Recently, a National Football League player made the decision to quit playing for his team, Miami, in the middle of the game. 3 years ago the exact same thing happened in Tampa Bay. If you asked the fans of these two Florida teams about the situations, words like “selfish”, “quitter”, or “immature” might be used to describe this type of behavior. But one other word stands out here: UNPROFESSIONAL! The word “professional” is exactly what is used to refer to paid athletes. In contrast, take say an “amateur” high school athlete who competes to win without any financial compensation. We rightly expect athletes, doctors, and managers to work in a way that befits a professional. But the same should be the case for every employee. Imagine the impact, on businesses/customers/families, if each person working a paid job went about their work in a professional manner! 

So besides not quitting in the middle of a football game, what does it really mean to be a professional?

8 Marks of Professionalism

A professional:

1. Does unpleasant work. It’s all fun and games being paid to do the exciting aspects of a job. But what about the unenjoyable parts? Showing up for the presentation in front of everyone can feel like a high. But how about the hours of preparing alone? A percentage of every single job consists of things that an employee simply does not want to do. The professional does them anyway.
2. Focuses on key stakeholders. At minimum, most employees have customers/clients, coworkers, bosses, and owners. These groups of people each have varying skin in the game as it pertains to the business. Amateur employees are not concerned with meeting the needs of anyone else. They only focus on what they can get from the stakeholders. The professional understands the importance of these key groups of people, and they go above and beyond to satisfy the needs of others so that everyone wins.     
3. Keeps their word. It’s easy to promise others that you will do something. But then remembering to do it, or following through with it when it is difficult…that can be a different matter completely. The professional understands that their word is their bond. When they say they will do something, they use good systems, maintain the motivation, avoid making excuses, and they actually do it.
4. Acts with maturity. Gossiping, being unreliable, tearing others down, talking about yourself more than others, complaining…these are things that my 7-year-old would be likely to do. The professional is a grown up, no matter their age, and they look to build others up and focus on the positive while taking ownership of the situations around them.
5. Ensures complete work. So often people get 80-90% of a task done, and then stop there. The work is so close to being done with real excellence, so just do that last little bit and FINISH IT! The professional crosses T’s and dots I’s while so that they avoid turning in uncompleted, subpar work.
6. Ensures comprehensive work. A phenomenon of human beings is that we will choose to avoid doing things that we know we are responsible for and leave them unattended. Buttoning up 70% of your job area while neglecting the other 30% simply will not cut it. The professional covers the entire scope of their job realm and makes sure that nothing falls through the cracks.
7. Ensures thorough communication. Sometimes a person can be doing good work, but they are off in a corner alone making the mistake of avoiding engagement with those around them through verbal and electronic communication. When this happens, it makes everyone’s job harder and the organization’s ability to get quality work done effectively begins to grind to a halt. The professional is proactive in communicating with others about work so that everyone is on the same page. 
8. Ensures consistency. Just like a rollercoaster, an amateur employee has highs and lows of great days and terrible days. When they walk into work, everyone looks at them and wonders, “Will we get good Tom or bad Tom today?”. Their net output over time is average, or perhaps even lower than that. The professional is as steady as a rock…dependable, firm, reliable. While never a robot, they do not allow factors from outside or inside the workplace to get them too high or too low.

Professional or Amateur?

Are you a professional? Which of these eight areas could you most improve in to raise your level of effectiveness even more?! 

If you lead others, are they professionals? How can you coach and grow your people to be more professional while cultivating a culture of professionalism in your organization?