Professionalism applies to every individual. Whether you are a solo business practitioner, work in the trades, just starting out your corporate career, or already moving up the food chain, the core attributes of a professional are the same.
The individual who exercises his or her mastery in the following areas is going to be recognized, at a minimum as competent, and ultimately as excellent:
- Planning
- Delivery
- Communication
- Self-Discipline
- Work Ethic
- Relationships
- Job-Specific skills and knowledge
You may have a general idea of your strengths and weaknesses but have you decided what to do about them? Any idea on how you will identify gaps in your competence areas? How about developing compensatory practices, e.g. if organizing is not going to be a strength, how will you compensate for it. At the end of the day, it is not about being perfect in every way, it is about delivering well on commitments.
I do not offer coaching.
Mentoring, however, is something I have 20 plus years of experience with. Yes, I will tell you if I think you are doing something to hurt your career. Yes, I will provide advice, resources, tools, and feedback to move you in the right direction. Yes, together we can create an actionable, monitored plan that will result in you becoming the exceptional professional you know you can be.
What do the above mentioned competencies look like in the real world:
| Critical Thinking |
The quality of your decisions is as good as the thinking you bring to the process. This includes improving the clarity of what you are doing, performing analysis, and so on. |
| Communication |
Not sending 500 emails but really connecting. Choosing the right medium, crafting an effective message even if writing or speaking are not your strengths. |
| Delivery |
Planning, prioritization, time management, self discipline, every aspect required to consistently say what you are going to do and doing it, i.e. congruence. |
| Right Thing |
Doing the right thing requires you know how to figure it out and once you have, doing it to the best of your abilities. |
| Feedback |
The fine art of giving, asking, and receiving it. |
| Relationships |
Connecting with others. Networking, nurturing, and investing. Focus on the giving and the getting will happen. Basic etiquette, not just about using the right fork! Manners matter; how you write emails, conduct yourself in meetings, and otherwise epitomize graciousness (or at least don't look like a jerk). |
I once hired my favorite waiter at the local pizza restaurant as an entry-level person in our IT department. Within a year, his income had doubled, he had a career he was excited about, and he had a lot more weekends off.
He was hired because he had an excellent attitude, willingness to learn, and had demonstrated his ability to keep track of what he was doing, deliver on what he said he was going to do when he said he would do it, wrote things down correctly, and followed up. All of this while being pleasant and appropriately attentive. Because he was a competent waiter, I took the chance those competencies, and the traits that allowed him to gain those competencies, would transfer into a new role.
Rates for mentoring are on a sliding scale and will be determined on an individual basis. 