Wearing the right clothes is a fundamental element of good leadership, according to an international study published yesterday.
Researchers at Exeter, St Andrews and Australian National universities have effectively shattered the myth that ‘good’ leaders must have a specific set of qualities.
Instead, their study shows that leaders must embody the qualities and opinions of the group they seek to influence, even down to the clothes they wear.
Being dressed in a way that makes the group perceive the leader as being ‘one of us’ is a trait of the best leaders, says the study published in the journal Scientific American Mind.
The idea being that once a leader shapes themselves to fit the group they need to influence, it will be easier for them to shape the group to fit the leader’s policies.
Evidencing the claim, the researchers cited Margaret Thatcher, former prime minister, as a ‘one of us’ leader, who altered her dress, her hair, and her voice to resemble Britannia.
Similarly, George Bush, in his jeans, leather jackets and cowboy boots, attempts to come across as an ‘American everyman’ – “even his gaffes make him appear like a regular guy,” the researchers said.
Prof Alex Haslam of the University of Exeter’s, co-author of the study, advised wannabe leaders to transform themselves so that their personal biography and even their personal appearance come to be symbolic of the group as a whole.”
Traditionally, scholars identified personal traits such as charisma and intelligence to be the key to effective leadership, suggesting good leaders can dominate followers by sheer force of will.
“In recent years, however, a new picture has emerged,” said Prof Steve Reicher, a social psychologist at St Andrews.
“Effective leaders - whether bosses, community leaders or heads of state - must work to understand the values and opinions of their followers before trying to mould them accordingly.’
The researchers believe that by symbolising ‘who we are’, leaders are in a position to shape ‘what we want’ and ‘what we should do’.
Aug 21, 2007
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