When looking back at my work history, what would be the most important personal lesson I learned? Would it be the development of a professional ethic?
As I grew older, less impulsive and more confident, I began to recognize and develop what many would call “the professional ethic.” Each profession has a unique code of ethics, some of which are actually legally binding standards. In the IT field, where I worked most of my life, the two standards that were sacrosanct were confidentiality and security. Technically confidentiality is an element of the IT security model, but operationally distinct. In my line of work I was frequently coming across information that was not germane to my work and it was that sort of information that I was expected to not divulge. Security for IT personnel was unique in that it required security clearances involving background checks. We were expected to be informed on security standards and security was usually an element of our professional training.
Professional standards were variable for the other elements of my life: as a grain trader, a businessman and a teacher. Each of these professions had unique aspects. For grain trading, obviously, would be trading by the rules of the industry. Running a business was quite unique in that you learned the importance of gaining the confidence and trust of the customer. Teaching required that you be competent in the subject. I would add one other industry to the list since I worked many hours as a part-time trail guide where being knowledgeable and safety-conscious were essential.
What was interesting, as time went on, was that all these different jobs had commonalities that I would consider the “professional ethic.” The journey began when our team of grain traders were required to attend Dale Carnegie training. Grain trading can be terribly narcissistic. Just picture Michael Douglas in Wall Street saying through his clenched teeth, “Greed.” We were not crazy, but we were heading down that path unless we learned to pull back from the moment, take a deep breath, get the facts straight, and move forward. While learning to master that process, the Dale Carnegie program introduced some interpersonal elements that reminded us that the people we work with are human beings. A polite word, a soft voice, encouragement, sprinkled with grace, could not only make doing business easier, it could actually make a person’s life worth living.
What are the transcendent values that compose the “professional ethic?”
- Pursues Excellence
- Dependable
- Respectful
- Responsive (Transparent, Prompt)
- Honest
A Pursuit of Excellence
It is interesting how a book written in 1982 by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman could affect your thinking even if you have not read it. But The Search for Excellence had a profound effect on the meaning of professionalism. What they addressed at the corporate level was subliminally transferred to what each of us can achieve.1 A pursuit of excellence encapsulates several attributes that define professionalism. First, continual education. Always learning something new and mastering the work you do. In IT it was critical to your survival. Stop learning and you would be irrelevant in three years. I can say that for 40 years I had a lot of fun working for a living because it was always a challenge and I kept learning something new. Second, do your work well. It was more than just meeting an expected standard. It was going beyond that level.
One of the peculiar things I observed over the years is that people who are inquisitive and enterprising seem to find each other. In running an IT consultancy for ten years you quickly learn you do not have all the answers. I soon learned who, amongst my so-called “competitors”, did have answers. As a result I was able to pursue projects that incorporated their talents, delivering to the customer the best solution. Each of these individuals loved their work, were committed to mastering their work and held a high standard of performance.
When I returned to the corporate world, the trend continued. At the hospital complex, there were about 150 IT personnel. Odd that amongst them I would find two other gentlemen who pursued excellence. They were polar opposites in personality and life style, but we could all three sit at the table in the cafeteria and talk IT. I learned so much from them, which demonstrated another aspect of excellence – selflessness. If I did not know the answer, I felt comfortable asking.
Dependable
Maybe you learn this while in high school trying to get a group project done. You know how it is. You have four people on your so-called “team”. In the end, one or two people do all the work. Unfortunately, I have seen that in the IT field. I have seen one person drag down an entire division! I never wanted to be accused of being undependable. Don’t be surprised if no one acknowledges your dependability. It is one of those qualities that people can take for granted.
As the years progressed, it was one of the words I began to hear more often from my supervisors. In looking back, the worst work experience was when I was never affirmed in my work. In other words, I wanted to be seen as “dependable.” I knew I could be counted on to do my work. When I had a supervisor who could not see that or was not interested, it seriously undercut my interest to continue working in that environment.
In a large enterprise, like the US Forest Service, I discovered that supervisors also had an eye for dependability. This was largely due to the peculiar culture of government workers. When a technical issue emerged that required the best minds to resolve, it was odd that over the years the same people were often in the room. This demonstrated a qualitative aspect of “dependable.” I worked with dozens of people who did their jobs well, were well trained and demonstrated a high level of expertise in their field. But would I call them to solve a difficult problem? The list was much shorter.
Respectful
Anyone who knows me well can tell you I have had my bad moments. I was graced with a hot temper as a young man and it has taken me fifty years to arrive where I am today – still having to work on it. Respect is a vital element of teamwork.
We all will most likely work in an environment where people come from all sorts of backgrounds. How we are sensitive toward the people we work with is a difficult, yet important, concern. We all have a common platform on which respect is practiced – the work we do. Respect requires that we keep the eye on the ball. If there is one thing I can point to that was the strength of the US Forest Service, it was their training on how we work together — focusing on the mission.
Professionalism focuses on the profession. We are all human and we all hear things said about people that have nothing to do with the job they perform. “I believe she is lesbian,” I once heard someone say. But to me, at work, she was an engineer, she had been at that job for decades and evidently did it well. The most frequent encounter in the IT field was our global make up. I worked with Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Latinos and Europeans. We had to learn to handle the language barrier. (Speaking English is not easy.) It required patience, grace, honesty and a lot of humor. It required all of us to keep our eye on the mission. As each contributed to a solution, you began to see how respecting one another enabled us to move forward.
Responsive
In the virtualized work environment we have today, responsiveness is becoming one of the most important measures of job performance. For many, this would fall under “customer service”, but for most of us who work in a world of instant messaging, email and smartphones, responsiveness is a critical part of everyday life. As an IT specialist working on numerous projects, I simply could not afford to have people who were never on-line or who never responded to your emails. It was an important part of our training as supervisors frequently reminded everyone that they were obligated to be available and to be responsive.
For old folks like me, that was a learning process. All the technologies that we see operative in the workplace today were introduced piecemeal over a span of thirty years. As a grain trader, we worked in the same room, often with eye contact and use of hand signals. As a businessman supporting software I designed, I always had a pager in my pocket. The pager would be replaced by the cell phone. People would find it expedient to send you questions by e-mail rather than calling you on the phone. Then came chat services. In essence, we were all in the same room.
Honest
Without a doubt, being honest all the time is a cardinal virtue. But when I think of honesty, no where is it more important than when telling your boss the bad news. It is not easy, yet anyone who has worked in an industry can tell you, it is vital. With the advent of email and chat services I learned the importance of being discreet, knowing that what I shared could be forwarded to others. So the telephone was occasionally the best way to communicate sensitive information.
A thread that ran throughout my career was an extensive use of statistics. I found that an important element of “honesty” was trusting the numbers. Too often I attended conferences where managers and IT personnel were in a panic because of a technical crisis, and the first thing out of the mouth of folks were insinuations. I found that my role was to present the facts. But it was also important that I learn how to steer people to respect the facts as we knew them, and then act on them. I also discovered that the truth transcends the moment. If people ignore your recommendations, the facts will bear you out in the end. Patience was a hard thing for me to learn. I too often took a rejection as a personal affront. You need not do that.
Your List
While I hope the list above is helpful, I am sure that when you think about it you might have a different list. As you can tell, most of what I describe above is from personal experience. I did not cook up this list from a book. I have to confess I find books on business rather boring. But the principles outlined above have this common attribute – they applied to any job situation. Over my lifetime I have held some pretty interesting jobs, most of which were not “career” positions: tree planting, janitor, yard work, farm work, camp counselor, intern to a US Senator, electronics salesperson, furniture refinishing, car body repair, umpiring and football officiating. All of these endeavors share the same basic elements: a desire to learn and improve oneself, dependability, respect, responsiveness and honesty.
Resources
“Professional Ethics,” Wikipedia, not a bad place to start this journey. As is quickly gathered, there are many roads one can travel on this topic.
“Nine Golden Rules To Professional Ethics In The Workplace“, LinkedIn, by Leandro Vilente. Short essay that should stir up a good conversation on the professional ethic.
“In Search of Excellence,” Wikipedia
- While researching for this article I came across a delightful piece on Tom Peters. “Tom Peters is still ‘In Search of Excellence’”, VTDigger, by Kevin O’Connor, July 1, 2018. ↩︎
© Copyright 2024 to Eric Niewoehner