictatorship of urgency
We have all met these overexcited managers: they interrupt their interlocutors, speak quickly, read their slides at breakneck speed. Giving the impression that one is acting under the influence of urgency is not, however, in any way the behavior of a leader. On the contrary, it is certain to appear as a stressed person who wants to get rid of a chore. Forced to juggle time and constraints, women in particular often seem rushed.
Slowness, however, is an outward sign of power and therefore of authority. Great leaders take their time, arrive at meetings a few minutes late. Just enough to impose their rhythm, without being impolite. They don't respond immediately to emails, and when they do, they prefer short messages. This is to show that even if they master time, theirs is counted.
Identify and eliminate your verbal tics
Many speakers pepper their speeches with ready-made expressions - "a little," "rather," "sort of"... - which reveal a lack of self-assertion. Thus, a boss announcing to his new team: "I am sort of your director" is sure to elicit sneering smiles on their faces.
We all tend to use terms like "indeed," "of course," "absolutely" unnecessarily. However, the repeated use of these verbal tics reduces the impact of the speech. The solution? Record your public speaking to identify and eliminate them.
Avoid subordination postures at all costs
How many women managers immediately place themselves in a position of inferiority by hurrying to serve coffee during a meeting? Other signals betray this tendency towards subordination. Avoid constantly nodding your head when you are spoken to: while showing empathy, you risk appearing gullible or inclined to accept everything. Letting yourself be systematically interrupted, continuing to speak when you are not being listened to, or rushing to reconnect a failing PC - as a marketing director did during her first participation in her company's executive committee - will definitively place you on the side of the subordinates.
To remain credible, stay in your place, respect your function, and avoid any excess of zeal. For example, there is no question of arriving at a meeting with arms laden with documents and talking a lot. If the role of an expert is to give information, the role of a leader is to convey a message. And that requires mastering and prioritizing what you say.
Valérie Froger
Capital.fr
Published November 7, 2011.
Posted online November 30, 2011.
A wrinkled shirt, a poorly fitting jacket, a rebellious strand of hair... It's hard to believe that an individual dressed like that could be the marketing director of a major bank! Yet that was the case: this manager, no doubt unaware of his appearance, conveyed an image totally inappropriate to his status as number 3 in the company. And he was surprised that his opinions were hardly ever listened to...
Without our even paying attention to it, many details in our appearance can, in the eyes of our interlocutors, constitute flagrant signals that can undermine our authority, regardless of our level of competence. Looks are not the only issue: posture, the way we move, speak, and present ourselves to others are just as crucial. To avoid being betrayed by our image, let's learn to align our gestures and attitudes with our hierarchical status.
From the roots of your hair to your shoes, take care of your appearance
Authority is largely asserted through appearance, so start by adopting the company's dress code. Show complete rigor, perfecting every detail, from the knot of your tie to the shine of your shoes. Also watch your hairstyle, as it speaks volumes about your personality. Visible roots or dandruff on a jacket reveal a lack of self-respect and poor time management. This advice also applies to women, who sometimes believe that wearing long hair is enough to hide the lack of structure of a haircut. "Known for being women of authority, Hillary Clinton and Christine Lagarde have one thing in common: impeccable hair in all circumstances," observes Elena Fourès. "How can you claim to manage a team if you are not able to discipline your own hair?"
Adopt gestures in line with your status
"Posture plays a decisive role as well," adds Elena Fourès. "I remember my first meeting with the strategy director of an industrial group: she appeared before me stooped and visibly embarrassed, a cup of coffee in her right hand and a pile of files under her left arm. She looked like an overworked assistant." We now know that most of our messages are not transmitted through speech but through body language. A curved back, shifty eyes, an unsure gait, or bitten nails immediately suggest a lack of self-confidence.
To embody authority, you must therefore align your speech and attitude. "Track down the discrepancies between what you do and what you convey," sums up Sandrine Meyfret, associate director of the Alomey Conseil firm. If you don't know what to do with your hands, keep them clasped in front of you or cross your arms when you're standing. Place your feet flat on the ground and make sure to look your interlocutors in the face. You will immediately gain credibility.
Free yourself from the dictatorship of urgency
We have all met these overexcited managers: they interrupt their interlocutors, speak quickly, read their slides at breakneck speed. Giving the impression that one is acting under the influence of urgency is not, however, in any way the behavior of a leader. On the contrary, it is certain to appear as a stressed person who wants to get rid of a chore. Forced to juggle time and constraints, women in particular often seem rushed.
Slowness, however, is an outward sign of power and therefore of authority. Great leaders take their time, arrive at meetings a few minutes late. Just enough to impose their rhythm, without being impolite. They don't respond immediately to emails, and when they do, they prefer short messages. This is to show that even if they master time, theirs is counted.
Identify and eliminate your verbal tics
Many speakers pepper their speeches with ready-made expressions - "a little," "rather," "sort of"... - which reveal a lack of self-assertion. Thus, a boss announcing to his new team: "I am sort of your director" is sure to elicit sneering smiles on their faces.
We all tend to use terms like "indeed," "of course," "absolutely" unnecessarily. However, the repeated use of these verbal tics reduces the impact of the speech. The solution? Record your public speaking to identify and eliminate them.
Avoid subordination postures at all costs
How many women managers immediately place themselves in a position of inferiority by hurrying to serve coffee during a meeting? Other signals betray this tendency towards subordination. Avoid constantly nodding your head when you are spoken to: while showing empathy, you risk appearing gullible or inclined to accept everything. Letting yourself be systematically interrupted, continuing to speak when you are not being listened to, or rushing to reconnect a failing PC - as a marketing director did during her first participation in her company's executive committee - will definitively place you on the side of the subordinates.
To remain credible, stay in your place, respect your function, and avoid any excess of zeal. For example, there is no question of arriving at a meeting with arms laden with documents and talking a lot. If the role of an expert is to give information, the role of a leader is to convey a message. And that requires mastering and prioritizing what you say.
Valérie Froger
Capital.fr
Published November 7, 2011.
Posted online November 30, 2011.
