The Professional by Subrato Bagchi
This book is authored by Subrato Bagchi. This book lists out the qualities of the professional.
Before beginning with the qualities we must know what a professional really is?
A Professional is a person who specialises in a particular area and chooses that area as the means of his livelihood. E.g. Company Secretaries, Chartered Accountants, Teachers, Lawyers, Engineers etc.
Most of the people ask themselves these same questions, undergoing moments of uncertainty about how they can be the best. So why not a book be there for the scores of people who become doctors, engineers, journalists, architects, teachers which they can use?
We have only one life to live. We live it the way we want. The trajectory of our lives is determined daily by choices we make, the consequences of which tell us how well we have lived our life. Believe in yourself and learn from the lessons life teaches you every day.
One does not become professional just by attaining professional qualifications. A professional strives for greater, though often the most simple of, things.
Professional is not merely a means of earning a livelihood or just another way to get ahead in life or to build and seek further material comfort to eventually enjoy retired life. Being a professional is nothing short of a religion and that the capacity to serve is indeed a blessing of life.
The compilation is divided into following parts. These are the attributes of a professional. They are Integrity, Self Awareness, Professional Qualities, Managing Volume, Managing Complexity, New World Imperatives and Professionals professional.
This part is explained with the help of short stories. The stories in brief are narrated below:
1) Burial of the dead
This story is about Mahadeva. He as a child used to live on the streets of Bangalore. He lost his mother at a very young age. He was totally unaware of what death is. To send him back to his village the people from the hospital raised the money but he refused to go back to the village. He started working in the hospital with the person who had helped his mother in the admission process by running errands.
One day the cops asked him to bury an unclaimed dead body and paid him Rs 200 for the job. This he made as his profession. Then afterwards whenever the cops found an unclaimed dead body they used to summon Mahadeva.
Mahadeva did the job of disposing of the bodies with dedication, focus, care and concern. Due to this attributes soon he was very much in demand. His work grew and he bought his own horse-drawn carriage, and between his horse and himself he was the undertaker to the abandoned. Mahadeva has buried more than 42000 corpses in his lifetime and dedication has earned him phenomenal public recognition. Chief Minister of Karnataka has felicitated him for his selfless service.
The Guidance for Professional: i) The ability to work unsupervised and, two, the ability to certify the completion of one’s work.
ii) A person who needs supervision is no professional. This is not the case with trainee professionals.
2) The Day Justice Was Murdered.(Sanjeev Nanda’s drunk and drive case)
This case has been mentioned here to discuss the conduct of two senior lawyers. These lawyers wholly turned the case and lead to the release of Sanjeev Nanda. After the Delhi High Court noticed the same it suspended these two lawyers for breach of professional code of conduct.
Questions which are posed here are: i) Did the lawyers not know that they cannot try to unduly influence the course of justice?
ii) Did they not learn during their days in law college that as lawyers representing two opposing sides they cannot come together to connive, because that means the interests of one of the clients will be compromised?
iii) What is the farthest boundary of ethics and integrity that, regardless of scrutiny and threat of punishment, every person must think of, live by and live for?
The two lawyers in question lost the high ground forever because entry into any profession requires professional integrity before anything else. Integrity precedes professional competence.
A young surgeon may be not be proficient with the scalpel, but she must clearly understand what the basic tenets of medical practice are and what may constitute malpractice.
It means in the profession everybody knows what to do but very few of the members know what not to do. Every profession has a code of conduct. It must specify what amounts to malpractice in the profession and what are the things that need to be avoided are. It is very difficult to list out each and every thing. It depends upon the circumstances and requires use of discretion by each member.
The number one requirement then to gain entry into the club of professionals is to understand integrity and to practise it. Without that, a professionally qualified individual is a danger to society.
3) Integrity is Personal.
Let us first understand what integrity means in the professional context. Simply said, it means:
i) We follow the rules.
ii) Where rules do not exist, we use fair judgement.
iii) When in doubt, we do not go ahead and do what suits us; we seek counsel.
iv) Finally, faced with a dilemma, we ask ourselves: Can my act stand public scrutiny without causing embarrassment to me and my family?
In civil societies, all professionals are bound by rules that usually have a basis in fairness. Sometimes, the rules do not suit the professional or business interests of an individual. The thing to do then is not to bend or circumvent or flout the rule that does not suit you, but to contest it and, pending resolution, follow it. That is what constitutes the basic obligation of any professional. So if a tax law does not suit me, the path forward for me is to protest the law, but while protesting it, I must ensure my business pays the venal tax until such time that law or its interpretation has been reversed by the system.
Each and every part of integrity cannot be listed out in the rules. This requires the application of fair judgement. The concept of fair judgement is subjective but essentially it is the voice of conscience.
To exercise fair judgement the basic question one must ask oneself is that How would i feel if someone did to me what i am about to do to someone else? When a moment of temptation comes, as it sometimes must, all we need to do is switch roles and place ourselves in the shoes of the potentially most – affected party. In an instant, the path presents itself.
Seeking counsel is an almost certain way of preventing problematic situations. Most problematic professional situations can be avoided if, before committing to a certain path, a professional just picks up the phone and asks someone he trusts and respects.
Finally, the biggest deterrent of all is the public scrutiny. So asking questions like, “How would I truly feel in front of my family if my indiscretion was scrutinized or came to light?” would be of much help in showing me the path in most situations.
4) Doctor Heal Thyself
“Indian doctor suspected of being behind a kidney racket arrested in Nepal yesterday and paraded before journalists in the capital, Kathmandu”. This was a report in The Guardian newspaper of 9 February 2008 in London. Amit Kumar was accused of selling organs of poor patients, who were lured to donate them for noble cause.
We presume that Amit Kumar had taken the Hippocratic Oath as a medical graduate before entering the profession. This shows lack of integrity on the part of the professionals. Most of us in India have a poor understanding of integrity. The reason for this may be that in India young people do not work while pursuing their education. In Western countries as the young people start to work they begin to appreciate the concept of company time versus my time, the idea of servicing a paying customer etc.
There is little content on the concept of professional ethics as part of technical or professional curricula. Our education system also fails to provide a shared understanding of the idea of professionalism. There is no conversation. In the absence of all that grounding, despite being professionally educated, most young people come into the workplace as novices.
B) SELF AWARENESS: WHERE COMPETENCE ENDS AND PROFESSIONAL TAKES OVER.
The dividing line between the millions of professionally qualified people in multiple disciplines and the few hundreds who inspire professional respect is self-awareness. Each and every person has the capacity to become progressively self-aware through life’s experiences. To be a great professional, it is critical to develop the qualities of self-awareness. Without it, we fail to balance ourselves through the ups and downs of life, have problems in accepting reality and often do not know what is good for us.
Below are discussed some of the qualities of self-aware people.
1) Knowing Who You Are: It is important that each one of us push our limits, operate outside our known boundaries, so that we explore new possibilities. One should always remain aware of where he has come from and where he has reached today. Being rooted is the key requirement for carrying success on shoulders, instead of being burdened by it. A professional should not get carried away by success. The self-aware individual understands what his real strengths are, they know how much of their success is due their strengths and how much is situational. Many of us are fortunate enough to be mentored by right people, fortunate enough to be in positions of great influence sometimes through sheer luck. Believing that any consequent success is only due to one’s inherent capacity is dangerously wrong. Self aware professionals remind themselves and other around them that their professional qualifications and abilities have only brought them this far. They take both success and failure with the same equanimity.
2) Being Authentic: Being authentic means being sincere. It means that a professional should not give false references, he should not give unnecessary embellishments of experience, mentioning connections which are plainly fake etc. Being authentic might sometimes get us a “no”, but that is better than the ignominy of being unmasked. We live in a small world where everything is connected, and the hollowness of our sincerity will eventually be revealed. Hence it is wise thing for a professional to be sincere.
A professional who is not sincere is not able to sustain in the profession.
3) Being Comfortable: As we advance in our careers, we outgrow many inadequacies of our past. We gain through the experience of assignments we handle, we acquire fresh knowledge from other that equips us to handle things differently from the past. The self-aware professional is conscious that there is bound to be some gap in his knowledge, knows that he may never bridge this gap and, most importantly, feels comfortable with this fact.
A professional would be able to add value in some meetings and not in each and every one. A professional need not hog the limelight or monopolize the airtime.
The simple rule is that if you are not able to add true value, then you must not add to the problem with your own pretence. On the lines of this rule stating your ignorance can be the simplest solutions sometimes. Others then take it upon themselves to explain complex technical jargon in easy to understand language. The team will come back to you when they need you and then your will be able to truly add value.
4) Seeking Help: Even though we are highly qualified and very well trained there are some aspects of the job in which we are unable to find solutions. In that case the best way to overcome this is to seek help.
Seeking help is not at all a sign of weak. The moment we seek help, we actually expand inner capacity; we create the emptiness into which others pour in their capabilities. There is no shame in signing up for help-in matters of work, or in matters of mental and physical well-being.
5) Not Suffering from False Comparisons: Every professionally qualified person makes comparisons with colleagues, peers, seniors, even juniors some time or the other. This is due to the competitive spirit that is built into us. Every now and then we meet people who compare themselves with those whom they have left behind decades ago.
It is futile to make such comparisons. They cause unnecessary pain, based as they are primarily on superficial knowledge and are certainly devoid of an understanding of the other persons journey to reach that position.
6) Having a reasonable view of the future: Do we all know with certainty where we are headed? Probably not. Building a view of the future, and knowing where we are headed, requires acknowledgement of the ground reality, a statement of intent in the overall direction, and sometimes a clear destination or purpose. The sense of destination gives people what celebrated psychologist and author Viktor Frankel calls ‘something to look forward to’. The persons who have something to look forward to, are always thinking that they have an unfinished task to do. This makes them feel that they are in charge of their circumstances and they do not get carried away by adverse conditions.
7) Looking Beyond Money: A professional who sees his work primarily as a means of earning money runs out of meaning very soon. Keeping this same set of thinking leads to a sense of emptiness in the later part of life. The greatest satisfaction and a more enduring one for a professional, is the admiration from people with whom we do business. But beyond it all, the ones who last the longest in the race are those who have given something back to their professions. These are professionals who are driven by legacy.
The most vital part of the professionals is that they think of changing the world. Instead of changing the world one should try and do small changes in themselves. As it has been rightly quoted by Mahatma Gandhi “ Be The Change You Want To See In The World”.
8) Being Deeply Self-Observant: The capacity to watch your own actions and utterances is the starting point of being self-observant. This can take one to a state where one can observe thoughts, feelings and actions.
N.R Narayana Murthy, Chairman Emeritus of Infosys in his annual speech for year ended 2011 has said that “Each day after completing his work for the day he would spare sometime in the night and rewind all the events or activities he did during the day. Then he would analyse where he made mistakes and prayed to god that he does not repeat the same mistake again”. This lead to reduction in number of mistakes.
Being self-observant is an amazing tool that helps you to perform an action replay each time. Record events-who said what, who did what and how things unfolded-and play them back later in life an action replay, ball by ball. Watch yourself at work; you will be amazed how much you will learn about yourself and this will help you move forward. Just as the player on the sports field is unconcerned with the camera recording the game, the professional is able to go with the flow, be natural and normal, but has the capacity to record events and faithfully reconstruct them to the smallest detail. Such people do not suffer from illusions.
Learning to be self-observant is to literally watch yourself as you think, as you work and interact with others. A simple exercise to follow this is you can observe your breathing.
9) Reining in Reactions: There are some situations in life when a strong emotion gets hold of us. We lose control of the situation. Even if the reason seems right most of the time the degree of reaction is excessive. What follows is an undesired consequence, regret and often some damage. Only a great person can express a negative emotion for the right reason to the right degree at the right time.
In extremely high pressure situations the best emotion to express is control. And a true professional has a calibrated thermostat which prompts the degree of reaction and control required in any given situation.
10) Welcoming Feedback: We are accustomed to consider feedback as personal criticism. It is interesting to note that a sound recordist treats all feedback as unwelcome noise. That is exactly how we feel when we get the feedback from our senior colleague.
We all have the urge to seek feedback from people more likely to say nice, reassuring things about us than make critical observation. This in itself indicates insecure act or lack of maturity.
A good professional craves real feedback. The ability to freely seek feedback, more importantly take feedback and act on it, is something that can only be learnt over time. And it requires constant effort to master. But without developing this ability you cannot become a true professional.
As you practice the art of listening to feedback, you begin to pick it up when it is whisper, like the sound of your breathing, and you pick it up from unusual sources.
11) Not Suffering False Attractions: It is not the false virtue but the false attraction of which one should be aware of. Flirting with false attractions makes us lose affection for what is on hand. If you do not have a serious need for the offered job or assignment, do the professional thing and resist the temptress.
12) Doing Some Things for Yourself: There was a chef at the Majestic Hotel in Paris. He was the head of the Kitchen. He had his retinue of assistants to cut, wash, cook and do all the things that were needed to make the restaurant’s signature dishes. But this gentleman did something else to ensure that he remained the boss. Occasionally, he cooked a dish, just to show his assistants that he still could.
As we professionally advance in our organisations, we lose touch with the real work. As I start dictating my notes, I lose my keyboard skills or as a senior surgeon I stop operating and I can no longer tie a suture as well as an intern can. These are all signs of decay.
A professional does not let go of the basic ability to work because it is like losing your fingers. There are some things which you need to do at any stage of your career. Not just the cerebral strategizing, but the actual work.
Eg: Company secretaries must know how to fill up share transfer forms, must know how to make various arrangements for AGMs, drafting of resolutions etc. In short we can say that a professional must always practice the work which he did as interns. Doing what are thought as menial tasks has a calming effect on us. Doing the small things in life yourself is important. Sometimes the most profound ideas come not when you are in the boardroom but when you are washing dishes.
Here are some illustrative things to explain the above concept:
- ) Do not stop walking when you have a car.
- ) Do not stop driving yourself when you can be driven.
- ) Make your own slides, write your own speeches, make on omelette, make a cup of tea for yourself etc.
13) Being Proactive (‘agravashi’): The term agravashi here means that a person who initiates conversation. ‘Proaction’ is an amazingly wonderful attitude and a behaviour that gets us memorable relationships in both life and business. Everyone loves to deal with a proactive person. It is every boss’s prayer to have such a person in her team. Proactive persons are self confident. People who are unsure of themselves are unlikely to expand their hands first. This self-confidence is not about who you are; it is about where the conversation could lead. What if I extend my hand and commit something? What if you ask me something I cannot give or I do not have? Fear of something makes us stay put, keeping the hands and the words to ourselves. Proactive professionals are not worried about creating work for themselves as an unwanted consequence of reaching out. Why fix something that isn’t broken? What if it opens a Pandora’s Box? Proactive behaviour is about small dealings in every day life. It is about being the first. E.g. You could be the first to send a clipping of an article that could help a peer working on a related project when she is snowed under.
In other words you could be the first to be king! That is the power of proactive thought and action. Sometimes being proactive can land you in trouble. But what’s a king who is afraid of trouble?
Proactive people think on behalf of others. Sometimes it is about thinking ahead of others. This attitude of thinking ahead of others is then followed by thoughtful preparation.
14) Taking Charge: Faced with a potentially dangerous situation, people freeze. They are afraid to push their way into a crowd because they feel powerless. They justify their inaction by thinking that not being in the front, not taking charge of a dangerous situation is the wiser thing to do. We have often heard: No one gives you power, it has to be seized. While the first part of the statement may have a tinge of truth in it, the second is an untruth. Power is not something material you can seize, like seizing an object or a piece of land. Power is never seized. It is always generated within.
Developing the power within, to have the confidence to take charge in the most difficult and dangerous of situations, is the hallmark of a true professional.
14) Courtesy and Humility:
Professionals must know that humility is critical to enduring success. When we are humble, we can listen to others. When we do, we remind ourselves of our weaknesses when others discussing our strengths. When you suspend humility you only hear adulation. Here I would like to quote an example of Mr Narayana Murthy. He practices something very interesting to practice humility. Every night, before going to bed, he stays awake with the lights out for a few minutes to recall the mistakes he has made during the day. It is the time he speaks to his conscience. Sometimes, when he has made a regrettable mistake, this process of recounting the day’s incident is cathartic, because it means reliving the pain. Before he falls asleep, he prays that he should be given the strength not to repeat the same mistake.
There is a proverb in many Indian languages. There are three leaves One on the top is falling, one in the middle is trembling and one at the bottom is waiting for its time. In every profession, the ones on top should be aware that the top of the totem pole is a temporary accommodation. Given the constant ebb and flow of our professional lives it is important to not only have this humility but to have appreciation for potential in people below us.
A professional must not take the respect for granted but he must cultivate respect and understanding for people who are way below him.
C) PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES
1) Of Time, Body and Soul.
One cannot be a great professional unless one masters time. Time management can be practiced effectively if one observes and learns from people who actually seem to manage their time well. Great professionals have one quality in common “Self Discipline”. The other thing which a professional should take care of is his health. As it is rightly quoted “Healthy Mind resides in a Healthy Body”. Poor personal health impacts concentration and leads to a feeling of exhaustion. The key to maintaining good health is that one should pay attention to what one eat, how much sleep he gets, how much exercise his body gets and ways you unwind. The forties are generally the peak years of professionals life. At this juncture a person faces twin responsibilities from family and professional life. It is a great time to use techniques like yoga and meditation to sharpen the ability to know more by doing less. Another thing a person can do is prayer, or a quiet period for reflection early in the morning or before you sleep, is just as helpful.
2) Doing More By Doing Less.
As a professional, the trick is to do more by doing less. To do this, you have to disengage from doing too many things at the same time and prioritize based on where you can make a larger impact. A way to disengage is to learn something new –a sport, a foreign language or a musical instrument. Pick up something that engages you and revives your spirit of curiosity and learning in you. Make the time to actively mentor someone and groom a replacement-this enables expansion of roles, encourages thinking beyond the obvious and gives you more time to focus on larger issues. In a knowledge intensive world, the only way you can remain ahead is by learning. Look for newer sources of learning as much as newer ways to learn.
3) Preparing a To-Do List
Prepare a checklist of things to do on a paper. There may be some tasks which may take longer time for completion. These tasks may get carried over a few days. But once you are through with the task you can strike it off from the list. Looking at the big picture we can say that the goal setting is nothing but setting of goals. Achieving this small goals motivates us, shapes our behaviour and creates energy. Once you build goals, you enter the virtuous cycle by which when you are close to achieving a goal, newer goals appear, and this process keeps you going. Another important aspect of goal setting is that you need to prioritize your needs. This can be done by asking “What is really important to you?”
4) Saying No
When you learn to say ‘no’ to those things which are unimportant, you then have the time to take on a task in whose outcome you have a serious stake and in which you believe. Attending meetings in which you have a solid truly requires face-to-face contact with a client. The inability to say ‘no’ to seniors is a major problem for many young professionals.
The professionals can practice doing the following things:
1) Do not do things which you don’t like to do and
2) Learn to say no to additional chores or requests outside of work.
As a professional it is necessary that you must set the limits, and when you do, people will respect for it.
5) Quit Whining
A professional always realizes that work is a blessing and, most of the time, it is therapeutic. Every day, increasing numbers of people in this world feel left out, unlucky, because they have woken up to a morning without any work.
Sometimes we have genuine problems at work. The way out is to brace up to the problem. Speak to someone in the organization or an outside counsellor. Discuss the issue, find a solution, be open in examining how much of the problem is because of you. Try and correct yourself. If you find the organizational fit is wrong, find another job-but do not whine. When you are leaving the organization see to it that you do not enter in a similar organization set up.
When you see the signs of mental pinch, consider expanding your organizational role. Ask for additional responsibilities. Walk up and ask for more work. Consider spending time with younger colleagues. Build into your work elements of service-that will invariably make your job and your achievements more enriching.
6) A Long View of Time.
A professional must take a long view of time in building any professional relationship. It goes well beyond the work one produces at one’s job. It is the power of association that builds formidable value over time which the myriad other choices cannot provide. A professional must take his each and every assignment seriously. Be it a column, or a book or an occasional newspaper piece a professional must give his 100%.
Every professional’s footprint must be larger than his daytime job. Our professional identity goes well beyond the employment badge we wear at work. So, while dealing with suppliers, customers, industry associates and other stakeholders, one must build a long view of time and treat every small engagement with all seriousness, as if life depends on it.
7) Mavens, Connectors and Evangelists.
A professional develops with the network he builds. Among the most powerful things in today’s world is the network a professional builds. A good network, cultivated wisely and used well, is a great expander of time. It can achieve great things for you.
Network is developed by a professional over a period of time. To develop a network you must become a contributor first. You need to add value to your network before you can get value from it. A network will not be able to achieve the short term goals. One needs to understand how to use it wisely and well. A good network can bring you what hours of research may not. When you acquire the reputation of being a contributor of value to a community, you are invariably flooded with high quality help when you need it. These networks consists of three parties i.e Mavens, Connectors and Evangelists.
Mavens: They are the persons who produce and trades knowledge.
Connectors : A connector provides clarification, assistance and linkages to other connectors. A group of mavens are usually connected to a connector.
Evangelist: They are the persons whose word is the last word in that particular field. A group of connectors are connected to evangelists.
In today’s tech savvy world these networks can reduce your substantial part of research. Without these people you would have to do hours and days of research work. Interaction with them is governed by the principle of mutual respect and affection which is built over years. Interaction with them is governed by the principle of mutual respect and affection which is built over years.
8) White Space (Empty Time)
In our professional lives, white space is a train or a bus ride towards work, it is the time waiting outside a client’s office the time spent on long flights. We have all been given white spaces and we simply let their power go to waste. These white spaces should not be loaded with work but they be rather an oasis of recreation and rest.
Mindless use of time that neither helps get the work done nor rests the mind is a waste. Use your white space for getting things done in a planned and proactive manner.
9) Creating Reuse
Whenever you create something useful, always think of reuse. By looking at what you are creating-an essay, a PowerPoint presentation, a policy document-as something that can be reused, you can expand time and get more done in your day. Reuse of work artefacts is a great way to expand time. Vast amounts of knowledge just sit in the content management system of an organization; yet professionals spend enormous amounts of time reinventing the wheel.
10) What is Your Touch-Time?
Touch-Time here means the quality time which you spent. It is time taken for recreation. Seeking help is a great way to expand time. There are some things which we find it difficult to cope with. So in that regard seeking help is very beneficial. It is amazing how much idle time is available in an organisation. It is very important to take periodic shutdowns. Many amongst us complain about non-availability of time but the idea of a shutdown gives them withdrawal symptoms. Professionals who take compulsory breaks at regular intervals are able to get more work done, in less time, because of the power of a relaxed mind and body.
11) When Paths Diverge.
In today’s world the professional keeps on changing his jobs. The important point here is that the individual must gravitate to the right organization. If you are any good you have the right to outgrow your job after you have made an impact, you have a right to occasionally get bored, and you have the right to covet more space. A true professional would make sure he has thought through the consequences, would see the big picture, would know how to make the change, and finally not burn bridges while parting ways.
Know also that most job changes do not change you. If there is inherent incapacity that is not getting you the raise and the promotion in your current hob, you will not get it by simply hopping organizations. Fix the gap, and if you cannot, come to terms with it. Do not fool yourself with the idea that a mere job change, just because it is possible, is going to solve your woes.
Always do a reference check. Ask the recruiter who all you need to meet to understand the new organization. You can say that “I would like to spend a day at the proposed workplace before signing the acceptance letter.
Precautions to taken in the job:
- Make your new job a success.
- Build value before seeking recognition.
- Do not make comparisons.
- Do not prey on your last employer.
- Professionals must always take the goodwill of everyone when they leave. You never know when you may need to come back as an employee.
D) MANAGING VOLUME
1) The Power of Vision.
Vision is what vision does. It is not enough to have a dream. You have to act on that vision. Our professions are instruments to build and deliver value to others. What good is an instrument in the hands of a person who has no vision? Every day countless people imagine possibilities for our future-of a world free of hunger and poverty to acing a test to owning an island- but very few act. Most professionals, themselves children of great vision, lose the way somewhere and give up on their visioning capacity that becomes a recessive gene. All of us must understand one vital truth: it is the job of the environment to present obstacles. That is the way nature is built. Professionals who have a profound vision are able not only to uplift their own lives but also of those around. As a professional, bring the power of vision to your work, and act upon it. Do not be fazed by the size of your adversary; the size of your adversary determines the size of your success.
2) Affective Regard
We need to build a value centric view of the profession. The professions we are trained in. There can be no professions without a set of professional values. When those values are transgressed, the professional mantle is disfigured, maimed and left in a state of sacrilege. When we subscribe to a profession, it is to the exclusion of other options and it signifies a social membership. Hence the people who belong to a particular professional group must agree to abide by a set of values that makes the group. If these values are violated, it amounts to desecration of the covenants of that profession. Thus for a medical professional, non-refusal to treat a person in need is an inviolable covenant. For a lawyer, client confidentiality is non-negotiable.
Seldom does practice of values led to great glory or high praise. It is however certain to keep the individual purer in form in his own eyes. Sometimes a personal price has to be paid in the practise of professional values. Society on the whole may not always put a premium on the practise of professional values, and hence most people do not incorporate it into their lives. But practising professional values is about who you are and what you want to be known as-a professional or merely professionally qualified. And, in the end, even the most corrupt society hails the ones that choose to be different.
3) Commitment to Commitment
The soldier does not go to war every day, but his commitment to perform every small task with the highest commitment decides victory when the big day arrives. This quality to do what you have said you will do, in the time you have committed to must be applied to the smallest tasks in your life. Without it, you not only disrespect others, you disrespect yourself. Without commitment we cannot achieve even small successes, not to speak about large ones. Without commitment, we cannot give our best to our organization. And without commitment, we cannot turn our vision into reality.
4) Be Prepared
Great professionals are always prepared for conversations, meetings, presentations. Prepared individuals project a good image of the company and of themselves-that is the first step towards making a client feel important. Imagine going to a doctor, a lawyer and accountant and begin by saying, ‘The last time we spoke about a change in diet, your exercise regime and shift from antibiotics to vitamins...’ you already know that you are in good hands and know that your doctor is the best. A professional architect will bring along the doodles of the last meeting, and a summary of the points discussed. A professional sales person will go over his meeting notes from a previous call before visiting a client. In case of Company Secretaries they should circulate the minutes of internal meeting and other meetings. So that the absent directors are aware of what was done in the last meeting.
Before meeting someone you should research the person and then meet him.
5) Ask Pertinent Questions
Ancient India was known for its tradition of questioning and dialogue. Still there are some senior citizens who ask more questions (we call them ‘savali jumla’). The concept of asking question to get to the bottom of things was through storytelling. Unfortunately, this tradition seems to have lost its way in the modern education system we have designed for ourselves. Our education systems, a product of the society we live in, discourages questioning and dialogue in an effort to mass produce thousands of engineers, doctors, lawyers etc.
The ability to ask questions, whatever the field of a professionals work be, is essential for success. The Japanese have a 7-QC tools that included Kaoru Ishikawa’s Fish Bone Diagram. This is a widely used tool for what is known as Root Cause Analysis. The idea is profoundly simple yet powerful. It suggests that managers tend to look at everything in a cause-effect manner and jump to conclusions based on the apparent cause, and not the root cause, behind and event or phenomenon. The tick lies in going deep into the problem and find the root cause and then consider a solution that truly removes the problem.
The technique that quality experts use when a problem occurs is that of five consecutive ‘whys’ and then a ‘how’.
An illustration: An employee was coming late to office for last couple of days and the manager has to resolve the issue. A conversation ensues between the manager and the concerned employee.
Manager(M): Why were you late today?
Employee(E): I missed the bus that normally brings me to work.
M: Why did you miss the bus?
E: I woke up late
M: Why did you wake up late?
E: I slept late last night
M: Why did you slept late last night?
E: My wife has been suffering from viral fever for the last few days.
The apparent reason here for the employee coming late is him missing the bus but the root cause is that wife ahs viral fever. Had the manager stopped at first or second ‘why’ he would not have found out the root cause. The Japanese believe that most problems can be driven down to the root cause by asking ‘why’ five times and then asking ‘how’.
After asking ‘how’ the employee replied, “They had gone out for a meal. After eating the food his wife suffered from food poisoning. The doctor had advised rest and a week’s course of antibiotics”. Now the employer can give the employee off, change his shift timings or wish his wife early recovery.
A true professional will always question and find the root cause. While learning to ask pertinent questions is basic, as we grow into positions of greater responsibility, it becomes necessary to refine that ability to the next higher level of critical questioning. The ability to ask pertinent questions is, however, linked to the ability to listen intently.
6) Intent Listening
The pertinent questions come with intent listening. Listen to the answers to the questions you have asked not only with your ears but also your eyes. Our eyes are trained to notice the smallest sign of pain, impatience, lack of confidence, worry or detachment. Listen with your whole body. Listening is a physical function as much as it is an art. Some people can see things other cannot. Much the same way, some people can hear things other cannot. Great Professionals are invariably good listeners. The positive aspect of good listening is that the other person gets to feel the he is being listened to. As a result as very positive energy starts flowing between the two people who are in conversations. The capacity to listen intently can be built with conscious practice. The basic things required for listening are appropriate venue, shut out distractions and no cell phones. Ask further questions as the conversation progresses, seek confirmation of your understanding, take notes if required, look for patterns in the information the other persons is giving. Intent listening reduces the time required for communication, makes the other person feel at ease and builds collaboration within and outside the organization. When we listen well we signal empathy and engagement. This in turn helps build sound judgement.
Human beings should be considered as first and foremost. A professional should be empathetic, able to look at another person as a human being, to respect the other person irrespective of the state in which they appear. It is not enough to have the best skilled people on the job; they must respect life and living things.
7) Transparency
Good clients value that because they know trust cannot be replaced by competence. Competence can be acquired but trust either exists from day one or it does not. Knowing your limitations and the limitations of your company, telling a client, ‘No, we do not have the capability you require’, is the professional thing to do.
8) The responsibility of Dissent
From the power of vision to doing the right the thing, individual decisions by professionals build the reputation an organization ultimately enjoys. It happens all the time and all around us wherever groups work together. When professionals get together, they assume that the purpose of every meeting is to get consensus. But consensus is not always beneficial and can sometime lead to disasters. These can be avoided if each professional in a group’s decision making process is shifted from the urge to agree to doing the right thing.
E) MANAGING COMPLEXITY
What makes one person better observer than another? Developing the right brain helps you look at the big picture, you realize the interconnectedness of various facets of the problem. That is when you realize the problem is not what you thought it was and hence the solution too cannot be what it has traditionally been. Unfortunately, the Indian educational system is designed to over-focus on the left brain at the cost of the right brain; it then simply takes a back seat. The professionals of the twenty first century must learn to use both sides of the brain, to harmonize both facts and feeling when making decisions. (For more on this one can refer to the book A Whole New Mind-Daniel Pink)
Howard Gardener in his book Multiple Intelligences lists out eight forms of intelligences. They are literary, kinestic, musical, interpersonal, intra-personal, spatial, naturalistic and finally spiritual. Professionals must be aware of each of these intelligences to harness the brain, to think, to ideate, to innovate and solve problems. It is important to understand them and how each one works, because in varying degrees we are all gifted with all the nine intelligences to deliver better results and enjoy life more. Increasingly, professions of the future will need leaders with greater kinaesthetic capability. These are the people who have a higher degree of interpersonal intelligence. They build more empathy and can work better as part of a group. This is hugely important for people who want to lead. A professional of the future will have to collaborate effectively.
1) Three Levels of knowledge
According to Yves Doz, a professor at INSED, France, people relate to knowledge at three different levels. The first level is the adaptive level. At this level the professional who works at this level is unlikely to be differentiated and in reality, as the world changes could become extinct one day.
The next is the experiential level. At this level the professional gets into the shoes of the end user, building the product based on the experience of the target customer.
E.g. 1) When Nissan wanted to design a car for the European market, their engineers did not merely take a Japanese engine and created a body. Instead, Nissan sent a delegation of auto designers to Europe. When they got off the plane, each rented different makes of cars and drove thousands of kilometres all over Europe to understand what it meant to be a motorist in Europe. They created a product after they had experienced what the end consumer experiences on European roads.
The last level is the existential level. Here the professionals don’t get into the shoes of customers but enter the minds of customers. What differentiates Sony is the fact that its designers understand what goes on inside the heads of its customers. They have a feel for what happens to a kid in Bronx weatrng baggy pants when dons his headphones, hits the play button and begins to wriggle in tune with his favourite music. The professionals at Sony work backwards from that feeling to design innovative products and services.
The best professionals operate at the existential level where it is about building the capacity to engage with people, problems, processes and opportunities by creeping into the minds of customers. This requires empathy, inclusion, 360-degree thinking, recognizing the interconnected nature of things, looking for solutions outside the box, learning from unusual sources and in unusual ways, and finally about simplicity and feelings.
2) Five Minds of Future
Our brain is the repository of nine intelligences. The mind, which is probably the abstract layer of the brain, works with these nine intelligences. Howard Gardener has written about five minds of the future. These are: the mind of discipline, the mind of synthesis, the mind of creativity, the respectful mind and the ethical mind. Studies at Harvard and Stanford Universities have showed that mastering any discipline takes as long as ten years. It is not enough to be technically qualified or professionally educated; you need sustained, devoted practice over years to truly know the nuances of your discipline, understand the big picture, the dependencies and the domain. A professional should also know how the other disciplines work. This calls for the capacity to synthesize information from many different disciplines. The capacity to look at any issue, any solution, from a multi-disciplinary point. Only a person who knows how to iron out differences, bring out the best in other people, get consensus and buy-in for difficult options-all in the shortest possible time with the latest possible unwanted implications is a true professional of the future. Leaders in every professional must learn to deal with other persons with respect. Being a professional must also mean understanding the larger implications of our decisions, our processes and interpreting our actions through a higher code of conduct-that of self regulation.
3) Critical Questioning
It is the capacity to raise incisive, difficult and sometimes uncomfortable questions that become potential game changers, and then the courage to tale a position. They can be inherently counter-intuitive and often differ from collective wisdom. Critical questioning is powerful tool available to every professional. As you sharpen the power of critical questioning, you begin to ask the right questions. This opens up many possible solutions beyond what is just apparent and on the surface. When we begin to ask critical questions we begin to understand other things: the interconnected nature of things. In other words, we are able to build a larger systemic view. Jack Welch, one of the most admired CEOs of the twentieth century, was famous for asking questions and used them to build a high-performance culture among his leaders. In the process, he created one of the most valuable companies in the world: General Electric (GE). In managing and uniting GE’s very diverse businesses, he would invariably ask himself a set of five specific questions about the leaders of the various businesses. 1) Is he real? 2) Does he see around the corners? 3) Who’s around him? 4) Does he get back on the horse? 5) Is he pro-business?
4) Personal Pain
Dealing with personal pain can have a debilitating impact on one’s work and that is understandable. Yet, somewhere we must draw the line so that the deeply personal does not override duty. Surprisingly, a personal crisis can also bring focus and attention to one’s job, helping us achieve higher and better standards. In many ways it sometimes transforms us as a professional. Faced with a personal setback, the first thing a professional must do is to secure his or her professional position. It makes no sense to let a personal tragedy submerge the platform that provides with the power of continuance. Allowing personal issues to drag on professional obligations is like burning the shelter from which one has a chance to grow again after the storm has passed.
If a personal problem is beginning to overwhelm you, inform your organization. Seek help in repriotrizing your work on hand so that deadlines and commitments do not fall between the cracks. If required, take time off. The period of adjustment varies depending on what you are up against. Renegotiate your contract, work hours and compensation till you feel stronger. The key is to plan, strategize, know the trade-offs, build backups and keep people informed. Most professional and progressive workplaces understand this and find creative ways to help valuable individual cope with a period of stress. Return to full-time responsibilities only when you feel you can once again give your best to your organization. And come back with full force.
5) Governance
In the days to come the term ‘governance’ will touch professionals in every field in some way or the other. Broadly, it is a phrase that encompasses compliance with the laws of the land but in spirit asks for self-regulation. The intent here is to take the first step in sensitizing professionals. Most governance issues can be avoided with a culture of education and spirit full of disclosure. When there is the slightest possibility of a conflict of interest, pre-notify the relationships. Professionals in the new world will need to know the meaning of ‘do well by doing good’. Because tomorrow’s customers will seek out those who are proactive in their practices to make the planet a better place to live in.
Japanese Professionalism
Professionalism in Japan blends with three other things: national pride, precedence of the group over the individual and, finally, it draws from their spiritual identity. A Japanese, work is a living experience. How can we all try to improve things around us? Where does human endeavour to be a better professional stop? In the garden of work, as long as the garden is alive, there is no last dry twig.
F) NEW WORLD IMPERATIVES
Inclusion and Gender
When a group of fellow workers go out for lunch and there is a lone woman in the group, without realizing it, the men begin to engage with each other and usually the woman is left to herself. Some people believe that it is the woman’s responsibility alone to try and blend in; men do not realize how quickly they actually create a fortress of sorts. By virtue of being a woman it becomes difficult to be part of the group even though the person to be included is a co-worker, not an outsider. It is a silent problem in every workplace. According to Linda Howard, author of The Sexual Harassment Handbook, most ugly situations can be avoided if people follow the three rules our parents taught us whenever we went to the playground: do not force someone to play, do not be mean, and do not pick on little kids. What this conveys is that you must not coerce anyone to have an alliance. Second, you cannot be vindictive if the person rejects your advances. Finally, those who are in position of power, authority, rank or hierarchy must not prey on a subordinate at the workplace.
The crux of the matter lies in an organization clearly defining what is and is not acceptable behaviour. For the professional organization of the future, addressing gender sensitivity and sexual harassment will be key. Whenever adult human beings work, there is bound to be mutual attraction but every professional must know where consensus stops and harassment begins.
Cross-Cultural Sensitivity
Cultural differences are but one of the many factors that impact how people respond to various situations. Such differences seem to matter most when things are not going well. In an increasingly global world, we have to learn cross-cultural nuances because we deal with customers, suppliers and other collaborators who are as new to us as we are to them. A professional who understands these differences and finds ways to work with them, rather than letting them work against the organization, will be in much demand in the new world.
Governance
In the days to come, the term ‘governance’ will touch professionals in every field in some way or the other. Broadly, it is a phrase that encompasses compliance with laws of the land but in spirit asks for self-regulation. If you think about it, a company or any organization for that matter is not a living thing and is quite incapable of breaking laws. Thus when institutions break laws, it is actually someone working there who has broken the law.
The intent is here is to take first steps in sensitizing professionals. Most governance issues can be avoided with a culture of education and a spirit of full disclosure. When there is the slightest possibility of a conflict of interest pre-notify relationships. As businesses become global and more complex, there will be increasing demand for governance which meets requirements across countries.
Sustainability
Professionals will have to know how their work could potentially destroy the earth and conversely, how they can help sustain it.
When people commute from far, they add to the carbon footprint. When you pay attention to their transportation needs and look at options from all angles, you contribute to the process of creating sustainability. In places where thousands of workers eat every day, food waste can create serious health hazards. The steps that can be taken are reducing the use of water in toilets, encouraging rainwater harvesting and the use of solar powered lighting. Sustainability is no longer a peacenik fad. Issues like potable water, waste disposal, greenhouse gases and carbon emission can be directly linked to every profession and more significantly to how every professional makes a living. Professionals in the new world will need to know the meaning of ‘do well by doing good’. Because tomorrow’s customers will seek out those who are proactive in their practices to make the planet a better place to live in.
G) THE PROFESSIONALS PROFESSIONAL
Whatever Japan is today, is because of the corporation’s the Japanese have built and behind them all are the people who make these institutions. Professionalism in Japan blends with three other things: national pride, precedence of the group over the individual and, finally it draws from their spiritual identity.
To the Japanese, work is a living experience. How can we all try to improve things around us? Where does the human endeavour to be a better professional stop? In the garden of work as long as the garden is alive, there is last dry twig.
In today’s environment it is not about how much you already know but how rapidly you can syndicate the knowledge required to solve problem. And that requires commitment, ownership and action orientation. Planning, organizing, punctuality and quality of work have to be delivered with a great attitude, otherwise a client will in all probability not like to do business with you a second time. The professional of tomorrow must have a beacon-like presence in a world that will ask for memorability. Because being ordinary will no longer be considered professional.
As enumerated above it shows what makes a true professional. Now we will enumerate what are the qualities of being ‘Unprofessional’. They are missing a Deadline, Plagiarism, Non-escalation of issues on time, Non-disclosure, Not respecting privacy of information, Not respecting ‘need to know’, Passing on the blame, overstating qualifications and experience, Mindless job hopping and Unsuitable appearance.
