What stood out to me in Warren Harding’s chapter was the
formality of it. I thought it stood out to be very informational with no
opinions whatsoever, which made it sound more professional, and I liked that
seriousness to it. The takeaway message to this writing is that judging based
on looks is inevitable and at many times automatic, we all do it without
meaning to. The way a person looks can change how successful they are, and can change
how their life turns out. I think what it is trying to say is that one should try
to look and act their best, so people will make the assumption that they are
what they portray themselves as.
I think we should take this chapter into consideration in
terms of leadership, because I believe that a person should not become leader
because of how they appear. Obviously, someone weak and frail looking would not
be a good choice, because they do not represent the ideals portrayed in which
others would want to follow in their footsteps. We cannot undo our unconscious biases,
because, well, they are unconscious, we don’t control them anyway. They are set
there in our brains, put in there by false stereotypes and precepts established
by society. We should try and push these out of our minds and look for other
qualities when it comes to a leader, such as selflessness, confidence,
optimism, trustworthiness, and most important of all, intelligence.
I took two tests, the one based on race, and the one based
on insects and flowers. They did reveal that I was unconsciously biased. On the
first test, my results stated that I strongly preferred European- Americans
over African- Americans, which really surprised me because I am not racist
whatsoever, and do not believe that anyone is better than any other person,
especially not based on the color of their skin. On the second test, my results
said I strongly preferred flowers over insects, which is partially true, and
not very surprising, because even though I’m not very much of a flower person, I
absolutely hate insects.
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