An attractive boss is more liked and perceived more positively than an unattractive boss... More research that indicates the "attractive advantage." I was reading the results of an MSNBC online survey, 61,647 people or workers that found that "Good-looking bosses were found to be more competent, collaborative and better delegators than their less attractive counterparts." Yes, another example of the halo effect. When we see one outstanding positive characterisics in someone we assign them other positive qualities. I discuss this in the chapter on first impressions in my book Success Signals. The ELLE/MSNBC survey also found that most women believe they are judged in the workplace on the basis of their looks. Not a big surprise, nor is it a surprise that men thought their competence mattered more than their looks. Other research on attractiveness shows that over time the 'halo' can get tarnished and people may see the real behaviors, but it takes quite a long time for people to stop attributing positive characteristics to someone who is attractive and some people can't do it at all. It actually creates dissonance in the brain. The survey found that, "About 58 percent of female bosses who were rated as attractive got high marks for competence, compared with 41 percent of 'average-looking' female bosses and only 23 percent of unattractive supervisors. Among people with male bosses, 61 percent who rated their supervisors as good-looking also found them competent, compared with 41 percent for the average types and 25 percent for those rated unattractive."
Many of you know that I have been researching first impressions for many years. The power of first impressions is very strong. So women get out your blow dryers and makeup and guys buy some new pants and tuck in your shirts. We are watching.
