The Highlander September 2016 Vol VIII Issue I
Carlmont High School — Belmont, California
www.scotscoop.com
Twitter: @scotscoopnews
BMI less than 30 Deep voice
height exceeding 6 feet
Confident stature
AVERY ADAMS
Picking apart the successful professional
Certain physical features determine dominance in business world Megan Tao
No suit, no tie, no promotion. Unfortunately, the idea that looks matter doesn’t stay in the high school environment. The high school election isn’t the only competition determined by popularity and looks, as the workforce has also fallen victim to the idea that looks matter. Some important traits of a successful business leader are being organized, credible, and devoted to their work. “A successful business leader needs to be somebody who is not afraid to stand out, which requires risk taking and courage because success comes at the risk of failure,” said ASB and leadership teacher Jim Kelly. These are all reasonable adjectives that describe CEOs. However, people don’t talk about the other traits that one looks for when choosing a CEO. The physical traits. According to a study done at the Australian National Univer-
sity, a 6-foot tall man can earn about 1.5 percent more than a workmate who is 5-foot-10. “The wage gain from another 2 inches of height is approximately equal to the wage gain from one more year of labor market experience,” said Professor Andrew Leigh, who led the study. Leigh explained the results of the study to be stemmed from the idea that taller people command more respect than shorter people. “I think that height shouldn’t matter because it doesn’t define anything that you’re capable of doing,” said freshman Sarah Stulbarg. Having a tall stature is linked with confidence, which helps with being a successful leader, but there are other ways to contribute and lead a team. “While I lack in height, I try to make it up with having a big presence in whatever organization I’m leading by establishing credibility, being productive, contributing, and building strong relationships with my peers,” said ASB Presi-
THE FUTURE REALITY
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dent Liam Jocson. Another physical attribute that is associated with successful business leaders is having a deep voice. According to The Economist, “[students] from the business schools of University of San Diego and Duke University listened to 792 male CEOs give presentations, and found that those with the deepest voices earned $187,000 a year more than the average.” This isn’t a new trend. In the late 19th century, successful businessmen were stereotypically overweight as they could afford to indulge themselves. Although the idea that looks matter affects the majority of business people, its effects are seen more so with women. One issue that is ingrained into our society is the belief that women can’t be successful in leadership roles. Women tend to be shorter and have higher-pitched voices. Now, this poses the question of
whether the physical attributes we associate with successful business leaders are intentionally based on traits women don’t have or if the traits stem from already successful business leaders of this century. “These attributions are set because they are based on society’s perception of what successful is; if you look at Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs, you see white males being at the top,” said senior Sydney Pon. Pon attended a workshop for women of color and building resilience in a changing world. “I met a lot of women who were top executives in their field, and I think they were qualified, if not more capable than their male counterparts. A lot of these women of color I met have a lot of weight in their backpack from experiencing racial prejudice and being a woman. I think that resilience can serve women well in the business world,” said Pon. However, what if women don’t even get the chance to use that re-
BEYOND THE SCALE
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silience in the business world? Not only have studies shown that taller people get paid more, but they have an edge over shorter people in obtaining the job. In an article by The Guardian, Oxford University clinical psychology Professor Daniel Freeman said, “It’s obvious that you can have great success whatever your height, it’s just that greater height confers a bit of an advantage.” Freeman suspects that the advantage is that tall people are believed to have been better nourished as a child and to have grown up in a healthy environment that shaped them to be leaders. Seemingly, physical appearance plays a big role in who has the chance of being a successful business leader, but the core of being a leader still lies in how well one is at their job and that’s determined by non-physical characteristics. The suit, the stature, and the voice matters, but the passion and devotion to the job matters as well.
A LOOK INTO FALL SPORTS
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