Researchers at the University of Toronto and Tufts University gathered firm website headshots and yearbook photos of 73 of managing partners of the top 100 U.S. law firms. They then asked people to rate the faces on dominance, maturity, attractiveness, likeability, and trustworthiness. Dominance and maturity were considered a measurement of power. They then correlated the ratings with public records of the partners' firms' profitability. The result? According to a press release on the study, "Power in the managing partners' faces predicted profit margin and overall profitability of the law firms. Not only did facial power in the current pictures correlate with profitability, but facial power in the decades-old yearbook pictures was nearly as effective at predicting profits."
Times being what they are, the faces were overwhelmingly white male. It's not clear whether the same correlation exists for women and minorities with powerful faces, or, whether being white and male itself contributes to the power rating. While we're waiting to find out, the study suggests that those of us seeking financial success as lawyers would be well advised to think "Master of the Universe" and put on our powerfaces when we leave for work in the morning.
Art: Honore Daumier
