Last week, I had an average mid-40s German managing partner come visit me in the office. He wore a suit, had greying side hair and wrinkles on his face and when I greeted him, he was surprised.

His body language and his subequent questions (ie whether I came to Singapore alone or with a family) were clear signs of gauging my age, as he was trying to reconcile in his head how someone so young could lead an entire regional office.

It’s not the first time I felt that looking young was hindering my credibility.

I don’t think that age per se is the main obstacle, but it seems that the image of a female leader in their late 20s-40s is entirely missing in people’s heads. Women are either younger or older (with many most likely focusing on family in between).

The consequence of course is that people get thrown off or don’t take us seriously, because they cannot really place us in their “buckets” and don’t have a game plan according to which they can handle us on auto-pilot-brain.

It means that we need to focus even more on establishing credibility (and trust) in other ways.

In this particular case, speaking German to this dude and relating to his background in consulting was helpful. I also consciously took up quite a bit of air time to introduce myself and my past experiences, which helped to wipe away the doubt on his face. Lastly, I spoke with such gravitas and seriousness when it came to doing business with him which made him feel important and helped to establish trust.