bizMe

The word is out. Women are climbing the corporate ladder and breaking the glass ceiling. All one needs to do is turn on the television or read a newspaper to see the heights to which women can aspire. No matter where you are on the political compass, it’s hard to ignore and admire the accomplishments of Hillary, Sarah and Condi. Inspired by the endless possibilities for achievement, women are arming themselves with “all the right stuff.”

We know how to dress, act and get a promotion.

But do we know how to stand? This may seem like a silly question, but consider this. Your posture sends a strong message to your coworkers about your ability to be a respected professional. Here are some examples of how women can sabotage their professional image with poor posture.

The Weak May Inherit the Earth, but Not the CEO Position

Susan walks into a conference room. Her hair and makeup are intact. She is, as they say, dressed for success. However, her entrance goes unnoticed. When she steps up to the podium, people look at her in surprise. She’s doing the presentation?

Susan senses this. Her posture tells us that she doesn’t think that she has the right to be here. Her shoulders hunch forward, her back is rounded, and her head is bowed, as if she is trying to avoid eye contact. In a very small voice, she begins her talk. When asked a question, she seems to physically shrink, as if she was afraid of an attack. Her presentation is less than impressive. This is unfortunate, since Susan is a knowledgeable professional. She’s also quite attractive, and pretty fit. However, her posture betrays her professionalism.

A woman’s posture portrays her attitude about herself, as well as her comfort level in a given situation. In Susan’s case, her hunched shoulders and downward focus made her seem meek, vulnerable, insecure and uncomfortable with her audience. Additionally, her posture has probably influenced her vocal capacity. Tight shoulders, neck and pectoral muscles restrict the ability to breath from the diaphragm. As a result, Susan speaks with a small, childlike voice, which often cannot be heard.

You Talkin’ to Me?

Donna is also a brilliant professional. However, as a teenager growing up in a tough neighborhood, she adopted a posture that is characterized by leaning into one hip. Thus, when she speaks to a group, she gives the impression of being off center, or perhaps uninvolved. Others may interpret this as a You talkin’ to me? type of posture which is funny in the movies, but not quite so humorous in the corporate world. There’s a good chance that Donna doesn’t even realize that she is doing this. However, she has been standing this way for so many years that she might possibly have a muscular imbalance in her legs or hips, which causes her to stand in a way that presents an unprofessional image.

Donna also has a tendency to cock her head to one side when she is talking to a man. Is she flirting, or is she presenting important information? It’s hard to tell. She never does this when she talks to women. As such, some of her co-workers consider her a flirt, and don’t take her seriously.

The Wavering Economist

Peggy has a PhD in economics. While she obviously knows her subject, when speaking to a group, she has a tendency to shift her weight from foot to foot. Not only is this distracting, it portrays a subtle message that her ideas are unstable. When talking about economics, this can be rather frightening.

Aligned for Success

There are four factors that influence postural alignment:

1. Habit
2. Injury
3. Emotions
4. Your Workout

Habitual postures are often the result of unconsciously mimicking the posture of a parent. In other cases, your workstation might create a habitual posture. For example, if you consistently keep your computer on one side of the desk, you might be creating a muscular overuse on one side of your body, while the other side will have muscle weaknesses. This might cause you to lean to one side, which may create an image of being off-center. While habitual postures are relatively easy to correct, misalignments that are caused by physical or emotional injury pose a different sort of problem.

Somatic psychotherapists tell us that our physical and emotional equilibrium can be influenced and altered by physical, as well as emotional injury. The resulting trauma creates a negativity that causes a disconnection between mind and body, thereby creating an imbalance in our physical and psychological structure. This is reflected in our standing, sitting and moving posture.

Just as a less than ergonomic workstation can cause muscular imbalance, physical and emotional injury can cause physical and emotional imbalances. On the physical level, we may adopt postural and movement patterns that served to protect us and compensate for the areas that have been injured. Sometimes, these patterns become habitual even after the injury has healed.

The Language of Posture

A defensive woman may raise up her shoulders, hold her breath, tighten the muscles in her arms and clench her jaw. These gals seem to be perpetually at war with the forces of gravity. In contrast, if someone is dejected, you might see shoulders that are rolled forward and a head that is lowered, as if expressing defeat. Instead of negotiating with the forces of gravity, this person has allowed the force of gravity to bring her down. Neither of these postural alignments will put you on the road to corporate success.

Now, let’s take a look at a confident woman. Her shoulders are held broadly, her eyes are focused straight ahead and her upper body is firmly supported by her pelvis. Her confident posture is indicative of woman who is at peace with gravity. She is neither at war nor in a state of defeat. Gravity is her dancing partner. This is the type of woman we would want as a leader.

Emotions: Change Your Posture, Change Your Mind

If our posture is indicative of our emotional status, can we alter our emotional well being by changing our posture? Neuro-physiological research suggests that this is possible. Professional actors have known about this for a long time. Many work on a theory known as acting from the inside out or acting from the outside in.

An actor working from the inside out may use a particular experience they’ve had in the past to find the emotion suitable for the role. When actors can’t find an emotional catalyst from inside themselves, they may create the physical qualities associated with that particular emotion. That’s called acting from the outside in.

Here in the Colorado Rockies, hikers are quite aware of this concept. If we have an unfortunate encounter with a bear or mountain lion, we are told to make ourselves look big and tall. Here’s a simple exercise you can perform to practice growing taller.

• Stand against a wall.
• Imagine that the wall is the world’s highest mountain.
• Now, imagine that you are taller than this mountain.
• Use this image the next time you walk into the lion’s den, AKA the corporate business presentation.

Your Workout/Your Posture

Ironically, your workout may have a negative effect on your postural alignment. Most of us tend to be very focused on our “beach muscles” which include the abdominals and pectorals. However, these muscles are involved in forward flexion. If you consider the fact that we tend to sit hunched forward at our computers, accentuating this muscular imbalance might not be the best idea. Consider adding some extension exercise, such as the yoga cobra to your routine. During our weight training workout, adding extra sets on the lat pulldown machine and a few extra sets of reverse flies will correct the muscular imbalance between the chest and back. Visualization exercise can also help improve your posture. For example, to eliminate a hunched shoulders habit, imagine that there is a curtain rod going across your chest. Gradually open the curtain rod. Now look in the mirror. Suddenly, you look more confident.

You’ve worked hard to get where you are today. Don’t let your posture lie about your accomplishments. Stand tall, stand proud and go forth to prosperity!