6 traits of true professionals
What makes someone a professional? Is it an advanced degree and typically white-collar job? No, says management and leadership expert Dan McCarthy. Professionalism is a quality everyone can display, McCarthy says.
1. True professionals keep their commitments. They don’t make commitments they can’t keep, and they know the meaning of deadlines.
2. True professionals don’t swear or call attention to their language. They speak properly in their native language, using appropriate volume.
3. True professionals leave personal drama at home. They may mention a divorce but will never yell at anyone over the phone at work or complain about them in the break room.
4. True professionals maintain a tidy appearance. They wear appropriate clothing, a nice hairstyle and are always well groomed.
5. True professionals don’t engage in standard workplace no-no’s. These include: gossiping, bullying, sexual jokes and innuendo. They know that getting along with co-workers and being a good person are important.
6. True professionals don’t lie, cheat or steal. They have excellent ethics. This includes owning up to their mistakes and not blaming others.
— Adapted from “What is Workplace Professionalism?,” Dan McCarthy, About.com.
