Red sneaker effect
Successful people have this trait in common
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Forget discipline, hard work and ambition. According to researchers at Harvard University, a completely different quality is crucial to being truly successful.
“No pain, no gain” – this thought sits deep in most of our minds. We believe that you have to earn happiness and success by making an effort, working hard and disciplined and of course always being flexible and humble. But apparently it’s not that “simple”…
Red sneaker effect: Nonconformity promotes respect
According to psychologists at Harvard University, there is a certain correlation Non-conformity For example, clothing style is linked to career success and respect – and they call this connection the red sneaker effect. “People with a very high reputation in particular often dress conspicuously casually for business meetings,” says the paper Study. “Many CEOs of successful companies such as Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg are known to give interviews without a tie or even in a sweatshirt or to appear at formal events such as the World Economic Forum,” say the authors.
However, this red sneaker effect not only affects giants like Gates and Zuckerberg, but also people with average jobs and careers, as various field research studies by scientists have shown. Standing out and consciously defying general standards is generally associated with self-confidence and power, the researchers assume. According to the motto: If you don’t need to wear a tie, you just have to have it.
What is crucial, however, is the sweatshirt, the purple and white striped socks or the red sneakers deliberately chosen as a deviation were – because Accidentally attracting attention leads to an insecure demeanor and usually damages reputation and reputation.
Red sneaker effect to the power of two
According to one, the red sneaker effect is intensified Cologne study even if there is a superstition associated with the deviant clothing worn – for example, if you have colorful lucky socks, you have a great career ahead of you! Because even though we (maybe!) only tell ourselves that our socks bring us luck or that our favorite hoodie makes us particularly creative, the mere idea and belief in it can strengthen our self-confidence – and thus also improve our performance and appearance.
Conclusion: Self-confidence is more important than discipline
Regardless of whether our red sneakers at a job interview or during a presentation are an act of rebellion or superstition, the red sneaker effect definitely shows: self-confidence and trust in your own abilities as well as your own judgment are at least as important to be successful and go our way like discipline or hard work. Because only if we believe in ourselves and our ideas can we convince others of them – so easy, so difficult.