Spotted in the wild: submissive!

A while ago, I sat on a hiring committee and we interviewed a number of applicants for an assistant position. One of the applicants came in and sat before the table of gathered members, placed her hands in her lap and awaited the interview. She was a bit mousy, plain, late twenties early thirties. As the interview started, there was something about her very being, the way she answered questions, the way she held herself. Very small, sub-ordinate, submissive. Could she be one? That thought gathered momentum in my mind as she watched her and asked her questions. Her answers all pointed to a submissive personality, I won’t go into details, but after she left, the other women on the committee had picked up on it too, that she was really subordinate. Afterwards, while we were discussing her potential, the others commented to me that she appeared really nervous when I spoke and questioned her. Like my words were more direct and commanding. I remember wanting to put her at ease during the process, but maybe subliminally after recognizing what she was I took more command of her and she reacted. Interesting. I really didn’t expect myself to react that way. I didn’t expect myself to subliminally take on more dominate role, but apparently I did.