Professional Behaviour

Professional is not a label you give yourself - it's a description you hope others will apply to you.  - David Maister

I don't know about you, but I find that rather interesting. 

'Professional' is not a state we can proclaim ourselves to be in, as we might for 'happy' or 'nervous'. It is not merely the consequence of obtaining a job in the area you are skilled in. It is not a simple case of rising through the ranks from beginner or amateur to a higher level.

You earn it. Every day.

You could have the most respected, high level, high paying, reputable job in the world and still be unprofessional. 

You have to - shock, horror - actually do things, be things and actively practice professionalism. How? Through your behaviour. Not just doing your 'job' and the tasks you are given, but your behaviour as you carry them out and conduct your practice.

Let's look at a few definitions first:

PROFESSION: any type of work which needs a special or particular skill, often one which is respected because it involves a high level of education

PROFESSIONAL (noun): a person who has the type of job that needs a high level of education and training

PROFESSIONAL (adjective): having the qualities that you connect with trained and skilled people, such as effectiveness, skill, organisation, and seriousness of manner

PROFESSIONALISM: the qualities connected with trained and skilled people

(Cambridge Dictionary)

Note that the qualities listed as belonging to trained and skilled people has nothing to do with what they are actually trained in. So we may take it that being professional does not come from what you specifically trained in, or the mere fact you are trained to a high level. 

Then what are the universal elements of professional behaviour?

Some characteristics of professional behaviour may be taken as the following:

• integrity
• empathy
• respect
• communications
• teamwork & diplomacy
• competence
• morality
• altruism
• time management
• appearance 
• accountability
• co-operation
• self-motivation
• self-confidence
• self-reflection
• life-long learning
• resilience
• dealing with mistakes
• dealing with uncertainty

I am willing to bet that at some point you have worked with a professional who was unprofessional - in dance this may be a teacher, choreographer, director, fellow dancer, singer, crew member etc - in that they failed to exhibit one or more of the above qualities. 

This can lead to problems --

relationally - relationships may become difficult or strained, possibly even awkward if a hierarchy is tested (eg. a director is unprofessional and the cast doesn't know how to respond without risking their job or how they will be treated)

personally - a person puts themself at a disadvantage, either by not adhering to standards that validate their involvement (eg. getting through in an audition, proving their worth as a cast member), or by not allowing themselves to progress (eg. not learning from a mistake, not maintaining personal standards)

socially - there may be a breakdown in teamwork and co-operation (eg. a cast not working well together or not moving harmoniously, not working well with a partner)

psychologically - an individual may be negatively affected by the behaviour of another, which may result in some level of stress, anxiety, hostility, resentment, disapproval etc

morally - a person may act in an unprofessional way that is also morally wrong behaviour

There may be more ways but you get the idea. Professional behaviour is important. It's kind of the glue that people just assume will be there. 

If it starts to slip, cracks start to form.

If there is a big lack of it, expect big holes to appear.

If there's none at all, all you have is a bunch of scattered pieces with no form and no actual use or function.

Professional behaviour is needed for the internal network to function (the cast, company, creatives, crew etc all working to common goals) but it is also needed for external function. 

A profession has some form of social contract with society. 

It is allowed to regulate itself without external involvement (beyond actual laws), it can use its knowledge base to the extent and form it wishes (eg. a company can just create a new musical or a teacher can determine the content of a class), and it has a large degree of autonomy.

It is therefore expected by society that professional behaviour will be maintained internally in the practice and externally as it interacts with and serves the public - ie. clients, audiences etc. If professional behaviour and therefore professionalism breaks down, so too does the social contract.

In dance this may mean people no longer go to the theatre or boycott certain companies/shows, or students may leave a particular school and go to another etc.

 

Professional ethics are different to professional behaviour as they are rules and principals that govern the behaviour of people in a professional environment, no matter the values of the individual person. These are often codified regulations and arguably reflect the company as oppose to the individual. 

This post to some extent precedes my previous blog on ethics - so feel free to check that out if you haven't already!

As a final thought on professional behaviour, if we look back at that first quote, in order to earn the description of 'professional' we are presumably subject to the judgement of others, who are likely to be people we interact with in our professional practice and hence also have some level of professional behaviour to be determined. 

Is it, then, that professional behaviour in a group is determined by a back and forth comparison of personal standards of individuals until someone is considered 'correct', or by a collective minimum level of professionalism where some individuals may hold themselves to higher standards than those operating on base level?

Because if we face reality, not everyone we encounter in our practice is as professional as we would like them to be. But their standards must have been accepted somewhere for us to be encountering them in our practice at all.

Could there be abuse of power?

Could there be privilege?

Or have they simply not been called out on it?

And if it is our responsibility to uphold our own version professionalism, why should we be subject to the opinion of someone who has lower standards for this than we do?

References:

Immigration Advisors Authority (2020), 'Professional ethics and codes of conduct'  https://www.iaa.govt.nz/for-advisers/adviser-tools/ethics-toolkit/professional-ethics-and-codes-of-conduct/

Yusoff, M.S.B. (2009), 'Professional Behaviour: What Does It Means?'  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/200582956_Professional_Behaviour_What_Does_It_Means