By MERYDITH WILLOUGHBY
The corporate world is traditionally judgemental of behaviour, manner, dress etc and without saying a word the clothes you have on your back are telling powerful people how you feel about yourself and the likelihood of your promotion is slim unless you’re willing to dress according to the rules.
It shouldn’t be like this, but it is and it surprises me that in the 21st century the corporate attire hasn’t become a bit more relaxed because we’re told that it’s about the best person for the job – skills and abilities, however wherever you go, you still see the black uniform for men and women. Some look great – some need replacing sometime ago and some look lousy.
If you want to be in a leadership position you’ll need to be aware of how you dress, how you stand and what comes out of your mouth if you want to be taken seriously. You’ll need to regularly review your wardrobe and replace your corporate attire biannually – if not yearly because as much as people say that you can keep classic clothes for a long time, I’d argue with that and say ‘no you can’t’. Old clothes look old.
Merydith Willoughby is an international award winning Organization Development Consultant. You can view information about her first book, If it’s to be: It’s up to me at www.sexintheboardroom.com. Most people are born, live and die and that’s the extent of it, it doesn’t have to be like this. Become goal focused and do it.