If you’ve made it close to the top of your organization, you already know the rub. You want to still be you. You’re also expected to set a standard. Most advice treats this as a dial: polished on one end, approachable on the other, pick your spot and live with the trade-off.
That framing is wrong, and it’s costing capable leaders a look that actually matches where they are.
The Client Who Proved It
A new client, we’ll call him Matthew, came to me the way a lot of people do. His last stylist had moved away, and he was tired of the time and friction of shopping alone. That was the surface reason.
Here’s what took some digging to reach. Matthew’s formula, in his words, was “right down the middle: a polo, chinos, and a sport coat.” It worked. It also blended him in completely, and blending in wasn’t really where he was headed next. He wanted a little more personality. He wasn’t sure the version of professional he’d built had room for it.
He’s not choosing between polished and approachable. He’s after something else entirely.
The Third Option
Polished vs approachable isn’t a spectrum with two ends. It’s three qualities that can run at the same time:
- Approachable: you read as accessible, not guarded, relaxed
- Polished: the standard is still unmistakably there, and typically seen most clearly in the accessories
- Relaxed: not overly formal, not performing an outdated idea of “professional”
That combination, not a compromise between two poles, is what actually reads as executive presence at this level. Download this guide to see The Third Option (for men and women).
Where This Shows Up
The gap between polished, approachable, and the third option shows up in specific, concrete choices: the fabric you reach for, the fit through the shoulder versus the body, whether your outerwear is a full blazer or something unstructured, the one accessory you wear consistently versus none at all. It’s not a mood. It’s a set of decisions, repeated until they read as yours.
The Question to Ask Yourself
Does your current rotation force you to choose between looking like yourself and looking like you’re in charge? Or have you already found the third option?
If the honest answer is that you’re still choosing, that’s the tell. Not that you need to look more buttoned-up, or more casual. That you’re solving the wrong problem.
Where to Start
Find the one place in your wardrobe where “safe” has been standing in for “you.” Swap in a single element, a texture, a color, a cut, that adds personality without giving up the standard your role requires. One swap. Not a full rebuild.
You can find a few more summer style hacks for executives here too!
If you want to see exactly what that looks like for your specific role, industry, and the rooms you’re walking into, that’s a conversation, not a guessing game. Book a Check-in Call and we’ll work through it together.
