There was a time when executive presence was relatively easy to picture. A well-tailored suit. A confident handshake. Good posture. Strong eye contact. The ability to walk into a room, command attention and communicate with authority. Those things still matter. But the room has changed.
Today’s executive may make a first impression from a LinkedIn photograph before ever meeting a potential client. A CEO might address employees through a laptop camera. An entrepreneur can pitch investors over video, appear on a podcast in the afternoon and post to social media that evening. Sales professionals routinely build relationships with clients they’ve never met in person.
Professional visibility has expanded far beyond the conference room, and with it, the traditional definition of executive presence may be expanding too.
Welcome to the era of the Business Face, where professional image isn’t simply about what someone wears into a meeting. Increasingly, it includes what shows up inside the small square on the screen.
First Impressions Happen Fast
We may like to think people wait until we’ve spoken before deciding what they think of us, however, research suggests otherwise.
In a well-known Princeton University study published in Psychological Science, researchers found that people could form impressions about characteristics including trustworthiness, competence and likeability after seeing an unfamiliar face for just 100 milliseconds. Giving participants more time increased their confidence in some judgments but did not necessarily substantially change the impressions they had already formed.
That doesn’t mean those snap judgments are accurate, in fact, that’s an important distinction.
A person can look competent without being competent, just as someone whose appearance doesn’t conform to our mental image of a leader can be exceptionally effective. Yet, in an increasingly visual business environment, those first impressions are being made more often. The headshot on the company website. The LinkedIn profile. The Zoom introduction. The webinar. The podcast clip shared on social media. Before an executive has an opportunity to demonstrate leadership, his face may have already introduced him.
From the Boardroom to the Zoom Room
Videoconferencing accelerated that shift dramatically.
For perhaps the first time in modern professional life, millions of people began spending hours each week not only looking at colleagues but also staring at their own faces while they worked. The effect was measurable.
A 2021 study published in Aesthetic Surgery Journal surveyed 335 adults about video calling and appearance. More than one-third of participants reported identifying new appearance concerns while using video. Among those concerns were facial shape, skin and wrinkles, hair, eyes and looking tired or older. Participants who developed new appearance concerns also reported greater interest in certain beauty and aesthetic treatments.
It became known as the “Zoom effect.”
But the end of pandemic-era restrictions didn’t eliminate the screen. Video calls became embedded in professional culture, alongside virtual conferences, webinars, online interviews and digital networking.
For men who may have spent most of their careers thinking relatively little about their faces at work, suddenly seeing themselves on a screen for hours at a time introduced an entirely different perspective.
Dr. Douglas Steinbrech, a plastic surgeon who has focused extensively on male aesthetics, has watched that evolution firsthand. He is the author of Male Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, a 614-page medical reference devoted specifically to male aesthetic procedures, and currently serves as Treasurer/Secretary of The Aesthetic Society.
“This constant digital visibility has made men increasingly aware of facial angles and features they may not have noticed before.” Dr. Steinbrech said.
Personal Branding Has Become Literal
“Personal brand” used to sound like something reserved for celebrities or public figures. Today, almost everyone in business has one.
Executives have LinkedIn profiles. Entrepreneurs become the public faces of their companies. Financial advisers and real estate agents use social media to build client relationships. Lawyers appear in online videos. Sales professionals post thought leadership. CEOs host podcasts.
The person and the professional identity are increasingly intertwined. That means executive presence is no longer something switched on when someone enters an important meeting. It’s potentially visible 24 hours a day.
A photograph taken years ago may appear in a Google search today. A podcast interview can live online indefinitely. A video clip from a conference can circulate long after the event ends.
For some professionals, that visibility creates a desire for consistency between how they feel and how they believe they present themselves.
According to Dr. Steinbrech “Business Face isn’t necessarily about trying to look younger; for many men it’s about wanting to look rested, energetic and polished while still looking like themselves.”
That distinction is particularly important when talking about male executives. Experience can be an asset to a man’s professional image. Gray hair, facial maturity and other signs of age can communicate seniority and experience. The goal isn’t necessarily to erase them.
Looking Like a Leader Isn’t the Same as Being One
Here’s where the Business Face conversation requires a major caveat. Appearance may affect perception, but perception is not performance. Research on executives illustrates the difference particularly well.
A study involving nearly 2,000 participants found that people rated CEOs as looking more competent than non-CEOs, and perceived competence was associated with executive compensation. But researchers found no evidence that companies led by more competent-looking CEOs actually performed better.
Another study examining Fortune 500 CEOs similarly concluded that facial appearance appeared relevant to leader selection, but researchers did not find evidence that the faces of CEOs at top-performing firms differed meaningfully from those of other CEOs.
More recent replication work has further complicated claims connecting CEO appearance with company performance, underscoring how difficult it is to move from correlation to causation.
In other words, someone can look like our mental image of a leader without being a particularly good one. And someone who doesn’t fit that image can be extraordinary. That is an important counterweight to any discussion about appearance and executive presence.
When Presentation Becomes Pressure
There’s another risk in expanding the definition of executive presence. If being well-groomed gradually becomes looking younger, thinner or more conventionally attractive, professional presentation can turn into appearance pressure. Video technology itself can contribute to that problem.
Researchers studying the Zoom effect found an association between greater self-focused attention during video calls and body-image concerns. The authors cautioned that constantly viewing oneself on screen may encourage some people to fixate on perceived flaws.
That raises a question employers and professionals shouldn’t ignore:
When does managing a professional image stop being personal branding and start becoming pressure to look a certain way?
The answer won’t be the same for everyone. For one executive, improving his Business Face may mean updating a decade-old headshot. For another, it might mean changing his glasses, improving his sleep, beginning a skincare routine or finally getting a haircut that works better on camera. For someone else, it may include exploring aesthetic treatment. And another executive may decide he likes his face exactly as it is. All are legitimate choices.
The New Executive Presence
Perhaps the biggest change isn’t that appearance suddenly matters in business. It always has.
People have always dressed for interviews, chosen clothing for important presentations, groomed themselves before meetings and thought about how they would be perceived when walking into a room. What’s different is the sheer frequency with which professionals are now seen. The conference room has become the computer screen. The business card has become the LinkedIn profile. The corporate biography comes with a headshot. And a leader’s public presence can extend across websites, social media, podcasts, webinars and video interviews.
That’s why the idea of Business Face isn’t really about vanity. It’s about visibility.
Executive presence still begins with the qualities it always has: communication, judgment, confidence, expertise, credibility and the ability to lead. A polished appearance can contribute to an impression. It cannot substitute for substance. The suit still matters. But these days, people may see your face long before they ever see the suit.
