“Professionalism is knowing how to do it, when to do it, and doing it”,. Often we witness the term ‘professionalism’ being used to describe a wide range of skills, attitudes and behaviors; thus creating confusion. In order to eliminate such confusion, it is rather important to understand what professionalism really means and how to practice it. The crux of an array of formal and informal definitions illustrating professionalism is that the term refers to the specific skills, qualities and conduct required by a certain occupation. Although brief and vague, this definition efficiently captures the comprehensive nature of the term.
At first glance, it might seem that professionalism is nothing more than a business ethic. While the two might interlink, it is important to tell apples from oranges. While a business ethic is more of a mind-over-matter issue, professionalism is rather a business practice or a trait required to succeed in one’s profession. Behaving ethically is a part of professionalism, where the latter is a much wider concept.
The following sections will briefly describe the importance of professionalism for individuals as well as organizations. Moreover, they will explain the characteristics or behaviors required to become a successful professional.
Importance of Professionalism
Given the cutthroat competition in the job market as well as the overall business environment, it has become ever so difficult to survive in the market unless you are the very best- both at personal and organizational levels- at what you do. Technology has snatched several employment opportunities from humans, thus creating a fierce marketplace for jobs. Regardless of the type of career, kind of industry, size of organization or the stage of business life cycle, long-term success depends on professional workplace behavior.
Professionalism not only creates a good reputation regarding the employees’ and the organizations’ credibility and reliability, but it also improves one’s productivity and sense of worthiness. As a result, the workplace becomes a comfort zone for employees and customers alike. Therefore, it is important to understand what is required in order to be a professional.
In general, a professional employee keeps and delivers his/her promises; he/she behaves courteously and humbly while adhering to social and organizational values and morals; he/she is always presentable; and of course he/she is competent and exceptionally skilled at his/her job. Therefore, all employees must be encouraged and rewarded for managing their internal and external interactions and relationships with a professional work attitude.
Characteristics of Professionalism
First impression is the last impression, period. Dressing appropriately and professionally not only makes a good impression, but it also gives a sense of accomplishment and self-worth. It is a no-brainer that gracefully dressed people tend to attract more respect than those looking like they just rolled out of bed. Therefore, in a professional environment, it is of utmost importance to follow a professional dress code that inspires career development and personal growth.
In order to establish a professional workplace, it is important to set certain boundaries regarding what is appropriate workplace behavior and what is not. Setting limits does not mean to kill the joy in working, to eliminate informal communication channels, or to become a place with stringent rules and regulations. It simply means managing employee discretion in a positive manner, while encouraging general business etiquettes. In the absence of such behavioral barriers, workplace conflicts and arguments tend to increase. Not only does it damage work morale, employee motivation and organizational commitment among employees, but also, if left unchecked, it can lead to high employee turnover and customer churn rates.
Although conflict can and does arise in any kind of business environment, but there is a higher vulnerability in diverse work environments where people belong to different backgrounds, cultures, religions and societies. Given the resulting differences in perspectives and opinions, conflict is inevitable. However, respectful workers who conduct themselves professionally tend to resolve their disagreements more efficiently and swiftly.
Professional workers try to avoid conversations and behaviors that can end up in dispute or misunderstandings with any of the stakeholders. Giving rise to rumors and unhealthy gossip can damage business relationships. Maintaining a respectful and professional demeanor is important in all formal and personal conversations . One must maintain his/her poise even with disrespectful and trouble-creating customers or co-workers.
Apart from the verbal and behavioral business manners, it is important to communicate written material as professionally as possible with all internal and external stakeholders . To-the-point, professionally written business correspondence emanates a sense of class, knowledge, expertise and care. Moreover, professional-looking documents exhibit serious business, while unprofessional scrawls are easily misplaced and forgotten.
Furthermore, professionalism requires remarkable organizational skills. It hurts no one to adopt and maintain professional-level organizational habits. In fact, it can lead to higher productivity. A neat and clean workspace, along with easy-to-access work materials not only saves time, but also creates a positive image among customers and co-workers.
Most important of all, professionalism entails taking accountability and responsibility of one’s actions and decisions. If a customer has a complaint, playing the blame game only creates frustration. Therefore, it is better to own the mistake and repair the damage. In short, exceeding attitudinal and behavioral expectations, in every manner possible, is a characteristic of dedicated professionals.
Conclusion
Adopting professionalism is not just a matter of choice anymore, given the dynamic nature of businesses and industries across the globe. It has become necessary for gaining a competitive advantage over the market. While technology has eliminated the human element from various business arenas, nevertheless the personal human touch remains to be a distinguishing factor among organizations.
In fact, this personal touch or as I prefer to call it, the human charm, is what lies at the heart of professionalism. While everyone wants to have freedom and liberty as to how they live their lives, people certainly expect others to behave in a socially-, culturally-, ethically- and professionally-appropriate manner. Therefore, given the fact that organizations are but a collection of people working towards a common goal, it is important to trigger that human charm and woo the customers away from competitors.
Being professional is not just about proper dressing, kind face, formal poise or humble behavior. It is a complete way of life or a set of behaviors within a certain occupation that makes one an asset for the organization. It is important for organizations to stress the advantages of maintaining a professional environment, while allowing a certain level of employee discretion. Finding the balance between adhering to professionalism and practicing the will of the heart is the key to personal and organizational success.
Works Cited
Dale Carnegie. "Leadership Development." 2008.
JWilliams Staffing. The Core Values of Workplace Professionalism. 19 August 2013. 30 August 2013.
Scott, Sherrie. "The Importance of Professionalism in Business." 2016. Small Business. 30 August 2016. <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-professionalism-business-2905.html>.
Tyger, Frank. About Frank Tyger - By His Family and Friends. n.d. 30 August 2016.
Vitez, Osmond. "Meaning of Professionalism and Work Ethic." 2016. Small Business. 30 August 2016. <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/meaning-professionalism-work-ethic-746.html>.
