Have you ever wondered whether physical beauty is one of the attributes for a leader to possess?
It is a fact of life that good looking people reap better rewards over their peers.
Kevin Kniffin of Cornell University conducted a study to prove or disprove that people who had close ties to leaders felt they were more physically attractive than others who weren’t in the circle.
He chose a group of legislative aides to rate a few people based on physical attractiveness. The options were some within the own party and rest outside. The leaders on the inside were rated highly over the ones who were outside.
This test was conducted with a different set of legislative aides but the options were people who were not directly connected to politics. In this case, too, aides voted the leaders from their own party as physically attractive than the rest.
The outcome of the study is that biases based on looks exist. But, they can be overcome. By displaying traits such as intelligence, empathy, open-mindedness, and respect. When leaders engage more and more with their circles, they create an atmosphere of belonging and become attractive in the eyes of their followers.
Think of somebody like Mandela. Did he become physically attractive by his achievements or was he equally attractive without it? I am certain that you know the answer and where I am leading to. Beauty exists in the eye of the beholder, and this beauty is sculpted by the virtues within and the external curves on the outside.
