Too casual for the workplace? Keep the style, change the signals
If you come across as too casual for the workplace, do not trade in your personal style. Keep your primary persona, the look you are most comfortable in, and borrow a few elements from your secondary persona to lift it. You stay authentic and gain credibility.
Should I change my style because it could hurt my career or my business? If you have ever asked yourself that question, trust me, you are not alone.
Here is the catch. If you do not feel like yourself in what you wear, it shows in how you behave. So yes, stay authentic. You can still dress up your current look a bit.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- We all carry a primary and a secondary persona, regardless of gender, race or age.
- Your primary persona is your natural style. Never try to swap it for someone else’s.
- People decide you are “too casual” largely because you look too casual: colors, fabrics, patterns, fits and cuts all send signals.
- Your secondary persona shows you how to look more polished without leaving your comfort zone.
- Every persona has two sides. There is no right or wrong, only how you are perceived.
You have a primary and a secondary persona
We all carry different personas within us, a kind of DNA, regardless of gender, race or age. Most of us have a style that feels most comfortable, and we shift it depending on the circumstances. Still, finding a look that feels like you and reads as professional and current is harder than it sounds.
That is exactly why I created How You Resonate: to help you see how others are likely to perceive you based on that DNA. Your clothing, the way you usually behave and the choices you make all feed into it, and once you know your persona, you can plan the impression you want to leave.
What “too casual” looks like in real life
When Lisa wrote to me with this question, she described her comfort zone: a nice jacket, heels and dark jeans. If Lisa took the audit, chances are high she would land on The Explorer. And her challenge would be exactly the one she described. She often feels underdressed, or too casual for the workplace.
Explorers like to keep it casual and comfortable. They are the sporty “next-door neighbors” with an easygoing, friendly, optimistic personality. We love being around them. They have a good sense of humor, they are spontaneous and laid back at the same time.
Every persona has two sides: easy and hard, worry-free and challenging. There is no right or wrong. But the Explorer also struggles with being seen as too laid back, not a go-getter, hard to fit into a corporate environment.
You are right, those are just assumptions. But people make them anyway, subconsciously, imprinting their opinion of you based on your appearance, your behavior and your communication.
Your primary persona is the one you should never try to change, adjust or let go of.
Why your appearance makes you look too casual
Your appearance works like a filter in front of you. People think you are too casual because you look too casual. The colors you choose, the fabrics, the patterns, the fits and the cuts all play a role.
Still, what you see is your primary persona: your go-to image, the one you were most likely born with. Someone who is an Explorer should never try to squeeze into the concept of a Traditionalist, or the other way around. It would make you uncomfortable, insecure and anxious. Your confidence drops, and people start to read you as inauthentic, as someone playing a role who has not found themselves yet.
It is part of who you are. Accept it, stick with it, and develop it further.
Too casual for the workplace? How to look polished and stay you
This is where your secondary persona comes in. All of us have one, and it shows you how to raise your appearance without straying too far from your comfort zone.
Once you know both your primary and your secondary persona, you know how people perceive you and how to adjust your image so it stays genuinely you and still reads as professional. For the deeper work, my course How You Resonate walks you through all seven personas and the five dimensions of perception.
Want the bigger picture first? Read how important first impressions really are, or learn how to read people the way they read you.
The Image of Leadership
Appearance is the first of five signals I write about in The Image of Leadership, and the one most people get wrong in both directions: too casual, or trying too hard. The book shows how to align what people see with the leader you already are.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if I look too casual for work?
Compare your outfit to the people who hold the role you want, not the role you have. If colors, fabrics and fits read noticeably more relaxed than theirs, others likely see you as too casual. My course How You Resonate shows which persona people most likely see in you.
Do I have to give up my personal style to look professional?
No. Your primary persona is your natural style, and abandoning it makes you look and feel inauthentic. Keep it, and borrow a few elements from your secondary persona, such as a sharper cut or a more structured fabric, to raise the level without playing a role.
Why do people think I am too casual?
Mostly because of signals you send without noticing: relaxed colors, soft fabrics, casual patterns and loose fits. People read those signals in seconds and attach assumptions to them, such as being laid back or not a go-getter, long before they get to know your work.
What is a secondary persona?
It is the second style you naturally carry besides your primary one. It feels close enough to stay comfortable, and it gives you room to adjust your look for situations that call for more polish. Knowing both lets you choose on purpose instead of defaulting to autopilot.
