Professionalism is Awesome

Those of you who know me are laughing already, because you know how much I dislike the word “awesome”. It is so ubiquitous that it’s lost all meaning. I dare you to count how many times you hear that word in one day.

Professionalism is headed in the same direction as awesome. We hear it thrown around constantly in board rooms, partner retreats, proposal pitches, and employee evaluations. Interestingly, we often hear it used in its negative connotation, as in “Roger’s behavior at the office party was soooo unprofessional.” Why?

Most business people haven’t put enough thought into what professionalism really means. Recently, I have. Yesterday I conducted a workshop on professionalism for a group of CPAs, most of them in their 20’s and 30’s. Much of what we discussed was new territory for them. Here’s what they discovered, among other things:

• Professionals know the boss isn’t their mom or dad, and their company isn’t their family. They realize that their special deal at work affects every other team member and the business as a whole. Whether they are asking for extended leave to go trekking in Tibet or they need to take off every Thursday at 3:00 to coach their kid’s basketball team, professionals know their absence leaves a hole in the workplace. They know somebody has to pick up their slack. They know how important it is to help the boss say yes to their proposal by creating a scenario under which it will work.
• Professionals take the initiative. They take the initiative in developing business, getting their work done, meeting deadlines, assuming new responsibilities, managing their careers, and resolving conflict.
• Professionals have a long view. They realize that bumps in the professional road are not the same as very high walls. They can take a deep breath and keep going in the face of obstacles, rather than giving up or pitching a fit. They also know that whatever little irritating incident arose at work today is exactly that: a little irritating incident. They know what’s worth dwelling on (very little) and what they can let roll by them (most office drama).

There were plenty of surprised and thoughtful expressions in the room as we began uncovering the real meaning of professionalism. I’m pretty sure some had never once considered many of descriptions we developed in our time together. Let’s hope I helped them begin to see a broader view of professionalism than their previous, undoubtedly more awesome perspective.

Leaders: Yammer On!

The January 16th New York Times had a great interview about leadership with Cristóbal Conde, president and C.E.O. of SunGard, a software and I.T. services company. It’s worth reading for all of you who are leaders, who think you are leaders, or want to be leaders. A few highlights from the interview:

PowerPoint doesn’t cut it. It often covers up sloppy thinking. My take: PowerPoint is also boring. I stopped using it in presentations years ago, because I realized how much I dislike being in an audience where the speaker read to me. I already know how to read, and I immediately disengage. Death By PowerPoint just isn’t pretty.

A cool new technology (at least, new to me) is on the market: Yammer. It’s sort of like Twitter, but better for use inside an organization. The way SunGard uses it – particularly to get employees talking to each other about customer issues – is one of the best adaptations of technology I’ve read about recently.

Leadership is changing. Instead of command-and-control, leadership is about enabling and enhancing collaboration at all levels. Information is accessible to everyone all the time, and it’s the great equalizer in today’s workplace. So leaders have to figure out how to motivate and mobilize and recognize employees in a much flatter organization. It’s a whole different way of thinking, and it’s going to change how companies operate.

Haiti

This blog is supposed to be about communication, business, and leadership. All these pale in importance to the living, breathing, nightmarish hell that is Haiti after the earthquake.

I just watched a CBS video of Katie Couric on the Huffington Post site. More than anything I have seen, it personalizes and simplifies the horror that ensues when people with nothing lose absolutely everything.

You may be weary of the pathos by now. I hope that doesn’t stop you from reaching into your wallets. Send your money to any of the myriad organizations that are doing good works in Haiti. Here are just three:

www.americares.org

www.doctorswithoutborders.org

www.redcross.org

If you’re like me, you dislike being preached at or told what to do. I hope you don’t perceive this as such. I also hope that, if you needed a little nudge to click and donate, this is it.

A Positive Identity Crisis

Someone asked me recently whether I had any hobbies. That simple question sparked a whole conversation in my head that started with:

Hmm. What DO I do for fun?

Which was immediately followed by

What do I do, really, as a motivator and communicator?

Which, of course (as only the truly anxiety ridden will understand), quickly led to

Who am I?

I know! Hideous line of thinking, isn’t it?

I realized that I define myself more by what I DON’T do and by what I’m NOT than by what I do and who I am. Examples: I don’t smoke or drink. I don’t eat junk. I don’t like groups (unless, of course, I’m in front of them). I don’t like phoniness, whether in humans or gemstones. I don’t respect authority for authority’s sake.

Kind of negative, really. So I started thinking: what if I took these statements and rephrased them? Have a look:

Negative	Positive
I don’t smoke or drink.	I enjoy having a clear mind and healthy body.
I don’t eat junk.	I like to eat good food, and lots of it.
I don’t like groups.	I love the company of close friends.
I don’t like phoniness, whether in humans or gemstone.	The genuine, authentic personalities I’m lucky enough to encounter make me glad to be alive. Genuine diamonds make me glad I’m female.
I don’t respect authority for authority’s sake.	I love working with people when we’re standing on a level playing field.

You get the gist here. In case I’m not the only person defining herself narrowly and in the negative, I suggest y’all go through a similar exercise. Choose more positive words to describe your life, your work, and your relationships. See how you feel when you’ve done it. Does it change the conversations in your head? Are they better, more positive, maybe even more useful?

I wonder if changing the words we use to describe ourselves, both internally and to others, could lead to more happiness, which Harvard Medical School has proven to be contagious.

Imagine how much more pleasant and productive it would be to live and work among happier people. If this exercise is a good step, let’s all take it.