If you and your friend get into a argument over something on the playground, instead of going to a teacher, you both agree to tell your stories to another friend you both agree will be impartial. You then both do what that friend says without involving the teacher.
Maybe this says more about me than anything else… But for me, I’d rather be judged by my work than appearance or credentials. The worse I can look in a corporate environment and still maintain a reputation of a great engineer the more authentic I feel my reputation is.
When I retire I aspire to be well respected by everyone in spite of looking like a category 5 dumpster fire.