Tips on How to Practice Professionalism
Professionalism is the way you conduct yourself at work; how you represent both yourself and your company. Professionalism goes beyond a checklist of standards for behavior that might be mandated in an employee handbook; Instead, it includes;
“embodying the company’s values and serving as a stellar representative of the company.”
Eric Mochnacz
Professionalism also encompasses the way you interacts with other people, including coworkers, customers and supervisors.
“Professionalism includes speaking with your colleagues in a respectful manner, conducting yourself with integrity and being courteous.”
Sarah Walker
This is crucial in the workplace because it shows that you not only care about your career but also that you respect your peers; this can go a long way in the future.”
Bringing energy and initiative to your job every day shows commitment. Caring more about your work and your organization will show in the results you produce. Showing commitment can demonstrate your leadership potential to managers and lead to career opportunities.
Personal Responsibility
Personal responsibility is the level of commitment you are willing to make in setting and achieving your goals. It means being responsible for your actions, words and, ultimately, your performance at work.
Personally responsible employees understand that they are in full control of themselves. The good news is, this means that only you can take credit for your successes. On the other hand, it also means that only you can take the blame for your failures.
To enhance your personal responsibility, you must:
- Admit you made a mistake and learning from it;
- Take credit for successful projects;
- also follow-through on projects and tasks.
Show respect to others
Respecting others is one of the best ways to show professionalism. Respect should be extended to everyone; your superiors, your co-workers, and those who work below you. You also need to show respect for the people you serve.
Teamwork
Making significant contributions to any group task shows commitment to your work team. Displaying confidence in your ideas, skills and solutions is a trait that employers value. Being a reliable follower shows commitment to your team’s objectives and an understanding of the part you play in a bigger picture. Taking leadership roles and organizing team members to cooperate with each other, or collaborate with other groups, shows a commitment to big picture achievement.
Communicate effectively
Good communication takes a little practice, but can save you from misunderstandings. In your career, you will probably work with a team of others. Most disagreements and arguments begin with a lack of communication; therefore, you need to be able to communicate clearly and effectively with your team in order to keep things running smoothly.
Be proactive
Being proactive means anticipating needs before they arise. This is a great trait of professionals. Rather than reacting to events and getting flustered, you can try to anticipate what will happen and be prepared in advance. Some ways to be proactive are to;
- arrive at work early to prepare for what’s coming that day
- manage your time wisely so that you can complete your responsibilities on time
- lend a hand to others when they need extra help
- also suggest solutions to problems to help make things better for everyone.
Keep Motivation Strong
Keeping yourself and your co-workers or subordinates motivated can show your commitment to the overall challenges and demands of your business. Encouraging employees to develop new skills, improve operations and process or take new risks to advance the business can awaken new levels of commitment.
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