OK, I admit I have a Google query that flags me when someone posts soemthing on the interweb with my name on it.. I did it during the Colony days to see what people thought of the show.. .. or… more honestly.. what people thought of me on the show. Anyway never turned it off. Most of the time it gives me mention of talks I’ve done.. which I already know about.. occasionally it turns up something surprising … like today it turned up this..
Here’s the text of that article
Does a bad hair day = a bad manager?
Submitted by Adrian Gaskell MCMI on Thu, 20/10/2011 – 11:03
Towards the back end of last year I wrote about a study investigating the influence our appearance has on our success at job interviews. The research suggested that the prettiness of the candidate had a big impact on their success at interview, with the rate of success dependant upon the sex and attractiveness of those doing the hiring.
This followed previous research from Kent University proposing an ideal ‘face’ for management. The study found that appearance was as crucial as attitude and looked at which characteristics were seen to be best for male managers and female managers.
For a male manager, a pronounced brow and forehead were found to be trusted more, while for women, thin eyebrows, wider eyes and fuller lips made up the face of a future inspirational leader.
What risks do we take by employing such stereotyping however, be they conscious or unconscious? Have a look at the photo below. It’s of a man called John Cohn.
He’s an IBM fellow and all round inspirational chap. See this article for some of his thoughts on leadership. At first glance though, would you believe him to be an inspiring thinker? Does he fit the identikit manager our subconcious forms for us?
After all, such prejudices are sadly commonplace. For instance research earlier this year revealed how our weight impacts our earning potential. Likewise height has been linked to earning, with taller men found to earn more than us vertically challenged ones.
In an age when we should be striving to get the very best talent working in our teams, are our in built prejudices hindering the chances of otherwise exceptional candidates?
LOL !.. Bad hair day ?!.. every day is a bad hair day for me… but I make do.. in fact.. the only reason I was told I got the job on the Colony was that I had ‘weird hair’.. I know I’ve talked about this here once before when I was called out in another article (cited above) for looking deranged. .. but I actually don’t mind the way I look.. would I like to be handsome and youthful. . sure.. but since I can’t change that.. I don’t mind looking weird and crazy….. especially if it gets people to listen to me 🙂
nite all, nite sam
-me
Your hair is the absolute best! All of the engineers who I’ve known seem to get more inspiration and are more inspiring the wilder their hair is. Besides which, I think he’s just jealous 😉
Hi John,
Thanks for drawing attention to my article, I hope it was taken in the manner in which it was written (ie in a complimentary way) 🙂
Regards,
Adi
Adi,
I loved the article.. Thanks so much !
-jc