Dress as a form of respect, says governance adviser

Corporate governance adviser Basil Springer has written about the lasting influence of his father's counsel on how appearance shapes the respect one receives.

In a column published this week, Springer recalled his father's guidance during his student years in England in the 1960s. His father told him that as a Black man in that setting, dressing well was essential to being respected. Though Springer initially questioned the burden of that expectation, he followed the advice and found it held true.

That lesson has remained with him for over 60 years. When travelling outside the Caribbean, Springer said he wears a blazer and shirt without a tie, aiming to present himself respectfully. He wears two lapel pins reflecting his membership in Rotary International and the Commonwealth Partnership for Technology Management.

Springer noted that while airports and aircraft are often cold, making a blazer practical, the deeper reason stems from his father's teaching about how self-presentation invites the world to treat you. He recounted several instances where his formal dress drew comment: being mistaken for a Caribbean prime minister at a Miami conference, and flight attendants remarking on his appearance during recent travels.

Springer framed dress not as vanity but as what he called "the corporate governance of the self." He argued that in an age of casual dress, language and governance, there remains power in how one presents oneself. "Your dress is your first board meeting," he wrote.