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Jacob Morgan
Jacob Morgan
5x Best-Selling Author, Futurist, & Keynote Speaker On Leadership, Employee Experience, & The Future Of Work
Published Dec 20, 2022
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I recently visited the office of another company and was shocked by what I saw. As I walked through the office, employees were wearing jeans, hoodies, shorts, and even baseball hats!
Was this an office or a frat house?
Everyone needs to wear a suit and tie to work. You work in a professional office environment and better look the part.
To do your best work, you need to look your best. Suits and ties aren’t optional. No excuses, no exceptions. Dressing in anything less than a suit is sloppy and makes employees not put in their best effort.
Science backs me up on this. A study found that when people dressed more formally, they performed better at abstract processing, meaning they were more adept at seeing the bigger picture without getting distracted. One researcher said, “Putting on formal clothes makes us feel powerful, and that changes the basic way we see the world.” You’ve got to feel powerful if you’re going to grow a successful business and make more money!
Suits have long been the symbol of successful people. There’s a reason you don’t see presidents, judges, and world leaders showing up to meetings without a full suit and tie. Suits are practical, timeless, and show that you are a person who matters and who gets results. That’s how I want every one of my employees to feel every day at work.
Wearing a suit also helps employees feel more confident. Confident people make more sales, which means more money for the company! Instead of bumming around in casual clothes or even business casual, wearing a suit and tie signals to employees that it’s time to work and puts them in the mindset to deliver quality, confident work.
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There’s also the sameness of everyone wearing a suit. It’s like a uniform that takes away any distractions. When people wear a suit, they know it’s time to put their nose down and get to work. They aren’t distracted by who’s wearing what or trying to follow the latest trends--they stick to timeless, powerful suits to do good work.
Think about how you show up to a job interview--in a suit! You wouldn’t wear a t-shirt or jeans to get your dream job. Wearing a suit helps people be taken seriously. It shows that employees are committed to their jobs and respect the company and you as a leader.
There’s no reason for employees to wear anything other than a suit to work every day. If employees aren’t willing to wear suits and ties, they aren’t the right fit for your company!
-The Outdated Leader
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Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders.Here are 15 of the best leadership lessonsthat I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life.Get the PDF here.
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37 Comments
William Lugar
Citizens Teller Made Ready for you
1y
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Now I am curious what jobs require it anymore? Because I actually enjoy dressing nice to work
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Walter Dario Di Mantova
Founder, The GEN Lab | Defiant Humanist l Postdisciplinary Technologist | Anticipatory Anthropologist | Trouble Maker
1y
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Wow! In your world “everyone “ appears to be…male.
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Rachel Minnick, M.A.E.E.
Daring to do new things to improve social good.
1y
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Reading fully before responding: Never outdated! 😜
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Chuck Kellner
Strategic Discovery Advisor @ Everlaw | Legaltech Change Agent
1y
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Bah! Humbug! Why does this post say "Outdated Leader" at the end? Maybe because the underlying study is from 2015 and features Kevin Spacey in the lead article about the study? Here are some thoughts about workplace attire that are a little more updated and forward-thinking.https://hbr.org/2022/09/the-new-rules-of-work-clothes
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Fabrizio Salvador
Professor, Technology and Operations Area, Vice-Rector for Applied Research, IE Business School - IE University
1y
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Well, this is standard practice now. But...there are many offices where people would look at you with a surprised face if you come to office formally dressed. This is no good either I would say. So, before it was all about tie and jacket, or formal woman dress. Now you must be kind of informal. It seems to me we are moving from the tyranny of the classic to the tyranny of the informal 😀
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