[October 24, 2016] Ten years ago exactly on this date in 2016, my unit was part of a major fight north of Baghdad. At the end of the day I was getting on a transport at the nearby Forward Operating Base that would take a few officers back for a debriefing. The appearance of the senior civilian in charge was shocking; he had horrifying scars covering his head and hands. But he was carrying out his duties in a professional manner.
I don’t remember his name but all of us were happy that he had chosen to be there for us that day. We were safe, secure, and comfortable. After everyone was headed into the briefing tent I lingered behind to ask what all of us wanted to know, “What happened that caused your disfigurement?” He had been in a fiery tractor-trailer accident that burned his head and hands. A miraculous recovery left him without ears, nose, eyebrows, and lips and shinny scars covering his entire head.
My point is, of course, that it’s not how you physically look; it’s about how you carry out your duties. Advancement in the ranks, regardless of the profession or job, has little to do with being handsome or beautiful. Some people will disagree with that statement by noting that if you violate dress codes or social dressing norms that will put you at a disadvantage. I’m writing about the way you look, not how you dress. Whether you are skinny, fat, tall, short, pretty, or ugly; it’s your behavior as a leader that makes you successful.
I knew a senior U.S. Army general who was short and bald. He looked somewhat like the fictional character Mini-Me1 (played by Verne Troyer) from the Austin Powers movies. The general would play on this fictional character as self-effacing humor and get everyone to laugh a little. Yet he was an extremely effective, hard working senior officer who could get things done.
Certainly, our appearance can work to our disadvantage if it isn’t perfect but with the right attitude, good character, and professional manners, our appearance can have less influence. Did anyone care that Napoléon Bonaparte was short? Did anyone notice that Franklin Roosevelt was confined to a wheelchair? Senior leaders can overcome their looks (and disabilities) to achieve considerable success because it’s not how we look that really matters.
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