Oryx Nashville recently welcomed a new member to our leadership team, Benji Lewis, a recent graduate from Belmont University. Benji is a blogger, and like most bloggers he writes about his life experiences and current events. We are pleased to see that Benji Lewis has taken away so many insightful lessons from our training program here at Oryx Nashville. The professional development that our new leader is experiencing is what our leadership development is all about. Read below to see Benji’s firsthand experience from his blog World of Benji.
In my current job I have been striving to grow in my leadership position, I’ve been stepping up in several ways and have been taking on new responsibilities. In one of our morning meetings I gave a speech to my coworkers about the importance of professionalism. I came up with these ideas by watching TED talks, reading articles, and using intuition. I do skip over some of the basics because it would be tedious to go over things we already all know (EX: Dress professional, if you’re the smartest person in the room you need to change rooms, be on time, don’t skimp on communication, etc.)
In order to talk about professionalism it is important to have a general definition. The ways I’ve found to describe it are as follow:
– The competence or skill expected by a professional
– The conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize a profession or a professional person
– Achieving a high level of skill, knowledge, and valued judgement
But the real thing to ponder on is ‘What does it mean to you to be a professional?’
I realize that it can be different for everyone, but it’s important to have your own concept of professionalism as well as to be able to revise it as you grow.
The 3 Qualities that help foster further professionalism:
1. Attitude 2. Behavior 3. Action
These qualities are important and the effect of these three have some pretty profound implications, especially since they all are intertwined. I say this because attitude drives behavior, behaviors drive actions, and actions in turn reinforce your attitude. The fact that these qualities follow a cycle is key. If you have a professional attitude, that drives professional behavior. Once you’ve developed these professional behaviors they drive your actions to be professional. With these professional actions emerging you then reinforce a professional attitude and as a result you make your original attitude grows to be more professional than when you started; starting the cycle over again and further the process of becoming more professional.
This begs the question though: How does one get from where they are at right now to become a professional?
The answer: You already are one! You’re always developing the skills, the mindset, and the work ethic of a professional through growth and development. It is a journey, a process and takes real internal drive and motivation which is driven by your desires. Being a professional requires constant growth, self-evaluation and a goal oriented mindset. We’re always becoming a professional. It’s not an event, a certification or diploma that you achieve. Rather It’s an ongoing process that doesn’t stop unless you let it stop.
The 4 Actions to take to develop professionalism:
1. Knowing 2. Doing 3. Helping 4. Learning
You can’t start the process of developing professionalism without the KNOWING the qualities it takes. Once you know what qualities it takes to further grow yourself you have to start DOING those things, because knowledge and skill will only get you so far. After you start putting these ideas into action and begin to professionally develop yourself it is important to start HELPING others to do the same. Someone helped you get where you are today, and trust me it was not for nothing. The action of helping doesn’t just help other individuals, it helps develop yourself, your teaching skills, your credibility and in most cases helps you develop further as a leader and professional. This leads us to the most important action you must take to develop yourself: LEARNING. The first three actions are key, but without learning you will be in a stagnant place. Learning is the most important because it keeps the developmental process going and adds to your knowledge and skill, which allows you to DO more professional actions, HELP others learn more, and constantly self-upgrade.
The 5 Habits to follow to be more professional:
1. Treat and communicate every person with the same amount of respect and care.
Whether you are a CEO or a janitor, a Walmart greeter or Sam Walton himself, you need to treat everyone the same. When it comes down to it, where ever you are on the food chain does not give you the authority to treat some person like they are beneath you. We’re all just people at the end of the day, with our own problems and tribulations that we face. So why would you treat someone like they are not equals.
2. Be selfless towards others.
As I had mentioned earlier someone stuck their neck out to vouch for you and believed in you when you were still figuring things out, and I can guarantee with out that help and acts of selflessness you wouldn’t be were you are today. So you have to pay it forward, everyone pays their dues to get where they are, but not without a little help from a colleague or mentor. It’s time for you to step up and be that person for someone else!
3. Genuinely listen to others and what their needs are.
Listening to others not only shows that you care, but it also helps to build strong personal relationships and bonds between team members and co-workers. When you take into account what others needs are and express interest it shows them that their needs are just as important, if not more important, than your own.
4. Strive for productivity
Avoid spending time aimlessly at all costs. It’s important to have a schedule, a routine, a planner and a list of what you’re going to accomplish that day. But more importantly you need to execute it! You can always revise plans when things come up, having a written down course of action keeps you on track and if your goals are too lofty you an always revise them.
5. The importance of followthrough
Whether it’s returning that missed call, showing up on time for meetings, grabbing a beer with an old friend or your own personal goals make sure that you accomplish what you set out to do. Following through is one of the best ways to build credibility, earn trust and establish yourself as a leader. Without followthrough you damage your credibility, your personal brand takes a hit, and your leadership will be questioned.
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The rehash of The 3’s, 4’s & 5’s of Professionalism
The 3 Qualities that help foster further professionalism:
1. Attitude 2. Behavior 3. Action
The 4 Actions to take to develop professionalism:
1. Knowing 2. Doing 3. Helping 4. Learning
The 5 Habits to follow to be more professional:
1. Treat and communicate every person with the same amount of respect and care.
2. Be selfless towards others.
3. Genuinely listen to others and what their needs are.
4. Strive for productivity
5. The importance of followthrough
“Every ‘No’ leads to a ‘Yes’ just as every failure leads to success” – Benji
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