Earl’s supervisor took this position: “Clean up your appearance.” But Earl heard through that for the underlying concern: “We want families to feel comfortable with you more quickly.” Earl shared this interest and suggested another way to address it. He asked his supervisor to describe him a bit differently to new families before he met them. In addition to presenting his professional credentials, he suggested that she add a few words about his being a semiprofessional bluegrass banjo player. This one additional fact about Earl put his appearance into a context that the families understood.
