Does Height Affect Leadership Acceptance? Seeking Advice on Workplace Dynamics

I have a Team Lead (10 years of experience) who is the shortest in the team. He believes that no one in the team accepts him as a leader because every time his proposals or suggestions are not received by the team. He is a very good employee and dedicated to his job.

Does Height Matter in the Workplace, Society, or Community?

Please advise.

Nice topic. Something different. From what I have seen, people with good height are easier to accept as leaders. I have personally seen many times that very senior-level managers tend to be tall compared to the average employee height. People with less height can also become leaders and be accepted by the group, provided they display their competence. Then it becomes easy.

Thanks, Balaji. What would you suggest to handle such a situation where I believe that my employee is hardworking and dedicated with a "Get-It-Done" attitude? Does his inferiority complex kill his enthusiasm?

Regards,
Psoujesh

Dear Soujesh, The issue here is not the height of a person but the ability to execute certain powers at hand. The second thing is about being assertive. Please remember our former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was short. However, he was famous for his firm nature.

Maybe your friend has an inferiority complex because of his height. In a regular work set-up, what matters is not height but the management style. A leader has to execute various powers such as reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, referent power, and expert power. It appears that your friend is not using these powers as the situation demands.

Resources on Leadership Powers

You can refer to the following links to know more about these powers:

- http://www.learnmanagement2.com/leadership%20power.htm
- http://yahoo.com (link updated to site home) ([Search On Cite](https://www.citehr.com/results.php?q=Types%20of%20Power%20in%20Management %20Page%202%20of%202%20Associated%20Content%20from %20Yahoo%20associatedcontent%20com) | [Search On Google](https://www.google.com/search?q=Types%20of%20Power%20in%20Management%20Pa ge%202%20of%202%20Associated%20Content%20from%20Ya hoo%20associatedcontent%20com))

Ok...

Regards,
Dinesh V Divekar

Height does not matter at all. It's all about your confidence that matters! I know a person who has a squint eye; he is working as an HR Manager. Imagine if he sees someone, the other person will think that he is seeing someone else. Never bother about others, be confident, and just think "I CAN."

Well, Mr. Octavious has made the message pretty clear. We are all different and yet so similar. God has given us this body to respect it and not to be demoralized by height or other personality traits. We should be thankful for being given this chance to experience life in all its shapes and sizes. The only thing that matters is the heart, not height. So, you can suggest to your team lead to use the leadership skills which Mr. Dinesh Divakar has mentioned above. This way, he will feel fulfilled within himself.

One more latest addition to the list of short but charismatic and assertive leaders - Anna Hazare!!

It is the level of your confidence, ability, and competence that matters, not height, which is never a component of leadership qualities.

Best wishes,
Aspirations

Thank you all for the wonderful support and for sharing your thoughts. I will work on these points, keeping them in mind, and will handle the situation in my team well.

Regards,
psoujesh