Would You Hire a CEO With an Unsophisticated Speaking Style?
Posted on Sunday, October 5, 2008 by Frank RocheIf you were interviewing a candidate for CEO or COO of your Fortune 500 company, would their vocabulary and sentence structure matter to you? What about their accent? (C’mon, I’m not just talking about a “Fargo” accent, I’m talking about anything that isn’t Standard American English, the kind of speaking that newscasters use.) Would you overlook a lack of sophistication in their speaking style? Are there some kinds of accents you like and some that you just can’t stand? Do you think that people with certain accents are stupid?
I’ll admit that I’m not crazy about Sarah Palin’s bona fides for running one of the world’s largest corporations — the United States of America. Her latest interviews and linguistic gyrations in the debate made me question what I would look for in a true leader. I find Norm Crosby funny, but I wouldn’t hire him as CEO or COO.
Dean
Oct 5th, 2008
This would likely cause me to pause even for an entry level staff position.
Frank
Oct 5th, 2008
Dean, I'm thinking the same thing now that you mention it. I want confidence, but confidence based on substance.
Ask a Manager
Oct 5th, 2008
I also wouldn't hire someone who think it's appropriate to wink and flirt in an interview (or debate), or one who refuses to answer questions. She's acting like a cocktail waitress, not a serious executive candidate. Utterly embarrassing to women.
Dave Johnston
Oct 5th, 2008
My speaking style is roughly south side of Chicago hot dog stand guy and I certainly would hire myself…
In a fast emerging, high tech global economy, we're going to have to get used to “non-standard” – and fairly quickly.
I say we all learn to speak with a Scottish accent.
Frank
Oct 6th, 2008
Dave, Richie Daley is doing fine with that accent. But it's regional…I wonder how it would work in San Francisco…or Honolulu. We like our own accents…but I wonder how they play on the broader stage. If you really want to add 10 IQ points, use a British accent.
Frank
Oct 6th, 2008
Unfortunately, they coached her to do that…which says a lot about what her coaches think about women…and what she's not thinking.
Anon
Oct 6th, 2008
I don't think Sara was winking in her meetings with the guys at the UN. You folks all need to go take a very long class in diversity. We could potentially lose great talent if you are sitting in the interviewers' chairs for any positions.
Ron Ulrici
Oct 6th, 2008
In the old days, I always had a mind eye's view of the ideal executive and then I ended up working for him – suave, handsome, well-tailored and well-spoken. He was a great PR guy, but not a great manager/leader. Since then I met CEO's who looked like farmers and spoke like them who were great leaders. So… I found out through experience, that I needed to keep an open mind and not judge that book by the cover.
Joanne Bintliff-Ritchie
Oct 6th, 2008
I think we need to differentiate between the impacts of regional accents (we all probably have a bias toward our own) and the ability to be articulate. Some people would think those from Arkansas have an unattractive accent, but Bill Clinton is certainly an articulate speaker and executive material. And one of the greatest orators and leaders of all time, Abraham Lincoln, had an accent that drove the eastern establishment and southern gentry crazy, but his words moved mountains and his style showed his love of proper language.
Substance is what matters. It's the words and languarge usage not the accent. Too many people today, regardless of regional accent or education, are inarticulate. Their speech is overly colloquial and pedestrian and their grammar is atrocious. I wish we focused more on this.
The other factor I think we're talking about is image. Sara Palin's behaviors – like the winking – combined with her poor command of language fail to convey an executive image (obviously opinion). This has nothing to do with accents, or diversity. Image can be faked, so basing selection on image when you see it is risky. But the lack of appropriate image is a fair selection criteria for most executive positions because it impacts credibility, stature, and the ability to influence and persuade.
By the way the Brits have their own version of regional accent bias. I think Frank must be referencing what they call 'BBC English'.
Frank
Oct 6th, 2008
Joanne, excellent point about the elevel of discourse. I happen to like a lot of different kinds of accents, but it drives me nuts when people can't construct a simple sentence or coherent thought. I have no time for them. Thanks for your very well considered remarks.
Frank
Oct 6th, 2008
Ron, I've been more open minded as I've gotten older. I'm llooking for wisdom, not accents. But a bad accent and lack of introspection are a pretty bad combo.
Frank
Oct 6th, 2008
Gosh, Anon, I'm quite certain this isn't about diversity training. Great talent, regardless of the accent, is great talent. And I'm afraid that even if Sarah Palin used an upper crust British accent that wouldn't make a difference. It's what she says, not how she pronounces it. (Unless, of course, it's the word “nuclear,” at which point it doesn't seem that hard to pronounce it correctly.)
Paul
Oct 7th, 2008
An incredible display of prejudice here. It wouldn't be tolerable if we were talking about a black person, but Sarah's diction and accent is as grammatically consistent as “ebonics” — actually more so.
Do you think Canadians are stupid, generally? Unqualified for executive positions? Sarah sounds very Canadian to me, and here's why: http://www.slate.com/id/2201318/ . Actually, she has an extreme version of a Canadian accent found in the less populated northern parts of all the provinces. That's because it is a blending of native/eskimo speech patterns with the English and French colonizers, with a little bit of midwestern Scandinavian (Fargo) thrown in.
Does Arnold Schwarzenegger sound like an executive to you? After 20 years of SNL spoofs of his accent, he sounds like a caricature of himself to me. I can't help laughing quietly now every time I hear him, yet he's extremely intelligent and has done pretty well for himself. Or, how about Oprah Winfrey?
It's absolutely appalling to me that HR professionals would screen someone out because of purely regional attributes. Clearly, in the case of Sarah Palin, Alaskans are pretty happy with her — in fact, she's the most popular governor in the country. Her approval rating is nearly 4 times than of George Bush and almost 10 times that of Congress. You'd do well to ask why — she's clearly accomplished a lot that people value.
All this is regardless of political leanings — my leaning is that the entire political establishment is either incompetent or corrupt, and we could pick people randomly off the streets and get a better job done. But that speaks more to character than to accents or mannerisms or false judgments about intelligence and qualifications.
Joanne Bintliff-Ritchie
Oct 7th, 2008
Paul, for me personally my comments would not be any different regardless of the race, ethnicity or nationality of the person highlighted as the example. It's all about the position for which the person is being considered. An extremely competent, high performing junior Marketing Analyst who is loved by all may not be right for the VP spot no matter how much they have accomplished as an Analyst.
Frank
Oct 7th, 2008
Paul, I'm a little surprised to hear the accusation of prejudice here. That's a bit of loaded word, especially when you coupled it with a reference to ebonics. The question here is one that's larger than a person's accent. I was making the point that we do judge people sometimes by their accent. But quickly after that, it's a matter of speaking in complete sentences, offering coherent thoughts, and being intellectually curious enough to have a high level conversation. That has nothing to do with race, gender, national origin, creed, etc. None whatsoever.
Arnold worked hard to overcome his accent initially. He had speech coaches, and if you listen to him now compared to when he started in the movies, it's an amazing transformation. But who cares about the accent? He applied himself, learned about politics, spent years in preparation, and he's made great decisions. I admire him. And I admire anyone who shows that kind of leadership and critical thinking.
I think you might want to check Sarah Palin's popularity numbers vis a vis George Bush and Congress. As of a Sept. 24 pool, she had a 68% approval rating, which is five times, not 10 times, the Congressional job approval ratings (which has an historical low of 14% on July 14). and approximately three times that of George Bush (his is at 25%, an all-time low). The point isn't so much the numbers, it's that numbers don't always tell the story. Being popular and being right don't always go hand-in-hand.
Here's the essence: It's not prejudiced to question a person's qualifications. And it's not unlike any of us to think accents that are different from Standard American English are different. That doesn't make them wrong — it's just a question. But the ability to speak articulately is something that transcends accents. In no way was I suggesting that a person would be screened out becuase of regional differences — only for qualifications and ability to fit into an executive job.
Totally Consumed
Oct 7th, 2008
Well said, Frank! Regardless of a person's accent, a leader has to be able to think clearly and put together cogent sentences. How a person speaks is a telling reflection of how they think.
Dave Johnston
Oct 9th, 2008
That's the thing…I don't want to add any IQ points. I like to surprise people, hence the hot dog stand. I've lived outside of Chicago for 11 years, and I'm still locked in to the rough edges of Chicago when speaking (you don't want to hear me say 'pop,' or the word 'Chicago' for that matter). I didn't realize I was odd until I started getting dirty looks while working on K Street in DC. After the first few, I decided to have fun with it and be even more overt.
Works great during an argument about economics.
That CBS Palin interview was brutal, but I generally enjoy the “Northern” accent. I've done a lot of business in Ontario and the women I know there use their uniqueness with me to great effect.
Dave Johnston
Oct 9th, 2008
Introspection…saw that word and sparked a thought.
It's great to have balance, an ability to look with perspective and peel back more layers of an issue, evaluate, etc.
But often the best leaders – and that's the essential role of an executive – are the ones willing to make a decision, firmly. As our society digs deeper and deeper into nuance and relativism, we risk losing the edge that creates real leaders. Those willing to decide and actually move the ball forward. It's a fine line, yes, but I believe we're trending the wrong way.
It's Barry Schwartz's Paradox of Choice.
—> This was a lofty comment, I am aware that it steps out a bit <—
Frank
Oct 10th, 2008
Hi Dave, very cool ref for the Paradox of Choice. You're always thinking…and you're out ahead of the game.