Being Kilted before the Boss

[Cirthalion]

No small amount of talk has been produced here discussing the ins and outs of being kilted in the workplace, among colleagues, etc. It has all been useful and educational. I am wondering, however, whether anyone has any experience or opinions on specific issue of being kilted while one's superiors are present. It is one thing to be kilted with one's coworkers and colleagues, or to obtain the permission from a human resources director who doesn't actually witness your kilted presence. It's a whole other matter to be kilted before one's superiors, and risk a negative reaction from them because of what I like to call the "intimidation factor" of the kilt. Bosses have a tendency to see any intimidation of them as insubordinate. Also, I have some folks in authority above me who imagine themselves as being both very worldly and very traditional, and when I wear a kilt around them, I wonder if I am running the risk of being misunderstood as trying to one-up them, rather than simply celebrating my heritage. These types of reactions are often unspoken, so it is hardly something that can be addressed directly.

I am interested in any comments or thoughts on this subject.

Cirthalion

[auld argonian]

I don't know...a truly enlightened boss would certainly cut you some slack and be secure enough to not take it as a threat. A boss might say, "Oh...you know I have Scots in my family tree..." or "Well, gee, have you ever had a chance to go to Scotland? The wife and I want to take a vacation there someday..." (in which case you give them Robertson's B&B info and subsequently rceive their eternal gratitude).

I would certainly think that any boss worth his title wouldn't make a big thing about it in public if he had any reservations about your wearing the kilt. I would expect such a person to speak to you privately about it at a later time and make it a discussion instead of a lecture.

I've made mention of being in stuations where the kilted party is insulted because others think that he is trying to draw all of the attention to himself. I, personaly, don't wear a kilt to get attention but there are a lot of people for whom any social or business interaction is a "turf war" of sorts and they will make lots of assumptions about what people are doing to upstage them and thus gain control over the situation. Pity them but be prepared to deal with them.

Best

AA

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

Might I suggest that you approach your direct supervisor and discuss it with them? That is how I handled wearing a kilt to work. I first went to my manager and indicated that I wanted to broach the subject with HR and get approval to wear it. He was fine with it. It moved a little too quickly for him because the first day I wore it we had a United Way presentation from the very senior management and I was in the front row, by chance not design. So I was immediately seen by all and no problems. Most of the fear is in our own minds, at least that has been my experience.

You can check out how my journey went. It might give you some help or insight.

[Livingston]

I'm not worried by my direct manager but.... Up till a year ago my manager's manager(DM) flat said NO. No discussion, no maybe, just NO. We had a re-org last Nov 1 which moved me any my manager under another DM. When we had our 1:1 I brought it up and he said knock yourself out....and was conviently out of town on Tartan Day. I'll have to find out about St Andrews since I'll not be on business traval that day unlike last year.

[GreenDragon]

i asked my boss about it and he sort of chuckled and some something to the like of "that's on you, man."

[Schultz]

I was a bit worried about the higher-ups when I first started wearing it and almost went out of my way to not be around them if at all possible. My direct supervisor encouraged me to wear it whenever I wanted before I even brought the idea up of everyday kilting.

Then the office manager came into the library one day, saw me, and said, "Hey, I like your kilt!" and kept on walking. That was one down. The head of HR, a notoriously um...assertive...woman saw me not too long after and didn't even comment. I lightened up a bit after that and just had to deal with the more conservative partners (I work in a law firm), one of which was the sole reason for the axing of "casual fridays", and they don't seem to mind.

My advice would be to just act like everything's normal and try not to be so nervous.