What does it mean to be professional?

Professionalism.

My friend had recently received a job offer from a networking company to do procurement management. I was very excited for him because he has been working night shifts and been wanting a “regular” job for quite some time. My friend asked me for advice on “how to be professional”, as his past work experience has not been in corporate environments. This has got me thinking. So I decided to write a post about this and share with him and my LinkedIn connections. I am also curious as to what the reader will think? Please comment below.

This is my personal opinion from experience working in a professional environment and spending time in business school. I also had the pleasure of discussing this topic with my stepfather who has been in the professional world for over 40 years. While writing this, I also think of what I respect in my colleagues and bosses. What qualities make them professional or unprofessional. Here are 5 suggestions that came to me after some thought and discussion:

1. Keep your stakeholders in mind

This is more of a skill than an outward characteristic. However, I believe mastering this skill is crucial to becoming a better professional. Any situation or conversation has stakeholders. A stakeholder is anyone affected by the outcome of a particular situation. Whether it’s your client, your manager, your colleague, or your dog, it’s best to keep their interest in mind. There are a couple of great sayings related to this: “First seek to understand, than to be understood” and “Listen before you speak.” Ask yourself: What do they really want? What are they trying to achieve?Sometimes understanding others wants and needs is not apparent; as people often don’t say what they really mean or don't say anything at all. So you might need to dig deeper to try and read between the lines or ask additional questions. In sales, it is called probing. Probing allows you to position your product catering to the client's needs.?

Understanding others (or at least attempting to) will typically yield better decisions that will not only include others but have the opportunity to produce win-win outcomes. This is highly related to emotional intelligence and it will also help you with the following points.

2. Be Considerate

Treat others how you wanted to be treated - is one of the greatest rules to live by. In a professional setting, being considerate comes down to having good manners and being respectful: don’t yell at people, don’t interrupt them when they’re talking, open doors for others, be on time for meetings, say hello when you pass someone in the hallway, chew with your mouth closed, and so on. No one likes to feel disrespected and most people will admire good manners. If this is something that is not natural to you, start practicing this in your every day life. Be mindful of how you show up in the world.

3. Be responsible

For me, this characteristic is the most important: Do what you say you will do! Period. In other words: Keep your word. Follow through.?

This is especially important to commitments and promises explicitly made to your stakeholders, no matter how big or small. If you promise to get something done by a certain time, do your best to get it done. I have a rule that if something is going to take me 5 minutes or less to complete, I usually do it right away, to avoid forgetting. Or I will add this to my to do list.

If for some reason, you cannot complete the promised, keep the stakeholders informed on the cause of delay and time of completion. Apologize if it’s warranted. Whatever you do, don’t leave those commitments hanging or forget them. No matter how courteous you are, or how well you look, it will be hard to reach professionalism without follow through.

The explicit commitments is what you promise other people. The implicit commitments are your job description. You agree to it when you sign up for the job. This is a mutual understanding between your employer and you. Therefore do your job, preferably without your manager reminding you.

In my opinion, if you keep this one promise to yourself (to do what you said you will do), it will speak volumes of you as a professional, as well as build trust and integrity. Best professionals I have met all possess this quality.

4. Keep the conversations intentional and to the point

There is much to be said about communication in general and how you speak in the workplace. Quick note in the manner that you speak is to avoid parasite words such as “uhmmm”, “like” and avoid being vulgar or inappropriate. Reducing parasite words will take some practice, pausing, and mindfulness.?

Keeping conversations professional is a balancing act, because once you invite too much peripheral talk, it’s hard to close that door with your colleagues. The best strategy is not to speak too much (and try to seek to understand other first). There’s a great saying that my friend once shared with me when asked "Why are you so quiet?" : “Silent man rarely makes mistakes.” Not talking too much or limiting others speaking excessively to you will you help you avoid gossip, unnecessary small talk, and save you time.?

Not all the jobs are the same and some will require you to speak more (such as sales or customer service). While relationship building is extremely important, be intentional about it and try to get to the point of the conversation quicker. As a new hire, you don’t want to appear as someone who is wasting time with unnecessary talk, while your boss walks by. If you want to be build genuine relationships, take someone to lunch or have a conversation during your break.?

Also important to note is to minimize your phone use if it's not related to your job. It makes you look bad if you’re on social media or making personal calls. How many times have you heard: “This guy is not doing anything, he is always on his phone.” Don’t be that person.

5. Look good - feel good

It seems trivial that they way you look would affect your professionalism but in fact there is a lot of correlation between the two. While we’d like to judge people based on their personality, intelligence, and job performance, we inevitably judge people based on how they look and carry themselves. Many studies have also been conducted on your level of confidence related to how you dress. “Look good, feel good” is not just a cliche. It affects your mindset when you enter a particular situation.

Keep a good hygiene (hair, body, clothes, breath). Unfortunately, people will avoid talking if you have a constant bad breath or have a scent of BO. Dress in a way that is acceptable at your organization (When in Rome, do as Romans do.) A good guidance is to see how the leadership dresses and how your colleagues dress and land somewhere in between. Again, this will depend on the industry and your organization, but a quick look around should give you a good feel for the level of formality. ?

Good luck my friend!

P.S. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Let's help more people by sharing our experiences.