Awaken the ‘True Professional’ within you
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Iwould like to begin by saying that, once a person completes his education and gets into an organisation, the first thing he must understand is that he has transitioned from a student into a ‘professional’.
With this ‘tag’ of being termed as a ‘professional’ there are some very important aspects and qualities which he must recognise and develop within himself to ensure that his professionalism acts as a positive influence. It will impact upon, not only his colleagues, seniors and clients, but also upon his department and the entire organisation.
Through this column, I wish to share a few but extremely significant aspects or actions which I am keen that each and every person develops or strengthens within himself or herself towards shaping up as the ‘True Professional’!
Appearance & Disposition -
I recall having visited a very large organisation with my senior manager.
It was for an important meeting.
“We were escorted to the conference room, which I have to say was truly impressive.
“As we sat there some tea and coffee was offered and just then a young man, probably in his early 30s, walked in.
“He was wearing a navy- blue suit and just from his appearance he looked impressive.”
The meeting was over and we left with a few positive points to discuss back in the office.
“While driving back my manager asked me a question.
“Mayur, what suited guy?”
“Sir, he was so perfect in his dressing and extremely formal. I am so impressed” I replied.
“Oh is it! Well, just a small question I want to ask you. Did you see his shoes?” “Shoes?” I replied.
“Yes dear, please understand his dressing may have been good but what you did not see were that his shoes were unpolished and one of the shoelaces was untie.
“Dear Mayur, I have no issues with the type of shoes he wears when he is in his office, but when it is about attending a professional meeting especially with his customers, every aspect of appearance is important.
“As they say, we must look professional from ‘head to toe’.
“I also want to add that he had not worn his ‘tie’ properly as it was extremely loose around his neck and hence it appeared casual as I listened attentively as my senior manager continued.
“You must understand that, along with your knowledge you also must carry your personality in the best and the most impressive manner.
“It is not about the navy-blue suit, but about the overall appearance and disposition. In fact, from a closer look even that suit he was wearing was crumpled at certain places. Please understand that knowledge along with your overall appearance and disposition will complete you as a professional.” These words from my manager was a very positive feedback for me as well. did you think about
Planning, organising & execution -
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If appearance is the ‘outer’ aspects of your professionalism then the ‘inner’ aspects related to planning; organising along with execution, play a very important role in shaping you up as a thorough professional.
The first thing that you must do is to respect and practice ‘punctuality’.
“What I mean by this is that you must always practice ‘commitment to time schedules’.
If there is a meeting scheduled at 4pm, then you must be present in the meeting room at least five or ten minutes before 4 pm.”
I have seen even the top most professionals arriving for a meeting late and they do not even feel that they have done something wrong.
I recall such an incident where an entire sales team including me had to wait for more than 40 minutes for our manager to arrive for the meeting.
Because of this delay several colleagues had to cancel their next line of customer meetings.
Imagine what those customers must have felt about the sales executives who had to suddenly call the customers to apologise for cancelling or postponing their respective meetings!
One manager’s unprofessionalism of not being ‘punctual’ caused a negative ‘domino effect’.
Mismanagement of time and that which more or less is related to non-punctuality as well as absenteeism will also puncture your efforts at becoming a successful ‘professional’.
In addition to this, I will also urge all of you to develop the practice of creating a daily action plan (DAP). I call it simply the ‘DAP’.
It will create better and a positive way of planning and execution for you which itself will create the beautiful perception about you as a positive professional.
Preparedness and structuring -
I mention this aspect especially in the context of meetings; customer interactions and presentations.
In fact, there have been instances where I have seen a manager asking some of his colleagues for a few pages from their writing pads, and then to realise that he does not even carry a pen! Shocking as it may be to you, it is something I have seen happen in many meetings and conferences.
As regards to being ‘structured’, this is about expressing your knowledge in a way that is sensibly ‘prioritised & sequenced’ and further, it must be clearly expressed in words or through visual forms (Powerpoint slides). As an employee of a corporate if you wish to grow in your career, apart from many things, the one thing that you must always strive for is towards shaping yourself as a very positive and an inspiring ‘professional’