Keep it Classy: 3 Tips on Professionalism

“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

By now I have blogged about a lot of different kinds of relationships.  Our relationships with ourselves, health, happiness, lovers, and family, BUT I am forgetting the most influential relationships, the people we spend the majority of our time with everyday, our professional relationships!  It is a fact that the average person will spend 48 years of their life working, if you calculate that down to the 9 to 5 that means you are basically growing old and grey with your co-workers.  While I am far from this average at the ripe old age of 32, I have three professional tips that will make you feel good about they way you conduct yourself professionally.  The truth is there is not recipe for success, but there are some sure fire ways to act so that in the future when you look back at your career you can say you treated people with respect and dignity.  Welcome to the high road.

“Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson

1) Check your emotions at the door.  Have you ever had a sharp tongued co-worker?  (or worse boss?) That when they spoke to you it made you want to cry, or throw a punch?  Having worked in a large range of different industries from the age of 16 I can honestly say that words can stir up emotions, but it is vital that you calm down and not act out.  When temperatures flare words that you truly do not want to say can come rushing to your lips, but the best career advice is to keep those lips sealed.  I am not saying to not address your concerns, absolutely not.  There are a million and one articles out there on how to professionally address work concerns that one may have with any variety of co-workers.   BUT,  letting your emotions get the better of you and saying words that should not be said can lead to a whole load of problems from reprimand to getting yourself fired, but most importantly it will stain your professional integrity.  You should be able to look back and proudly say that you took the high road, you kept it classy and most of all that you tried your hardest this kind of reflection will leave you with good feelings about yourself and your work ethic.

“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.”
― Dolly Parton

2) Keep it professional.  It is not cute to abbreviate anything in professional communications, in particular if you want to be taken seriously.  It is also not a great idea to invite all your co-workers to a keg party either, or discuss intimate details of your personal life, AND most importantly keep your work life off social media.   You are sort of like Batman in that now that you are an adult you will have a professional self by day and a personal self by night.  Confusing your personal relationships with your professional relationships can be catastrophic.  Here is an example:  In your professional life you dress the part, take direction, apply initiative and speak in a manner that is conducive to respect. While in your personal life you may not wear pants (I am not here to judge what you do in the comfort of your own home), swear like a sailor, and disrespect people on the regular because it is your sense of humour.  I think you can see how these two night and day characters need to stay separated.  I mean really, imagine if you walked into the office sans pants swearing at the receptionist while posting about it on Facebook (#fired, #officeworstnightmare).  It is a slippery slope when you become too comfortable with your co-workers and lines become blurred.  While yes being friendly with your co-workers is essential, becoming “besties” with the office and throwing professional conduct to the wind is setting yourself up for disaster.

“You have to be burning with "an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right." If you're not passionate enough from the start, you'll never stick it out.”
― Steve Jobs

3) Know your worth.  You may be reading these two points and be thinking that I am telling you to be some kind of emotionally void door mat.  This is not the case at all.  Here is something I believe, you are awesome! And special! How could I possibly know this about you?  Well I know this because everyone is amazing at something.  And, it takes people who are excellent at all things to make this world go round.  For example in order for me to work late or enjoy a holiday I need a lovely dog walker, and not just any dog walker, someone I can trust in my home on the regular with my fur kid.  We also all need the bus driver, the grocery clerk, the cleaning people at the office, every single person in this world is an integral part of the puzzle of functionality.  Without one piece all the other pieces suffer.  This means YOU are essential to this world.  This also means so am I.  Not all jobs are going to be right for you and neither are all places you work, and there is actually nothing wrong with this.  We are all different with all different work styles, learning curves.   Find the right fit for you and do not be afraid to know your own self worth, you are worth career happiness.

“You are good. But it is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something. You must contribute good to the world. The world must be a better place for your presence. And the good that is in you must be spread to others....”
― Gordon B. Hinckley

We live in a world where people often appear to be dredging along sadly to work in the morning, where they sigh at the sight of Monday morning and they yearn for long weekends to get away from their careers.  This makes me sad.  We all deserve to be in the right career on the right path for not only success but happiness.  Finding happiness can be a long journey for some of us and that is also okay.  As long as you try your hardest and conduct yourself professionally at the end of the day you will feel good about your work ethic and yourself, and you will come across as such too.  Thanks for reading! XO