Research published in Harvard Business Review in 2024* identified appearance, including an executive's online image, as one of three core components of executive presence, alongside gravitas and communication. The research, conducted by economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett through the think tank Coqual, found that how leaders present themselves visually in professional and digital contexts functions as a substantive leadership signal, not a superficial one.
Your professional portrait is part of that signal. It's making an argument for you before you've said anything.
what people actually read from a headshot
Several things register quickly when someone looks at your photo: whether you appear confident or uncertain, approachable or closed off, current or dated. None of these are about appearance standards. They're about the signals a photo sends about how you carry yourself professionally.
Eye contact with the camera reads as directness. A relaxed expression reads as confidence. A stiff posture or forced smile reads as discomfort. These aren't subtle. They're legible to anyone who looks at the photo for more than a second.
Clients, prospects, and new hires are reading these signals. Most of them don't know they're doing it.
the currency problem
An outdated headshot creates a specific kind of problem. When someone meets you in person and you look meaningfully different from your photo, there's a moment of cognitive dissonance. It's small, but it introduces a question mark.
More broadly, an outdated photo signals that you haven't been paying attention to your professional presence. For executives asking clients to trust them with significant decisions, that signal matters.
Headshots age. The standard I give clients: if someone who hasn't met you wouldn't recognize you from your headshot, it's time for a new one.
Confidence vs performing confidence
The most common mistake executives make in a headshot session is trying to look serious. Serious and credible are not the same thing. A photo where someone is working hard to project authority usually reads as stiff or unapproachable.
The executives whose headshots work best look like themselves at their best: present, composed, and at ease. That's a different thing from performing confidence for the camera.
Getting there is partly about direction. A good photographer isn't just pressing the shutter. They're reading what the camera is picking up and adjusting in real time: posture, chin position, how relaxed the eyes are, what's happening at the corners of the mouth.
the approachability-authority dance
For most executives, the goal isn't to look intimidating. It's to look like someone a client or prospective hire would want to work with. That requires balancing authority with approachability, and it's a narrower target than most people expect.
Too serious: unapproachable. Too relaxed: not credible. The right expression sits between those two, and it's different for every person.
This is why headshots taken by a friend with a good camera often fall short. The technical quality might be acceptable, but the direction and the ability to read what the camera is capturing in real time is what produces an expression that works.
the bottom line
Your headshot is doing leadership work whether you've thought about it or not. Prospects look you up before they take your call. Hiring managers check LinkedIn before they read your resume. Conference organizers look at your bio before they book you.
The question isn't whether your photo is making an impression. It's whether it's making the right one.
*Hewlett, Sylvia Ann. "The New Rules of Executive Presence." Harvard Business Review, January-February 2024. https://hbr.org/2024/01/the-new-rules-of-executive-presence