Latest news with #height
Forbes
11-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Babble Effect: When Style Gets Promoted Over Substance
Can height shape how we see leadership? Psychologists call it the 'height premium" or the 'style advantage' —and it's more than a quirk of perception. Research from the University of Florida found that each additional inch of height corresponds to an average $789 boost in annual earnings. Malcolm Gladwell also opined on this phenomenon in his book Blink: In the U.S. population, about 14.5% of all men are six feet or over. Among CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, that number is 58%. We unconsciously equate height with authority, strength, even intelligence—a leftover bias from evolutionary psychology. Tallness signals dominance, and dominance gets confused with leadership. It's not rational. But it's real. And it shows up not just in paychecks, but in who we trust to take charge. But height isn't the only signal that gets misread as strength. The way someone speaks—how often, how confidently, how loudly—can tilt perception too. Take the Babble Effect. A recent study led by research scientist Neil G. MacLaren helped renew attention to a long-observed but underexamined pattern: people who speak more in group settings are more likely to be seen as leaders, regardless of what they say. MacLaren and a team of researchers found consistent evidence that people attribute leadership to those who 'babbled' or talked more frequently. The study also found that men received an additional vote on average just because of their gender. I recently spoke with MacLaren to understand the context behind the study. His responses emphasized that this is still an emerging area of research but one with real implications for how organizations identify and grow leaders. In my own research, coaching and succession work, I've seen how performative behaviors like constant speaking often get rewarded—not because they're valuable, but because they're visible. That disconnect shows up across leadership selection, promotion processes and even team dynamics. Performative Leadership Isn't Always A Choice There's a common critique of performative leadership. But the truth is more complicated. Most leaders don't begin that way. They become performative because they've learned what earns attention. What gets rewarded gets repeated. Speak more, get more. Be seen, move up. Babble becomes audition. A way of signaling, 'I belong here.' It isn't always ego. Sometimes it's survival. A perception gap only deepens the problem. While 68% of board directors believe their succession plans are equitable and inclusive, just 38% of C-suite leaders and 33% of next-generation leaders agree, according to a Russell Reynolds study. In the absence of clear merit signals, high-potential leaders often reach for the next best tool—visibility. Even if that means stepping into a version of themselves that feels unnatural. Not to impress, but to stay in the running. And when polish is mistaken for readiness, when confidence is confused for competence, we begin to lose the plot. Noise gets misread as value. And the leadership pipeline fills with those who learned how to perform, not necessarily how to lead. The Real Cost Of Mistaking Volume for Vision In many organizations, presence still substitutes for performance. The first person to speak is seen as decisive. The most vocal shapes the discussion. The smoothest communicator becomes the natural pick for the next stretch role. But that pattern carries a cost. Leaders with strategic patience are misread as passive. People who elevate others don't always dominate the room. And those who think deeply often go unnoticed. Gallup's recent research on neurodivergent employees adds to the picture. Many bring rare strengths like ideation, strategic thinking and pattern recognition. But in systems that reward verbal fluency and fast thinking, they are often overlooked. We end up reinforcing a narrow definition of what leadership looks like—and miss out on the very people who see around edges. Maclaren noted that the Babble Effect tends to show up most strongly in unstructured environments without formal hierarchies. That doesn't mean it vanishes in more formal organizations—it may just look different. So far, there's little research on how it plays out in succession or promotion decisions, but the potential impact is clear. As he put it, 'There hasn't been much research that's tried to go beyond the babble observation.' That gap in evidence doesn't make the pattern less real. It just means most organizations haven't yet asked the right questions. What we label as leadership often reflects what we see first, not what drives the best outcomes. Man yelling into bullhorn Three Shifts To Build Leadership Cultures That Listen Charisma isn't a competency. Yet too often, it becomes the shortcut for advancement. Structured evaluation helps leadership teams assess potential based on contribution, not just presence. Too often, leadership potential is assessed by gut feel, surface-level impressions, or informal 360s that rely on perception. Candidates who 'appear confident,' 'speak boldly,' or 'stand out' may be favored, even if their actual impact is uneven or untested. That is not evaluation—it's projection. And it's one of the fastest ways to miss real capability. This is where objective assessments matter. Tools that evaluate judgment, strengths, and problem solving—without being filtered through charisma—can change the conversation. These tools don't eliminate bias, but they reduce the weight of first impressions. When used alongside structured observation, they create a fuller picture of leadership readiness. We also need to recalibrate what counts as evidence. Instead of defaulting to polish or airtime, ask: Who made others better? Who clarified thinking? Who improved the outcome? If thoughtful contributors are passed over for louder voices, we're not just missing talent. We're reinforcing a model of leadership that fails under real complexity. In succession planning, track who gets nominated—and who never does. Bias doesn't just shape final decisions. It influences who gets seen, supported, and stretched in the first place. Leadership move: Insist on objective, validated measures of talent—tools that assess how people think, not just how they talk. Reimagine talent reviews as structured data conversations, not loose discussions based on perceived readiness. Ask, 'Where is the evidence of contribution?' not just, 'Who feels ready?' Not everyone leads with volume. Some lead through clarity, systems thinking, or reflection. These are the leaders who stabilize progress long after the spotlight moves on. I've coached high-potential leaders who consistently elevate team performance but rarely get noticed because they don't fit the traditional mold. Gallup's research on neurodivergence reinforces this. Many bring powerful cognitive strengths that remain invisible in cultures obsessed with ease of expression. MacLaren noted that introverts are especially susceptible to being misread in these environments. Talkativeness is often equated with extroversion, and extroversion with leadership. He also raised a useful question: Do people speak more when the conversation plays to their strengths? That kind of nuance rarely shows up in performance reviews, but it should. Leadership move: Rotate facilitation. Normalize written input. Create space for insight that doesn't compete for airtime. Redesign team rituals so that introverted, deep-thinking contributors shape outcomes just as much as fluent speakers do. Talent development isn't just about giving feedback. It's about creating access. Many leaders don't self-promote—not because they lack ambition, but because the system asks them to perform a version of leadership that doesn't reflect who they are. As MacLaren pointed out, even raters are vulnerable to the Babble Effect. That's why he recommends more holistic evaluations. Pair leaderless group exercises with structured assessments. Reduce the role of personality-driven impressions wherever possible. Leadership visibility should not depend on who interrupts best or commands a room. It should reflect who delivers value and helps others succeed. If we don't challenge the idea that influence equals volume, we'll keep recycling the same traits in our talent pipelines. Leadership move: Ask in your next one-on-one, 'What part of your thinking does this organization need more of?' Then make that thinking visible. Influence starts by being seen for what matters. Amplifying The Voices We Don't Hear Leadership today doesn't suffer from a lack of ideas. It suffers from a lack of listening. The best insight might not come from the first voice. The most thoughtful contribution may not be the smoothest. The next great leader may not match the voice you've been trained to follow. Loud is easy to reward. But wisdom often speaks more quietly. And if leadership systems reward what's visible over what's valuable, we will keep cycling through the same kinds of risk, the same kinds of mistakes, and the same kinds of leaders. What if the next big idea wasn't in a polished pitch? What if it was scribbled in the margins by someone who wasn't invited to the room? What we choose to notice becomes what we scale. And what we overlook is often where the future quietly lives. Where substance matters more than style.
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Richard Osman, 54, declares he looks best NAKED as much-loved presenter opens up about feeling 'weird' and 'embarrassed' about his 6ft 7in height
Richard Osman says his 6ft 7in height looks best when he's naked - after previously saying he didn't like being body shamed over how tall he was. The bestselling author and TV presenter, 54, said since becoming exceptionally tall at 17 he has felt 'weird' and 'embarrassed' about standing out in public, but he said being lanky looks OK with no clothes on. He admitted his height and humour meant he did well with girls despite being shy. He said: 'I always sort of did ok in that area. I was quite shy. And I was always funny and people like that. 'But I always felt I looked awful. My self-image was terrible and of course you look back at pictures of yourself and you go "Oh my God, you look great, you look so good". 'But at the time you're just thinking "This is awful". Being funny is an enormous help. 'I felt awful about being tall, and actually people like that. If you're funny and you're tall and you've got a bit about you.' Asked by Gyles Brandreth on the Rosebud podcast how he felt the first time he was seen naked, dad-of-two Osman, who is married to second wife Ingrid Oliver, said: 'Tall doesn't look bad naked - I'll say that. 'It looks unusual on the tube, but in a room where it's just in context it all seems to fit together.' Osman has previously told how he became accustomed to daily comments about being so tall. Richard's appearance on the podcast comes on the same week he was spotted with his wife Ingrid Oliver at Wimbledon. The pair - who met during the pandemic - put on a loved-up display as they were seen holding hands while walking through the grounds of the famous tennis club. Richard towered over his petite partner in a light pink suit, completing the outfit with a striped tie and shirt, brown shoes and his trademark black glasses. Ingrid, 48, was similarly dressed to impress in a white top and pink trousers and accessorised with a beige belt. She completed the look with comfortable-looking white shoes, adding a touch of glamour with her gold necklace and white, dotted earrings. Richard and Ingrid tied the knot in 2023 on a day which Richard described as 'full of love and laughter', three years after they met during the pandemic. After enduring a difficult divorce with his first wife in 2011 - with whom he shares two children - Richard gushed about his new love interest in 2023 during an episode of Desert Island Discs. 'I'm happy with myself,' the Pointless star said. 'I've got these beautiful kids, I've met the woman I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. 'That thing of completion and ambition, you soon realise that rocket fuel disappears and it's about happiness and my kids bring me happiness and Ingrid brings me happiness.' Ingrid is best known for her role as Petronella Osgood in Doctor Who and has featured in her husband's show House of Games. Richard has two children, Ruby, 27, and Sonny, 25.
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Daily Mail
Inside Barron Trump's diet and exercise regime that dad Donald credits for his staggering 6ft7 height
Barron Trump's diet and eating habits have long fascinated many people around the world due to his soaring height. Standing at an impressive 6ft7, the 19-year-old student is often seen towering over his parents, President Donald Trump and Melania Trump. While Barron's parents have previously revealed a glimpse into their son's healthy appetite, Femail has takens a closer look at what he is known to eat and what sports he enjoys to keep fit and active. Last year, one of Barron's friends lifted the lid on his school lunchtime habits and revealed that he and his pals would congregate in the school cafeteria. While the other students at Oxbridge Academy in Florida would dine on fancy cuisine more akin to high-end restaurant fare, Barron would avoid eating altogether. 'It was buffet style,' the friend recalled. 'They had American food, Asian and Indian food. 'There was a salad bar, a fruit bar, on special holidays they would serve steak. 'Barron always went to the lunchroom to sit with his friends, but he never ate any lunch. He never specifically said why, just that he would wait until he got home to eat. It was a little unusual.' While Barron didn't eat his school lunchtimes, he did enjoy homecooked meals whipped up by his maternal grandmother, the late Amalija Knavs. Melania and Donald previously credited her mother, Amalija, for Barron's impressive size. 'Boy, did she take care of Barron,' Donald told The Telegraph shortly after her death in January 2024 aged 78. 'That's how he got so tall, he only ate her food.' 'With her passion for cooking, she transported every dish, which she curated with her spices from her garden, to new heights,' Melania added. 'I'm fortunate that she taught me many of her secrets to creating the signature delights.' Traditional Slovenian food is typically hearty and features plenty of meat, dairy and seasonal vegetables. Some popular dishes include idrijski žlikrofi, which are traditional Slovenian dumplings, kranjska klobasa, a parboiled sausage, and bograč, a hearty stew made with various meats such as pork, beef, venison, and boar, as well as potatoes. As for sports and exercise, Trump confirmed that Barron 'loved' football in a 2023 interview with Piers Morgan. In fact, when Wayne Rooney was the coach of DC United during Trump's first term in office, the Manchester United legend briefly met with Barron after the Commander-in-Chief asked him to offer some soccer advice to his teenage son. 'He asked me to give his son football lessons,' Rooney, who was even invited to a Christmas Party at the White House during Trump's time in office, said on The Overlap. 'Barron said: "Do you want to see my dad?" He took me up into the Oval office and then from there, his PA was just texting: "Do you want to play a few holes?'' Last June, Trump praised his 18-year-old son during an interview with YouTube star Logan Paul where he detailed that he still plays soccer. 'He's a big boy - six foot nine,' Trump claimed of his youngest son. 'And I couldn't get him to play basketball. 'He plays soccer. He's a good athlete too. Good student, good athlete.' But his father also shot down the idea of him playing football during an interview in 2019, saying he would have a 'hard time' letting his son partake in the sport. 'I just don't like the reports that I see coming out having to do with football – I mean, it's a dangerous sport and I think it's really tough,' Trump told CBS' Face the Nation. 'I thought the equipment would get better, and it has. The helmets have gotten far better, but it hasn't solved the problem.'
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Living with a tall man is no picnic - here's why
SHORT men feel short changed. A study found that shorter males are jealous of their taller counterparts, believing them more desirable and formidable as romantic partners. The research by the Australian Catholic University and published in the academic journal Evolutionary Behavioural Sciences found that there really is such a thing as 'short man syndrome' and shorter men were more likely to display envy, jealousy and competitiveness. I must admit I like tall men. While my teenage girlfriends were swooning over some boy's thick dark hair, piercing eyes or bulging biceps, I'd be checking how lofty they were. But after a succession of tall men - when I say succession that's three - as partners, including my 6ft 4in husband, I'd say height isn't all it's cracked up to be and small men don't need to fret. For a start, tall men are always banging their heads. Rarely a week goes by without my husband ranting after bashing his forehead into something. This week it was the up-and-over garage door, after which he berated me for not raising it high enough. As I'd opened it for my own 5ft 4in frame, there was no need to raise it further. Tall men disrupt sleep and it's not because they are amazing lovers, they are just too big for double beds and hog the space. We can't fit a queen or king-size bed in our bedroom, so, most nights I've got to fight for my half of the mattress. Tall men hog the mattress, making a good night's sleep difficult. Picture: Pixabay Public transport is difficult. Try travelling on a bus with a tall man. 'I can't sit there, or there,' he will say. When I first met my husband we travelled by coach from London to my parents' home near Middlesbrough. It was the first - and last - time we took a long-distance coach journey - coaches are not made for tall people. I was thankful my parents didn't live in Inverness. Trains aren't much better and thankfully we rarely fly. Then there's driving. Tall men need cars to accommodate them. With me as the main driver we have mostly owned small cars which are fine for me, but if my husband is driving he squirms around for about half an hour to 'get comfortable' then moans the entire journey about how cramped it is, how the rear-view mirror obscures his field of vision, and the head rest sits at neck level. Public transport is no better. Try travelling on a bus with a tall man. 'I can't it there, or there,' he will say. When I first met my husband we travelled by coach from London to my parents' home near Middlesbrough. It was the first - and last - time we took a long-distance coach journey - coaches are not made for tall people. I was thankful my parents didn't live in Inverness. Thankfully, we rarely fly. There are even issues with the kitchen work surfaces. 'They're too low, I've got back ache,' is common tall-man-cooking complaint. My husband's height means even trivial things are potential flashpoints: we always argue over where to hang pictures, his eyeline being totally different to mine. On the plus side the bath is too short, which works well for me, as it's now my domain, while the shower is his. He even says the bathroom sink is too low. Even buying clothes is problematic - shirt sleeves are invariably too short, while shoes in size 12 are not always in stock. I can't deny having a tall man around is useful. He can spot people in a crowd, reach things on the top shelf in the supermarket and effortlessly flick away cobwebs on the ceiling at home. But fear not short men - being tall has its drawbacks, and for us women, a tall-man relationship is certainly no bed of roses.
Daily Mail
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The most attractive heights for men and women is revealed - but how does yours stack up?
Short single men around the world are devastated by the recent news that Tinder is to introduce an experimental filter within its Premium Discovery setting section, for users to specify their desired minimum and maximum heights. But is it really over for so-called 'short kings'? Experts revealed the most attractive heights for both men and women and surprising research showed that the most attractive height's quite a bit taller than the average height of the UK population. At 6ft 1in, Henry Cavill, Bradley Cooper, and David Tennant were right on the mark, while others like Barry Keoghan, Maya Jama, and Anna Taylor-Joy at 5ft 8in were too short - with the women classed as too tall for the taste's of the average man. Just right: Scientists have revealed that the ideal height for a man is 6ft 1in, much like Superman actor Henry Cavill WHAT IS THE MOST ATTRACTIVE HEIGHT? Determining the exact 'most attractive' height is not an easy task because there are lots of factors that affect height preferences. However, there are a few common factors that allow us to determine the heights that will be most attractive to the average person. Professor Gert Stulp from the University of Groningen said: 'One's own height has a strong effect on one's preferred height.' In a study of 5,782 speed-daters, Professor Stulp found that women preferred men who were on average 9.8in taller than themselves. Men, on the other hand, preferred women who were on average 3.1in shorter than themselves. While ideal tallness varied from person to person, the average height of the population was used to work out an estimate of the ideal one for dating. Given the average woman in the UK's 5ft 3in, a man who's 6ft 1in would be the preferred height for the largest number of English women. Male celebrities at this optimal height include Keanu Reeves and Channing Tatum while Chris Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, and President Donald Trump would all be considered too tall by the average woman. Likewise, based on an average male height of 5ft 9in, a woman at 5ft 5in would be the most attractive for the average man in the UK. While Olivia Rodrigo's the optimal height for dating at 5ft 4in, Lily Allen and Kim Kardashian at 5ft 2in would both be too short. However, it's important to bear in mind that's just a general rule based on the average. Professor Stulp maintained that there could not be any single perfect height because 'height varies considerably across populations and because there are large individual differences'. For example, studies have shown that women with higher self-perceived attractiveness tended to prefer men who were significantly taller than themselves. Similarly, shorter women and taller men both typically prefer a bigger height difference between them and their partners than taller women and shorter men. DOES HEIGHT MATTER IN DATING? On the shorter side: Studies show that men prefer women to be shorter than themselves, such as Demi Moore and Emma Watson at 5ft 5in With the test of the new Tinder optional height filter, within the Premium Discovery section of the app's settings, the tool allowed users to specify the heights of their preferred matches. While Tinder did not widely announce the new tool, it confirmed that it's currently testing the paid option. A spokesperson said: 'We're always listening to what matters most to our Tinder users - and testing the paid height preference is a great example of how we're building with urgency, clarity, and focus.' CELEBRITIES WHO ARE THE PERFECT HEIGHT, ACCORDING TO SCIENCE MEN - 6ft 1in Henry Cavill Bradley Cooper Channing Tatum WOMEN: 5ft 5in Demi Moore Billie Piper Emma Watson On social media, the news of the new tool sparked controversy with some claiming it was 'over for short men'. While many have embraced the option to filter by height, Professor Stulp agrees that this will 'reinforce the idea that height is important in mate choice' and 'affect patterns of matching'. Professor Stulp says: 'With Tinder, there is an endless pool of candidates, and one has to constrain one's search heuristics. 'Things like height and age are easy things to restrict on because they can be summarized in numbers. It would be hard to set such restrictions regarding, for example, humor.' CELEBRITIES WHO ARE TOO SHORT, ACCORDING TO SCIENCE MEN Ncuti Gatwa Robert Downey Jr Barry Keoghan WOMEN Lily Allen Kim Kardashian Sabrina Carpenter WHY DO PEOPLE CARE ABOUT HEIGHT? Some theories suggested that height remained important for women because of evolutionary pressures in our distant past. Historically, height was associated with favorable traits like status, health, and strength, which would ensure more success for offspring. While those factors might no longer be important for our survival, the preference for them might still linger in our psychology. However, Professor Stulp pointed out that some hunter-gatherer or pre-industrial societies had less strong height preferences. Likewise, it did not explain why men would be more attracted to smaller women. Professor Stulp says: 'I think the best answer is that males and females from any species prefer traits that are typical of the other sex. 'Because men are on average quite a bit taller than women, taller height is more a "male trait" and shorter height more a "female trait".'
