If You Look Good, You Feel Good
“I become professional or hip, depending on what I am wearing. I feel different when I am wearing different clothes. I act different. I let my Talbots suits and my vintage shirts remake me in their image. I want to let Jesus do the same.”
- Lauren F. Winner, Wearing God: Clothing, Laughter, Fire, and Other Overlooked Ways of Meeting God - A Spiritual Exploration of Biblical Metaphors
I am terrible at choosing which clothes to wear. I’ve often fantasized about a wardrobe philosophy like Steve Jobs who famously wore the same thing every day. The reason I don’t practice a capsule wardrobe is because I want to communicate something different to the world as I engage every day, and for me, variety represents the fullness of my personhood. This is not to say that those who choose the capsule style are not representing the fullness of who they are! All of this clothes-talk underscores an incredible point as we consider an important point for churches and nonprofits that may seem vain, but it is important nonetheless. The clothes of our work is our branding which communicate who we are, they share our story and tell the world the essence of your identified task of your organization.
A powerful, thoughtful brand is essential, and not for the reasons you might assume. In 2012, psychologists Hajo Adam and Adam Galinsky introduced the concept of “enclothed cognition.” In this groundbreaking study, Adam and Galinsky looked at the performance effects of clothing on student scientists, specifically the wearing of white coats. Their experiment found that students wearing white coats made half as many errors in the course of their lab work than students who just wore plain clothes. The psychologists concluded that “Although the saying goes that clothes make the man, our results suggest that they do hold a strange power over their wearers.” Their research led them to postulate if firefighters are more brave when they strap on their fire suits and helmets, are pilots more exacting with their airplanes when they are wearing a pilot’s uniform—are we church and nonprofit professionals performing at a different level when the brand communicating our organizations are creative, thoughtful, and beautiful? I would say so.
I have seen this in many organizations over the years who have utilized brand transformations to support strategic shifts in mission, ministry, and approach. It has also signaled a “new day” in the life of the organization. A brand encapsulates the feeling you desire a client or parishioner to feel when they walk in the doors of your organization. If your branding looks historic (think columns, sans serif font, and some nod to the year of your establishment”, you are inviting those you encounter to assume certain things about your organization even if your work in the world is fresh and incredibly relevant. By the same token, if your brand is “hip” (think serif font, bright colors, unique logo mark), but your work is rooted in the unique history and legacy of your organization and community you serve, you may unintentionally communicate something about your organization that is not consistent with the essence of who you are and, to be frank, you may be seen as inauthentic or “trying too hard”. The brand your organization wears is critical, and it is truly an art to determine exactly the right thing to show to the world. And even more importantly, it matters to you as a leader. If you are confident in your branding, you will perform better as Adam and Galinsky concluded in their study. You will show up in a better way, have a more thoughtful conversation with a donor, and be more willing to try the new thing or adopt the new system because you are confident that what you show the world is consistent with who your organization truly is while embodying the work you are tasked to do.