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The awkwardness is amplified if the photographer has decided to show more than a person's head and shoulders. Pity the executives who have been forced to stand side on to the camera, tilt their heads slightly like a giant parrot, fold their arms and told to look natural. If you ever saw someone standing like this in real life, you would think "better cross to the other side", not "I bet that person is great at creating shareholder value."
如果摄影师决定把头和肩膀之外的部分也放入镜头，这种尴尬就会被放大。这些高管被迫侧身站在镜头前，像一只巨大的鹦鹉一样微微倾斜头部，双臂交叉，还要表现得很自然，可怜可怜他们吧。如果你在现实生活中看到一个人像这样站着，你会想"最好从另一边走过去"，而不是"我打赌那个人很擅长创造股东价值"。
What on earth is going on? There is some research to suggest that profile photos can have a useful effect in commercial settings. Humans are quick to form judgments about others by looking at their faces: baby-faced people are regarded as more trustworthy than those who look older, for example, whereas more mature faces convey expertise.
到底是怎么回事？有一些研究表明，个人资料照片在商业环境中可以产生有用的影响。人类看到面容后能很快对他人做出判断：例如，娃娃脸的人被认为比那些看起来更老的人更值得信任，而更成熟的脸则看起来更专业。
A recent paper from Stuart Barnes of King's College London and Samuel Kirshner of the University of New South Wales looked at the impact of facial characteristics on the prices that Airbnb hosts can charge their guests. They found that hosts with attractive and trustworthy faces could charge up to 5% more per night than their peers for similar apartments. Unsurprisingly, perceived trustworthiness mattered more for small, shared accommodation.
伦敦国王学院的斯图尔特·巴恩斯和新南威尔士大学的塞缪尔·基什纳最近发表了一篇论文，研究了面部特征对爱彼迎房东向客人收取费用的影响。他们发现，拥有迷人和值得信赖的相貌的房东每晚能比同类公寓的房东多收取5%的费用。不出所料，人们感觉到的信任度对小户型和共享的住宿更重要。
But the decisions made by consumers on online marketplaces do not explain corporate headshots. Maybe some people try to choose between Disney+ and Netflix by going to the About Us section of their websites, but it seems unlikely. And even if executive profiles were somehow feeding into the subconscious decisions of investors and job applicants, it is not at all clear what type of photograph should follow. Managers will already be trying to convey an impossible brew of leadership qualities, from breezy confidence to naked vulnerability. Now they have to look baby-faced too? No wonder people end up gurning.
但消费者在网上市场做出的决定并不能解释企业的头像拍摄。也许有些人会访问迪士尼+和网飞的官网，点击"关于我们"，然后决定选择二者中的哪一个，但这似乎不太可能。即使高管简介以某种方式影响了投资者和求职者的潜意识决策，也完全不清楚应该出现哪种类型的照片。经理们已经在努力传达一系列不可能的领导力品质，从轻松的自信到不加掩饰的脆弱。现在他们也要看起来像娃娃脸了？难怪人们最后开始扮鬼脸。
So what does lie behind this strangely pervasive custom? A headshot is something for a new executive to show their mother, and for a weary one to show recruiters. It is useful for employees who have no idea what their ultimate boss looks like.
那么，这种奇怪的普遍习俗背后隐藏着什么呢？头像是新任高管给他们的母亲看的东西，也是疲惫的高管给招聘人员看的东西。对于不知道大老板是什么样子的员工来说，这是很有用的。
Leadership galleries increasingly serve as a crude but quick measure of diversity. Perhaps the most plausible explanation is that it is just something that everyone else does. It is odd to have a leadership team that does not show their faces. Odd but not impossible. Alphabet lists its board members' names and eschews photos altogether. You just have to imagine them, shaking their heads in amazement at a graph.
领导层照片集越来越多地被用作衡量多样性的粗略但快速的指标。也许最合理的解释是，这只是因为其他所有人都在这样做。有一个不露面的领导团队是很奇怪的。很奇怪，但也不是不可能。Alphabet列出了董事会成员的名字，但完全不用照片。你只能想象他们的模样：对着一张图表惊讶地摇头称叹。
