One of the defensive traits that evolved in early humans is the ability to pickup visual cues quickly and use them to recognize friend from foe. While this isn't as essential as it was in prehistoric times when a stranger was most likely a threat, this trait still exists and many social problems can be linked to it. Back in the 70's an influential book titled Dress for Success adapted this trait to gentlemen's fashion and spawned an entirely new genre of self-help books. The author, John T. Molloy, conducted research that demonstrated how people are influenced by the clothes worn by others. He and his team found that small variations in things such as style, color, or fabric could affect how others perceive you.

We know that people form a lasting impression of others within the first few minutes of meeting them. That impression is based, to a large extent, on physical factors such as attractiveness, facial shape, or emotional state. What's significant about Molloy's research is that subtle cues in clothing also can influence whether the person you are meeting perceives you as a peer.

What's this have to do with emergency management? It really comes down to how you want to be perceived. If you want to be accepted as a peer by senior executives, you need dress as they do. I was hired for my first big security job because I dressed like the manager who was interviewing me, something he commented on. During my time in San Francisco, we served as members of the Mayor's staff and he had a strict dress code. This helped our credibility when dealing with department heads and the public.

If you dress like a technician, you'll be treated as such. You will be respected but you will most likely not be counted part of the "inner circle". Dress like senior managers and you will be seen as a peer whose opinion should be respected.