Dressing for Tomorrow
How am I Looking today?
When we say attire, there are two phrases comes to our mind. one is 'Professional Dressing' which is suitable to a Corporate environment. The other is 'Dressing for the Occassion'.
Dressing rightly - which is suitable to the corporate culture is something, every Manager need to imbibe as part of his integration with the corporate culture.
If this aspect is missed or not taken seriously, salary increases, merits, and promotions may miss the eyes of the Manager.
Corporate Culture:
Every company has a persona which takes shape over a period of time. The company and employees follow a culture which is beyond an individual's personality. Therefore, an individual need to merge with that culture and follow what is expected by the organizational dress code.
In a typical bank where, employees meet several of their customers daily, a formal dress culture is followed. However, this is not the dress code followed by an IT company. They follow an informal dress code.
Similarly, the leadership of a company follow a distinct dress culture to represent their hierarchy and the power structure.
Therefore, Managers need to understand the dress code and adopt that quickly.
Physical attributes:
This is something a manager need to see as part of his dressing style. A man with a well toned body, can wear a tight formals or casual wear as per his company dress code. However, a person with a slightly obese personality or a completely obese personality, should not ideally wear such an attire.
Similarly a man or woman need to wear a right apparel in line with the weather of that region/country, colour suited to their complexion etc., The right selection of dress material, colour, stitching, readymade or tailor made are all of the choices a manager need to make to impress on others.
The Occasion:
As a Manager, if you are presenting a success story during a client visit, your company may ask you to dress formally. But don't do the opposite. When somebody is new to a company, the easiest way to understand is to read the dress code policy or ask your immediate manager.
But for a team outing, if you dress formally with the full formals and tie, you will become a laughing stock in front of others. Therefore, make a right choice, ask questions, see how peers of yours are dressing etc., This will take you a long way in your career growth.
Invest in yourself:
This is something, a manager need to do as part of his wholesome personality planning. He need to revisit his wardrobe every year and add suitable attires and retire some of them. The Complete Man or Complete Woman does not come without an investment.
A well dressed and a well speaking person, always go places. The return on investment comes to him/her through other modes which will be rewarding, Follow acceptable fashion and buy right clothes for yourself.
What do I Do Next?
Do not dress for today but for tomorrow - Next level
Ask questions, socialize and follow organizational dress code
Dress for an Occasion Rightly. If not, that could be a costly mistake
Invest in self, comes in multiple ways. One method is investment on your wardrobe
Sensible dressing need not be flamboyant. It may be conservative but respectful for an office environment.