Madonna's song Vogue always comes to mind whenever I hear the phrase "power posing" and immediately want to wave my hands in front of my face in a stop and start dance motion. Hey, I'm a child of the '80s, okay?
But I'm here to write about the power posing we're doing at work every day to influence our self-confidence, as well as how others might perceive us. In a word: powerful! Five years ago, social psychologist Amy Cuddy gave a famous Ted talk that offers her stance on the benefits of power posing at work.
So standing around looking confident can build our self-confidence when we don't have much of it! Even more striking, power posing might affect the brain's testosterone and cortisol levels and, in the end, could enhance our success on the job. Strike a pose, indeed!
Now a University of Zurich study is standing here with its arms crossed and head tilted slightly forward to peer at us over European designer frames. It wants us to know that it has studied 200 power-posing people and, well, all of our power poses may not be doing quite as much as we thought.
From the press release:
Bodily demonstrations of power, however, influence one's own perception of power, a result that the previous study also found. Study leader Eva Ranehill of the Department of Economics at the University of Zurich states, "This indicates that the main influence of power poses is the fact that subjects realize that the feel more self-confident.We find no proof, however, that this has any effect on their behavior or their physiology."So the study finds power posing can indeed make us feel more self-confident, but it doesn't impact our overall behavior, or our body, all that much? Hmm. I only know that I find this whole topic incredibly interesting as a workplace blogger who has never even tried power posing. As a writer, I tend to find my power in hunched-over word choice rather than in-person verbal dominance. Plus, it's hard to pull off a look that screams "power" in yoga pants and the occasional coffee-stained hoodie. I'm keeping it real.
Still, power posing can have benefits at the office. We might do it for the feeling of increased self-confidence, which is a great thing to have in meetings when a co-worker talks over us, and perhaps later in the break room when we're standing there vying for the big slice of birthday cake. If we pose it, then we can be it and potentially walk away with the biggest piece of Costco sheet cake! If it works, it works. At work.
In sum, keep throwing those shoulders back, if only so your mother won't complain about your poor posture anymore.
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