The last few weeks have been full of political and social uncertainty. Every day we switch on the news to yet another tragic story of people being killed at the hands of extremists, and regardless of the motivation the outcome is the same - someone's loved one dying before their time. Alongside this we have Brexit in the UK, unseen by most commentators but clearly wanted by the majority of the population who could be bothered to vote. This has created turmoil in our major political parties with a new PM and the meltdown of the main opposing party. In the US there is the unenviable choice of Clinton or Trump, and while any sane person would surely never allow Trump to take office given his extreme views, he clearly resonates with a large number of the voting public. This morning I listened to a piece on the radio stating we have never been so close to the treat of nuclear war, albeit we probably have short memories as I'm pretty sure in the 1970's people had got as far as building shelters in their gardens. Scary times.
So in these uncertain times what we look for is a strong leader, someone we can trust to steer us through these troubled waters... so who can we trust? I was struck as I watched the various political interviews post-Brexit by how much appearance matters in respect of trust. This isn't about do I think you could be a nice person, but do I think you are competent and capable to do the right thing for the country, and can you pull together the competing interests and individuals and make them stand as one when it matters? What fascinated me was (despite my unconscious bias training!) that as I looked at the slickly turned out, suited and booted politicians and my thought was "I don't trust you to be anything other than self serving", and when I looked at the less well presented ones (often women in this case) my fear was they lacked the impact to do the job well.
Of course appearance is no measure of capability but it is stark reminder for me of the immediate impact of first impression and how in this case it goes beyond just an impression of capability or achievement and into trust. While we can redress the balance on the first two areas by listing our credentials, trust feels more instinctive and as such an impression of mistrust is harder to undo. There's good evidence to show that having a trustworthy face is a benefit, you'll do better even if your actions aren't aligned - nature wins again.
Another physical attribute which has been under scrutiny this week is the tone of someone's voice, and again it's a greater challenge for women than men. A high tone conveys less gravitas and is less likely to be heard, which can put women at a disadvantage. That said, accents can also accentuate or disadvantage people - I'm struggling with the new contender for the labour leader contest as his accent and delivery irritate me. I'm not proud of that but it's a fact.
So what does this mean. The world is an uncertain place and we have to look beyond appearances to be clear about who we should place our trust in. While appearance isn't everything, it does count. so if you are looking to get on in the world, you do need to think about the impression you are leaving people with, both in terms of how you look and sound. What you say is only important after all of this. Clothes, accessories, presentation, style are all tools in our armoury - they can help or hinder you in doing your job well. The good news is that as you get older it gets easier - thank goodness as everything heads south!
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