Repost: The Power of Perception (8)

The Power of Perception (8) – Physical Appearances

Originally Posted: Monday January 12, 2004

I realize that this subject may strike a chord with many. Thus, please forgive should I offend but exonerate if you realize I’m right.

Although I have it on good authority that girl geeks run contrary to conventional opinion (http://www.igeek.com/articles/Career/FemaleGeeks.txt), I don’t believe it would be an understatement to suggest that male geeks lack a certain sense of style. For a moment, consider the geek ego. Fashion consciousness is superfluous.

Generally, technical professionals are engineers used to crawling under desks or working in a dank telephone closet for most of their day; they’re reclusive sorts who spend as many of their waking hours as possible in front of a monitor; maybe they’re a slave to the ACD and interact with customers only through the pleasantries of their voice; they’re highly eloquent when around others of their trade yet shy away from unpredictable social engagements. After all, a good knowledge of fashion doesn’t build you a better computer, troubleshoot a network, or provide higher quality code. Basically, the geek dresses to publicly state their non-conformity and superiority: I am smarter and faster than you, and I don’t have to wear the Gucci’s to prove it.

Unfortunately, nothing screams disaster for a project quite like a tech with a half-shaved head, baggy jeans, a colorful nostril ring, and a black t-shirt reading “Bite Me”. Hits hard to home, huh? Yes, the technical manager may even recall being that way themselves – being young and uber-confident thinking that the company needs them more than vice versa. Those were the days. But we grew up. We realized that the opinions of our customers or boss had a direct relationship to our compensation. So we changed. Yet, the manager may feel some empathy for the statement the young geek is trying to make in a meeting in their choice of clothing, garnering a Dirty Harry approach to winning the trust of others by bluntly suggesting, “Go ahead. Say something. How lucky do you feel today, punk?”

Communication can be over any medium these days. Yet we meet in person for a reason. Public meetings have an importance that should not be underestimated and they exist as important opportunities to win the support, favor, and trust of our stakeholders. Socially, the importance of the public meeting is to build trust and establish working relationships. As a technology manager, we must inspire confidence to be effective. Hey, it’s as much packaging as it is window-dressing, but the suit wins the mind of your audience way before they have a chance to meet yours. As consultants, we’re convincing others to expend scarce resources. As employees, we’re part of a professional team. Being a technical manager means we have to dawn new clothes.

Dressing the part of a bureaucrat seems like the ultimate compromise in our principles of geekhood. The tie, the slacks, the jacket, even the shoes are meant to distract from our one core asset – our intellectual prowess. Should we reject the notion that a suit delivers a better technology project then we overlook the necessity of trust and the human relationship. If we are to thumb our nose to convention and dress in a manner that is all together unconvincing or undeserving of that trust, then we’re not apt to go far in our professional career. The perception would be that we value our non-conformity over the seriousness of the project. And nobody is going to be eager sign a check for you if you visually grain against their principles.

Action Items:

1. Where do you want to go in your career? Is management in your future? If no, then don’t buy the tie, slacks, or jacket. If so, start budgeting. It’s like they say: dress for the position you want to have. Start tomorrow.

2. Ditch the t-shirts. In the least, get some tan dockers, brown shoes, and some button-down shirts. At the most, get to know your neck size and arm lengths and get some nice white dress shirts and some slacks.

3. Have a troublesome staff member? Discuss their future with them. Identify where they want to go and what kind of impression they want to make on others. I had a similar conversation with two of my employees. Two weeks later both appeared in nice suits to prepare a presentation to our internal customers, a move that undoubtedly instilled more confidence in our team’s ability to execute. They were more confident and more successful than ever before, and all because they considered the perception of their dress.

Next time – leadership.

Russell Mickler, CISSP MCSE(micklerr@hotmail.com)

Principal, Mickler & Associates

www.micklerandassociates.com

© 2003,2004. All Rights Reserved. None of this material can be copied or used without express permission from the author.

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