Stereotypes Of Leadership In The Workplace

The term leadership has become a huge topic in today’s society. Businesses are especially fixated on the importance of leadership and how this trait leads to positive results in the workplace. Leaders are thought to be confident, put-together, and organized. A person’s appearance can have an impact when applying for jobs. Because appearance is a big factor, many people with physical disabilities suffer in the workplace. Some may argue that people with disabilities can create problems in the workplace while others believe that they are fully capable of performing at the same level as others.
Dating back to the first leaders of the world, the stereotype has not changed. Leaders are perceived to be forceful, confident, and independent. They were
They spend extra time to find the right outfit, do their hair and put on makeup. Applicants try to look their best because they want to appear put-together. Building on Cain and Cicero’s views on the appearance of a leader, Joseph Schumpeter who was a political science professor at Harvard, believes having the right appearance is the only way to success in the workplace. Various studies from universities have shown that a person is more likely to get the job if they are tall, fit, have a deep voice, and dress well. A study from different business schools across the nation has found that “those with the deepest voices earned $187,000 a year more than the average” (Schumpeter n.p.). Another study done by Florian Sonnenburg of the University of Cologne and Peter Limbach of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology found that CEOs who had “finished a marathon were worth five percent more on average than those whose bosses had not” (Schumpeter n.p.). The stereotype of a successful leader is an athletic, tall, put-together person where people with disabilities are completely left out. There has always been a negative stereotype towards people with disabilities where they are thought of as weak and helpless who cannot live a normal life. Many employers think they are a burden and do not even give them a chance. Disabled people have the same potential to get the job done as the other candidates who might have the ‘right
The magazine DiversityInc shares the idea of the benefits in the workplace with Klaus and Greenberg. According to the American Society for Training and Development report, companies face less absenteeism and higher productivity when hiring workers with disabilities (DiversityInc n.p.). As indicated by a DuPont study that included 2,745 employees with disabilities, “92 percent of employees with disabilities rated average or better in job performance compared to 90 percent of employees without disabilities” (DiversityInc n.p.). Customers are also more likely to do business with a company who hires people with disabilities. From a national survey of 803 randomly selected consumers, “87 percent said they would prefer to give their business to such companies” (DiversityInc n.p.). Another myth employers have when hiring people with disabilities is the cost of accommodating their needs. According to the American Society report for example, “73 percent of employers found that their employees who had disabilities did not require special accommodations” (DiversityInc n.p.). People with disabilities are just like other people and in no way create problems in the