The Bravohood

so today my director came to town - hasn't been town for a few years, wanted to meet with our team. Knew she was bringing another director. Kind of a big deal in my mind.

dress code at work has always been business casual.


I wore a gray suit, white business shirt, no tie. I'd say I looked great


Felt like I made an impression with new Director I met for first time.


Everyone was business casual, even the directors.

My leader was wearing a hoodie. I wanted to stand out.

What do you guys think - kind of a dick move/too dressy?

If the director hasn't been to town for a few years and doesn't know everyone, I guarantee you looked more like a future leader, more than anyone else.
Dick move on your leader? Dunno.
Dick move in terms of the company/director visit? Hell no. Played very right.

Going to add a bit more:

A leader or manager (in a mid position) dressed in a hoodie will look cool and friendly to those he managers. But in the eyes of his bosses, a well dressed employee is going to look better for the business, rather than a sloppy looking manager.

Echoing what Metz said, you definitely looked like a future leader who takes your career field seriously.

As they say, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." And you, sir, definitely made a good one

thanks guys for thoughts


to clarify - was wondering if dick move was on my part for being most dressed guy in room by far.

did you talk to them the day before? if not might have been a good idea to give them the heads up. previous jobs I've been in if a big manager is coming to visit, boss usually goes around reminding everyone to be dressed properly.

maybe they feel like you blindsided them. but in reality if I was the leader there is no way that would have happened because I would have been dressed similar to you, so also mostly his fault for wearing a hoodie to meet with directors. You can't be expected to drop down to his hoodie standard just as not to offend him or feel like a dick, in fact you should probably be disappointed that he seemed to not really care about it.

in terms of making sure you are well presented in front of senior management well i think that goes without saying

Hey Brother Ice,
Regarding dress code: I impressed the last executive director wearing normal work clothes. However me and my co-worker took him out on the town - where he paid for dinner and we talked about a plethora of interesting topics. I got positive reviews from my manager and other mangers from this night

Hope it helps,
Ray Ray

Side note but too late for this meet-up:
I only have a basic advice for you: Give a strong hand grip - it has served me well in my professional career.

Things that I do with higher management: I also compliment people on my team informing higher management what values they provide in "terms of management words" (ex. high impact, client facing, prioritizing, delegate approximately, escalate appropriately, etc... ) it really lightens the mode and people start opening up around senior management.

My Logic: normally higher management just wants to know the moral of their teams b/c they are dealing with higher level stuff and have no idea what their teams are facing on a day-to-day basis. I inform them of potential problems I see for our team. I got in with 2 executives directors over my manager.

Ray_Ray wrote: Regarding dress code: I impressed the last executive director wearing normal work clothes. However me and my co-worker took him out on the town - where he paid for dinner and we talked about a plethora of interesting topics. I got positive reviews from my manager and other mangers from this night

Hi Ice,
That comment really was communicate it really does matter what you wear. Looking professional is great. However from a senior management perspective, if you don't stand out they will probably focus/remember on management stuff.

I would try to remember they are there bc they want to see a team under their organization. Management deals with shit we don't want to know about. So just give them an update on what is important to you and your team. That's what they want to know.

Hope that clarifies my original statement,
Ray Ray

Thanks Ray


While I like being the best dressed in the room


I think there is a line that we can cross with being wayyy too dressy - almost a social mis-calibration.


In my case, the fact that I'm wondering... speaks to me that there's something there. Previous to this meeting I have been dressing down more, but I still want to look good/stand out. Just about finding ways to do that without going too far off the reservation. Not saying I did here, but something I'm more conscious of.

Everyone knew they were coming. So it's not your fault how they chose to dress. You didn't wear a tie, so that seems business casual to me. So not a dick move. And not uncalibrated or too dressy. But a good move. So quit worrying about it

I think there is a line that we can cross with being wayyy too dressy - almost a social mis-calibration.


^^agree with this but you didn't cross it