I have had a few conversations this week where the notion of “professionalism” came up, and while I have discussed it before in my writing, that term is so important to me that I felt the need to dedicate a full column to it.
What exactly is a “professional”?
In the strictest, simplest sense, a professional is someone who is paid regularly for something. The easiest example is that of athletes: they are “professional” when they are paid for their athletic skills, and “amateurs” when not.
The literal difference in terms is telling: “amateur” is a French word derived from the French verb “aimer”, or “to like”. The implication is that an amateur dabbles, never really achieving full proficiency, while professionals dedicate themselves fully to a pursuit. If you are a professional in the literal sense, you accept money in exchange for your craft, and because it is your livelihood, the assumption is that you hold yourself to a higher standard of service delivery, if only to maintain a stream of clients and revenue.
When you start thinking of how much that “higher standard” should encompass, you really get a full sense of the responsibility that calling oneself a “professional” entails.
You have to look the part
Uniforms, when worn properly, play a very powerful role in conveying how on-the-ball you are.
I know some people (engineers?…) will scoff and say: “who cares what I look like, I know what I’m doing”.
YOU may know what you’re doing, but do those you’re selling work to think that? Have you even gotten the chance to prove yourself, or did they see your overstuffed computer bag and rumpled shirt and think “if they can’t get dressed right…”.
Think about how you feel when you see a Marine dressed in their formal wear, or a doctor in a shirt and tie and crisp white coat.
They don’t have to say anything: they could stand still and you’d probably think “yep, I can trust these people”.
So it should be for you, and believe it or not, presenting yourself properly does not mean just throwing on any old button down shirt and call that “dressing up”.
While you don’t have to look like the gentleman in the picture, I will just say that caring about the details of how well your suit fits and how your briefcase is organized show that you put thought into your appearance.
That takes some work: taking the time to see what fits you, a half hour or so to shine your shoes every once in a while, and of course some financial outlay.
Some of the earliest memories I have of my dad, from whom I learned about professionalism, involve seeing him go off to work every day in a suit and what I now know was a Hermes tie (he didn’t buy a lot of things, but those he bought were nice…) and even without fully understanding what he did at the time, I knew he and his job must have been important. It also meant he cared enough about it to put his best foot forward every day.
Is dressing well frivolous?
Tell that to the Marine or the doctor.
Taking care of yourself demonstrates that the event you’re attending (maybe a big meeting) and the people you’re around (co-workers and future clients or employers) matter to you.
That’s a sign of a true professional.
You must not just deliver to your client, you must take care of them
Satisfying your client means not only making sure they are happy with the final product you delivered, but also that the price they pay does not exceed that value they gain from engaging you.
That point is really important: the service provider looking out for themselves might make more money in the short-term by overcharging, but the one who charges a “fair” price for the services they sell will find a constant stream of clients who appreciate that someone is keeping their interests in mind also!
That’s hard: as a professional, you justifiably feel that you should be paid for everything you offer, and if you are confident in your abilities, you feel confident charging high rates.
But there is a fine line to straddle: being a professional means valuing yourself and your services fairly, and it also means being generous, sharing your knowledge, and giving a bit more than you get, with the confidence that you’ll reap what you sow eventually.
In short: being a professional means giving people more than they expect, every time.
You must never be satisfied with your skill set
To deliver the best value possible for your client, you must constantly be at the forefront of your field. In technical areas especially, where regulations and codes can change, this is crucially important.
Punching in and out every day and staying comfortable are not enough: keeping your skills and knowledge fresh takes time and effort, either through attending classes and seminars, or doing self-guided research on your own time.
That’s part of being a professional: going the extra-mile not only to show that you care about your profession and have a passion for it, but also to make sure that whatever service you’re delivering is a demonstration of the cutting-edge in your field.
You must show integrity and good judgment at ALL times
For me, this is really where the rubber meets the road.
While you might wish that you could completely separate your personal life from your professional life, you can’t, and the more notoriety and success you gain from your skills on one end, the smaller the margin for error you have in your personal life on the other end.
Just recently, there have been Ray Rice and the top cancer doctor as examples.
Think back a little farther and you have Bill Clinton, whose presidency was overshadowed by his abuses of power over an intern.
They all dressed the part, they were all at the height of proficiency in their respective fields, and they all won over fans, voters and patients but consider this: even if Ray Rice is paid to play football again, can he really call himself a professional?
I don’t think so.
That’s why what you post on your Facebook profile matters.
That’s why carrying yourself with class and dignity at all times (or not) matters.
The truth of the matter is that in today’s world, how you carry yourself out of the office WILL affect how people think you can perform in it.
That’s why calling yourself a “professional” – and more importantly having others think of you as such – is a privilege and a burden: it can bring you great career success, but maintaining the high standards required of that title is a 24/7 obligation.
The examples above are flagrant, but the infractions don’t have to be so egregious to be detrimental to your status as a professional.
If you really want to earn that title, there’s no room for drunk texts or tweets, no room for being rude to the waiter who got your order wrong, and no room for treating support staff or generally anyone below you in the organizational hierarchy with anything less than the utmost respect.
Being a professional isn’t then just receiving payment in exchange for a service. It represents a state of “being”, a code you set for yourself that encompasses not only expertise in your chosen field, but also striving for to meet the highest standards of moral behavior and personal conduct.
That code governs, quite literally, every decision I make, every day.
Forget the familiar refrain “don’t do this if you wouldn’t feel comfortable telling your mother about it”. For me it’s “if I do this, can I still call myself a professional?”.
Don’t use the term lightly, and when you arrive at the stage where people are calling you a professional, be proud, because there is no higher form of praise.
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