Profound Business

“Professional” is not a title, it is a behavior.

Too often, I see people that describe themselves as professionals, as though this is a title bestowed on them by some authority. They think that having a college degree, or an advanced degree, or a prestigious job makes them a professional.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

I am sure you’ve heard people described as “unprofessional”. This adjective is not used to describe their place in the world. They aren’t unprofessional because they don’t have the right degree or the right position. They are described as unprofessional when they behave in an unprofessional manner. Common behaviors of the unprofessional person can include:

• Tardiness
• Lack of effort
• Condescending behavior

Can we agree on this much? If so, wouldn’t it be better to approach your job and your career with the mindset of developing a professional set of behaviors. For me, these include the following:

Punctuality - Showing up on time, whether to work in the morning or to any number of meetings throughout the day, is the minimum we’re expected to do. How often does a doctor allow his or her staff to overbook their schedule and keep patients waiting as if the patient’s time is less valuable than their own? Don’t we all consider this type of behavior unprofessional, and yet we automatically lump doctors into the “professional” category when asked. If we can’t even do this simple thing, showing up on time, can we really consider ourselves professionals?

Preparation - In a past position I had a manager several levels above who had a habit of showing up to meetings with his peers and superiors to take action items rather than provide immediate value. When challenged, his answer was automatically “I’ll take the action to go look at that”, and many others perceived him as a necessary cog in the organization because he was action-oriented and willing to get answers. Others wished he had the answers when he showed up the first time.

Respect - No matter how demanding you have to be with a subordinate, peer, or even a manager (yes, sometimes we all have to make demands of our superiors), it can be done with respect. You can be a kick-ass, demanding manager by establishing a culture of accountability and maintaining your self-control without resorting to verbal abuse and name-calling.

Responsibility - So often, I see people that call themselves professionals, collect a salary, then watch the clock as though they were being paid by the hour rather than to do a job. I am not advocating allowing oneself to be taken advantage of by an employer or coworker, but a professional set of behaviors includes understanding that sometimes you don’t get to leave at 5:00 when the situation warrants.

We all have days when our energy flags and we lose focus, but I find that I remind myself daily in my internal dialog that “this isn’t professional” and it helps to carry me through the task at hand.