I recently asked my friends and family for their opinion via social media on whether I should color my hair GRAY. I had no idea this question would cause such a stir. The responses were emotional and divisive: Some said it would age me and diminish my work prospects; others said it would highlight my wisdom and experience. So the strong reactions begged the question for me, what role does a certain hairstyle play in the business world? Can it in fact advance or hinder
your career?

You might think that this is a rather trivial topic when we are still in the midst of a global pandemic and experiencing social unrest. However, I am confident that I can speak for the majority of women in the workforce when I say that we have thought about this on more than one occasion. A quick Google search will give you an abundance of articles about what is considered a professional hairstyle for women.

Throughout my career, I held positions that were fairly public in nature with many customer interactions and later also included public speaking engagements. I have always been self- conscious about my appearance and the image I portray, erring on the side of being cautious, classic, perhaps even conservative.

For many years it was ingrained in me that straight hair equals professionalism and curly hair does not. The root of that perception, pun intended, might be traced back to business school when classmates made fun of me for my curly hair in the graduation album. It wasn’t until a few years ago, that I actually started to embrace and “own” that curly look.

I admit, however, I recently had a setback. I had a video interview with the president of a company and thought there was too much at stake to go “au naturel”. While I spent time straightening my hair prior to the interview to match my view of “professional”, the president of said company, who was working from home due to COVID-19, made his appearance in a Captain America T-shirt!

Why do women put themselves under so much pressure when it comes to their hairstyles at work? (Sorry, guys, I cannot speak for you here, but ask your wives, girlfriends or daughters if they can relate). It is out of fear. Fear of not being accepted for who we are. Fear of not being enough. Fear of being labeled unprofessional. Fear of being considered too old.

So, back to my original question… should I go gray? Guess what? While people may have strong opinions, either way, it doesn’t matter what they think. The only opinion that matters is mine and how I feel about myself! Ladies, only you can be you! Be authentic and have confidence in your choices, even if they are as trivial as your hairstyle!

If you have your own assumptions about what determines success, or engrained beliefs that are preventing you from moving forward and you think you would benefit from coaching please contact me.