professionalism in business essay

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Redefining professionalism in the workplace

For Julius Erving, a basketball legend, professionalism in the workplace is simple.

“Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don't feel like doing them.”  Julius Erving, basketball player 

In many ways, this quote still holds true in a fast-changing world . Pre-pandemic, our work and personal lives were more separate and divided. For the most part, we left work at work.  

But change has hit the world pretty hard, especially in the last few years. In-person meetings have switched to Zoom or virtual conference rooms. Slacks, button-down shirts, and nice dress shoes have been swapped for sweatpants and slippers.

But now, many of us are working remotely or in a hybrid workforce . The line between personal and work life is blurrier than ever. While the most visible changes might be our outfits on Zoom , the notion of professionalism in the workplace is shifting. 

After all, cats and kids are scattering across keyboards and computer screens. Some workers might be juggling getting their teenagers out the door for soccer practice while also presenting during a team meeting.

Partners, roommates, family members, and loved ones have all “entered” our office space, whether we like it or not. Employees are showing up as their whole selves at work. So when it comes to professionalism in the workplace, it’s evolving quickly. 

So, what does professionalism in the workplace look like today? What does it mean to be a professional in the workplace? 

In this article, we’ll explore: 

• What professionalism means, and how it’s changed over recent years
• How leaders can inspire greater professionalism in their teams  
• How companies can encourage employees to reach for higher levels of professionalism at work 

What is professionalism in the workplace? 

First, let’s define what we mean by professionalism.

What is professionalism in the workplace?

Professionalism in the workplace is when an employee: 

• Excels in the knowledge, skills, and behaviors required by their role;
• Delivers their work to the best of their abilities, even on tough days; 
• Goes above and beyond their job description; 
• Constantly looks for opportunities to grow and improve the organization – and themselves.

You’ll notice we don’t mention outfits or hairstyles. We don’t talk about appearance or physical ways of showing up at work. At BetterUp, we believe that every employee deserves to show up as their whole self. In order to do so, a deep sense of belonging and psychological safety must be established. And while professionalism might’ve once signaled high heels and pressed shirts, that’s no longer the case. For most companies, it boils down to these core principles. 

In fact, a viral social media campaign on LinkedIn has recently challenged what professionalism looks like in the workplace. Thousands of workers uploaded posts with #IAmProfessional to the career networking site. The content? Posts about who they are as people, not just employees. 

4 key indicators of professionalism

1. consistently exceeding expectations.

When we think of professionalism, we tend to think of the employee who goes way above the call of duty. For example, a colleague could hop on a Zoom call last minute to help solve a problem with another teammate. Or a leader could go above and beyond to make sure their employee is onboarded and up-to-speed in their role. Oftentimes, exceeding expectations comes with a healthy dose of learning as you go. 

To maintain a high level of professionalism, you need to be keen to learn and improve. True professionals don’t rest on their laurels. They seek ways to be better at their job or to make their organization a better place to work, every day. 

2. Creating an inclusive environment

True professionals don’t only stand out for their own excellence – they make it easier for those around them to excel too. 

To quote Lorie Corcuera, the head of Human Resources for DNEG : 

“Workplace professionalism is about creating a welcoming, safe, and inclusive environment for everyone. It's about creating a culture of belonging where people feel they matter and belong. This includes creating a respectful workplace experience as an effective team member, having clear communication , ensuring people feel included, engaging and participating, and taking the time to know our fellow team members.” 

We’ve studied the impact of inclusive leadership on teams . In fact, we’ve found that employees are 50% more productive, 90% more innovative, and 150% more engaged. Inclusive leadership also results in 54% lower employee turnover.

3. Communicating effectively with teammates, customers, managers, and other stakeholders 

Professionalism involves making sure that everyone involved in your work has the information they need to succeed. Great professionals are also great communicators . 

For instance, true professionals don’t shy away from having difficult conversations . They will prioritize the good of the organization over their own discomfort. 

4. Demonstrating integrity and honesty 

Professionalism is more than a question of workplace performance–it also comes down to integrity in the workplace . True professionals don’t dabble in office politics , and they uphold the values of the organization they work for. 

For Tim Reitsma, the General Manager of People Managing People , professionalism comes down to how you behave, not how you look: 

“A professional workplace isn’t one where we are all dressed up in suits and ties (if that is still even a thing!) That’s merely the facade of professionalism. If there’s a culture of gossip, backstabbing, and constant distraction, I'd say there is a lack of professionalism, no matter what everyone’s wearing.”

How professionalism has changed over the years

Today’s employees are renegotiating what professionalism should mean, and abandoning some outdated thinking about what it means to “be professional.”

For instance, professionalism in the workplace is not: 

Conforming to traditional standards of appearance 

While many definitions of professionalism still refer to “neatness” and “dress code”, our ideas about what makes a professional has moved away from what people look like to how well they work.

Today, an unconventional appearance is more likely to be seen as a mark of success than as a sign of unprofessionalism, reports the BBC : think Steve Jobs’ black turtlenecks or General Motors CEO Mary Barra’s leather jackets. 

These days, despite what all our parents told us, tattoos don’t seem to have any negative effect on our ability to find a "good job." In fact, it can lead employees in creative roles to be seen as more professional, rather than less. 

Separating your “work self” and your “home self”

According to Professor Nadia Ibrahim-Taney , whose research focuses on workplace professionalism, “COVID has challenged our belief system about what ‘professionalism’ is and how it works in the modern workforce…[The pandemic has] empowered people to think about how they show up–in general, and for other people–and to speak their own truths as employees.” 

In fact, BetterUp data shows that professionals who bring their whole selves to work are more likely to thrive and excel in the workplace.

Hiding your emotions 

In that vein, being emotionally reserved is no longer a must for professionals in the workplace. While many employees (especially female employees) used to feel under pressure to keep emotions out of the office, a 2018 survey found that nearly half of CEOs saw no issue in occasional tears at work . 

Of course, there are limits to how much emotion is permitted at work. It comes down to empathy . Sharing emotions, such as vulnerability or overwhelm, can be helpful, as they alert our colleagues that we may need additional support.  But allowing our emotions to become invasive or distracting is not professional. 

Consultant and author Simon Sinek calls this “ emotional professionalism. ”  

 “If you’re having a bad day, you can say, ‘Listen, I’m sorry, I’m a little off my game today but you can’t sit in a meeting with your arms folded and be grumpy and give one-word answers. You can have hard feelings, but you can’t go around screaming and yelling at people.”  Simon Sinek, consultant and author  

In fact, it would seem that our ability to express, but also regulate our emotions and those of the people around us is a key component of professionalism in the workplace. 

Instead of suppressing their emotions, researchers at the Yale School of Management propose that leaders should aim to “ reassess the emotional situation ” for themselves and their teams. For example, exploring a stressful event could also offer opportunities for growth and improvement. 

Perfectionism 

Being a professional means holding yourself to high standards at work. However, when that spills over into perfectionism , it can actually hinder your performance . Research published in the Harvard Business Review found that while perfectionism is on the rise, being a perfectionist at work can make you unengaged , stressed, and worse at your job.    

Instead, to be a true professional, you should aim for top performance, of course. But temper your ambitions with vulnerability and a willingness to learn. To quote research professor Brené Brown : 

“The greatest barrier to daring leadership is …armor, or how we self-protect when we’re in fear.” Brené Brown, author, research professor

The importance of encouraging professionalism at work

Well, 87% of employers say professionalism is very important . This is hardly surprising. Given that today’s definition of professionalism encompasses qualities like dedication, initiative, and high standards at work, teams with high levels of professionalism will consistently outperform those without the same professional attitude. 

In fact, if we look at contemporary definitions of workplace professionalism, we can see substantial overlaps with employee engagement.

Engaged employees are more likely to seek opportunities to improve their performance . They are more likely to deliver a consistently strong performance at work . And they are more likely to show initiative and creativity at work . 

In other words, engaged employees are more likely to demonstrate high levels of professionalism. And this professional attitude directly impacts overall organizational performance , increasing everything from profitability to customer satisfaction rates. 

Encouraging professionalism in their teams is therefore one of the key responsibilities of today’s managers. 

How leaders can encourage professionalism in the workplace

To increase the level of professionalism in your team, there are a few simple steps that can have a dramatic impact: 

Foster a culture of inclusivity 

To quote Lorie Corcuera, “ Inclusion and belonging is the new version of professionalism.” A more inclusive organizational culture creates the space for every employee to do their best work. 

For Corcuera, leaders can increase the level of workplace professionalism by creating an inclusive culture where everyone on the team feels they matter and belong. For example, she says leaders can take care to invite everyone in a meeting to contribute: 

“Recently, I attended a meeting and one of the senior leaders shared at the start of the call that it's important to hear everyone's voices. He encouraged everyone to share their ideas, questions, and thoughts. He then paused and waited for people to start sharing.”

By encouraging greater assertiveness in your team, you will also encourage them to push themselves to reach a higher standard – the very core of true professionalism. 

Set a strong example 

It should go without saying, but if you want to promote professionalism in your team, you need to start by demonstrating it yourself. Leading by example means avoiding office politics and favoritism, keeping the communication channels open, demonstrating honesty, and holding yourself to the highest possible standard at work. 

But it also means showing vulnerability, asking for help when you need it, and demonstrating humility . Never be afraid to say, “I don’t know!” 

To quote Tim Reitsma, 

“ Managers set the tone. If the manager is the one who is acting in a way that isn’t professional, the team may follow along. As a manager, you need to level up your ability to communicate, know where to draw the line, hold people accountable , and remember to give feedback.” 

Encourage a sense of accountability and responsibility 

As a leader, you need to promote both accountability and responsibility in your team. You may be ultimately accountable for the success or failure of a particular project, but you should also make sure that every team member feels a clear sense of responsibility for their part in the task. To encourage employees to go above and beyond, you’ll have to start by giving them a sense of ownership over their tasks, and clearly communicating your expectations.  

Promote cultural alignment and culture add  

If you want to see more professionalism in your team, they need to have a clear grasp of the values and behaviors that you want to see. It’s a question of reinforcing the company's mission and culture . 

You can also make sure you recognize and acknowledge employees when they demonstrate those values, by making a direct link between the behavior and the value in question: ‘It’s great to see you taking initiative like that. At this company, we really look for employees who step up when it’s needed.’

How to develop employee professionalism

When it comes to improving your employees’ professionalism, it’s not only a question of modeling the behavior you want to see. You should also encourage your employees to develop the skills and behaviors most closely associated with professionalism: 

1. Hone your communication skills 

Great professionals excel at sharing their ideas and keeping everyone on the same page. To develop this skill in your team, consider directing them towards communication skills training. For instance, public speaking coaching can help employees build their ability to simplify their messages and become more confident in the spotlight. 

2. Invest in diversity and inclusion 

Professionalism in the workplace depends on every employee feel that they matter, that their perspectives are valuable, and that their performance will be recognized. However, unconscious bias and other pervasive challenges to diversity can be hard to tackle. Diversity and inclusivity training for both employees and managers can have a significant impact on the professionalism of your workplace. 

3. Build emotional regulation skills

Workplace professionalism depends on our ability to regulate and manage our emotions , rather than letting them dictate our behavior. For employees that struggle with self-control, coaching can be highly beneficial. A coach can provide external guidance to help employees identify and overcome the challenges that could otherwise hold them back from excelling as a professional. 

Being a true professional starts with self-knowledge 

For Lorie Corcuera, the secret to encouraging greater professionalism at work begins with understanding yourself, both as a professional and as a leader. To help your team become the professionals they have the potential to be, she advises managers to do this.

“S tart by leading yourself, which means learning more about yourself so you can grow and develop as a leader, and inspire your team to do the same.” Lorie Corcuera

BetterUp can help. Our coaches can provide objective guidance and help you develop the skills you need to develop greater professionalism in the workplace and within your team. At its heart, it’s about creating an environment where employees feel safe to show up as their whole selves.

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Madeline Miles

Madeline is a writer, communicator, and storyteller who is passionate about using words to help drive positive change. She holds a bachelor's in English Creative Writing and Communication Studies and lives in Denver, Colorado. In her spare time, she's usually somewhere outside (preferably in the mountains) — and enjoys poetry and fiction.

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Professionalism Essay | Essay on Professionalism and Importance of Professionalism at Work Essay

July 22, 2021 by Prasanna

Professionalism Essay: From a career perspective, professionalism is defined as the ability to consistently achieve high standards, on and off the job. However, the exact definition may vary according to different sectors or industries. For instance, maintaining proper professionalism might mean dressing appropriately for the job. In other industries, professionalism may refer to treating customers with respect – before and after-sales. It could also be something as simple as a policy for a social media platform. However, it is important to understand that professionalism does not mean following rules and regulations blindly. Instead, it refers to a set of values that are considered ethically and morally correct. Such values are never written down or formally expressed, but it is the duty of every employee to understand and follow the same.

Employers always seek professionalism in the workplace. However, the actual meaning of “professionalism” seems to vary according to industries and companies. So how does one define the term “professionalism?” Professionalism is not something that can be quantified – instead, it could be seen as a quality that every working professional is expected to have. Others may define professionalism as the ability to consistently achieve high standards in their specific field of work. Others suggest professionalism refers to specific workplace rules or policies – such as formal attire, policies on social media usage, punctuality, customer interaction etc. However, we can identify certain attributes and consider them as the pillars of professionalism. We shall explore these pillars in more detail.

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Knowledge: Keeping yourself updated with the latest and up-to-date knowledge is not just a preference but a necessity in today’s job market. Employers may also actively seek candidates with the latest industry knowledge rather than qualification. This is due to the fact that relevancy has more scope when compared to qualification. Moreover, employers, as well as the employees, need to understand every aspect of their business to ensure maximum productivity. Important facets of business include the design and processes of goods and/or services, the latest trends and industry practices, and awareness of the competitors and their actions.

Competence: One of the most important pillars of professionalism is competency. If your skills and abilities match the requirements of the job, you are said to be competent. Granted, competency does not come easy – it takes hard work and perseverance. Integrity: Integrity prevents you from compromising values that are upheld by your or the organization. This also implies that an employee is trustworthy and dependable.

Conscientiousness: Conscientiousness is a quality of wishing to do one’s tasks and responsibilities thoroughly. However, this does not imply working long hours mindlessly. This is because working long hours can quickly burn you out – causing an overall decline in productivity for that period. Instead, the primary focus must be to work smart and achieve targets consistently and effortlessly.

Respect: This is one of the most important pillars of professionalism. It implies that you respect other people’s values and uphold them through politeness and courtesy. Respecting not just your client, but also your peers goes a long way to building a stable career. It also ensures that there is no friction or other unwanted consequences in the workplace. There is also an age-old saying that states “earn respect by showing respect.” Hence, respect needs to be shown to other people regardless of differences or opinions.

Confidence: This is one of the primary factors that impact a person’s ability to lead and motivate others. Confidence does not come naturally to most. Instead, most will have to step out of their comfort zone and face their fears. It is also one of the most difficult things one can do in a professional setting. This is due to the fact that getting into a comfort zone is quite easy, and years would have passed without gaining any useful skills or achievements.

Emotional Intelligence: Staying calm and composed is integral in a work environment. Without a composed mind, it can be difficult to make sound decisions. Also, work pressure can negatively affect one’s life, hence, emotional intelligence is one of the pillars of professionalism. Emotional intelligence (EI)  also allows one to show empathy – which is the ability to understand how another person feels and experiences the world around them.  EI is also a crucial skill to build rapport, make friends and gain trust with other people in your organisation. To sum up, professional skills alone are not enough to grow in a corporate setting.

Strong Work Ethic: Employers do not usually tell what is wrong or right in most situations. However, one must be able to recognize the difference between the two and always choose the ethically correct route – even if doing so may not be favourable. Research has also shown that employees who are ethically positive and are driven by principles of fairness and decent tend to have increased morale and also showcase consistently better performance in the workplace. In the long run, companies with such types of employees can also improve their corporate image as well as their long-term success. In conclusion, professionalism is an important aspect that everyone should strive to adopt. It can ensure faster growth, richer work life and also impart important ethics and morals.

FAQ’s on Professionalism Essay

Question 1. What is Professionalism?

Answer: Professionalism is defined as the ability to consistently achieve high standards, on and off the job.

Question 2. What are the Pillars of Professionalism?

Answer: There are many pillars of professionalism the most important are:

• Strong Work Ethic
• Conscientiousness
• Emotional Intelligence

Question 3. What are the Characteristics of a Professional?

Answer: A professional must showcase the following characteristics to be successful in their career: Knowledge, confidence, strong work ethics, respect, conscientiousness, emotional intelligence and competence.

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The Importance of Professionalism in Business

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Professional workplace behavior is necessary for the long-term success of a business, whether it's a big corporation or small business. Employee interactions and relationships with customers are of vital importance to ensure that company goals and objectives are met. A professional work place attitude and appearance allow employees to take pride in their work and improve worker performance. Managers who behave professionally set an appropriate example by encouraging their people to conduct themselves in a manner that supports company-wide success.

Establishes Appropriate Boundaries

Professionalism in the work place establishes boundaries between what is considered appropriate office behavior and what is not. While most managers support an enjoyable and vibrant work environment, limits must be put in place to avoid conflicts and misunderstandings. Workers who conduct themselves professionally steer clear of crossing the line with their conversations and other interactions with co-workers, superiors and clients.

Encourages Personal Improvement

A business environment in which employees dress and operate professionally is more conducive for success. For example, professional dress codes are understood to support career development and personal growth in the work place. That's because workers who dress and act professionally feel better about themselves and are encouraged to perform better for their clients.

Promote and Maintain Accountability

Companies that interact directly with clients are obligated to provide the best services possible and present their company in the best possible light. Professionalism counts when providing written information to clients. Professionally written company reports, business plans or other correspondence help businesses remain accountable with their level of service. The impression given in the paperwork submitted is important in enforcing the right impression about your business.

Establishes Respect for Authority, and Yourself

Professionalism in business establishes respect for authority figures, clients and co-workers. Maintaining a professional demeanor limits gossip and inappropriate personal conversations that could be considered disrespectful. Keeping a professional attitude with clients who behave inappropriately demonstrates the level of respect an employee has for the customer and the business partnership.

Boosts Respect ans Minimizes Conflict

Conflicts are less likely to arise in a professional business environment. Workers who respect each others' boundaries and conduct themselves professionally rarely have disagreements that cannot be resolved efficiently. Professionalism in business also benefits diverse environments in which business people and their clients have several different perspectives and opinions. Professional behavior helps business people avoid offending members of different cultures or backgrounds.

• Imarticus: Why Is Professionalism Important at the Workplace?
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Sherrie Scott is a freelance writer in Las Vegas with articles appearing on various websites. She studied political science at Arizona State University and her education has inspired her to write with integrity and seek precision in all that she does.

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116 Professionalism Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Whether you are a student studying business, a working professional, or simply someone who wants to improve their professionalism, having a strong understanding of what it means to be professional is essential. Professionalism encompasses a wide range of qualities and behaviors, from punctuality and reliability to communication skills and ethical decision-making.

To help you explore this topic further, here are 116 professionalism essay topic ideas and examples that you can use for inspiration:

• The importance of professionalism in the workplace
• Professionalism in the age of social media
• How to develop professionalism in your career
• The impact of professionalism on job satisfaction
• The role of emotional intelligence in professionalism
• Professionalism and diversity in the workplace
• Professionalism and leadership
• The benefits of networking for professionalism
• Professionalism in customer service
• Professionalism in healthcare settings
• The role of professionalism in academic success
• Professionalism in the legal profession
• Professionalism in the hospitality industry
• Professionalism in the arts and entertainment industry
• Professionalism and conflict resolution
• The relationship between professionalism and ethics
• Professionalism and work-life balance
• The impact of professionalism on organizational culture
• Professionalism and job performance
• Professionalism and career advancement
• The challenges of maintaining professionalism in a remote work environment
• Professionalism and time management
• Professionalism in project management
• Professionalism and self-care
• The role of mentorship in developing professionalism
• Professionalism and personal branding
• Professionalism in the nonprofit sector
• The importance of professional development in maintaining professionalism
• Professionalism and decision-making
• Professionalism and adaptability
• The impact of technology on professionalism
• Professionalism and emotional resilience
• Professionalism and conflict management
• Professionalism and teamwork
• Professionalism and accountability
• The role of communication in professionalism
• Professionalism and cultural competence
• Professionalism and public speaking
• Professionalism and negotiation skills
• The impact of professionalism on organizational performance
• Professionalism and stress management
• Professionalism and creativity
• Professionalism and innovation
• Professionalism and feedback
• The relationship between professionalism and job satisfaction
• Professionalism and employee engagement
• Professionalism and organizational change
• Professionalism and workplace dynamics
• Professionalism and performance reviews
• The impact of professionalism on employee retention
• Professionalism and conflict resolution strategies
• Professionalism and emotional intelligence
• Professionalism and leadership styles
• Professionalism and ethical decision-making
• Professionalism and time management skills
• Professionalism and work-life balance strategies
• Professionalism and interpersonal communication
• Professionalism and teamwork dynamics
• Professionalism and customer service excellence
• Professionalism and networking strategies
• Professionalism and career advancement opportunities
• Professionalism and self-care practices
• Professionalism and stress management techniques
• Professionalism and conflict resolution skills
• Professionalism and emotional resilience strategies
• Professionalism and decision-making processes
• Professionalism and adaptability in the workplace
• Professionalism and feedback mechanisms
• Professionalism and public speaking abilities
• Professionalism and personal branding techniques
• Professionalism and mentorship opportunities
• Professionalism and professional development programs
• Professionalism and organizational culture
• Professionalism and job performance evaluations
• Professionalism and career development plans
• Professionalism and job satisfaction surveys
• Professionalism and employee engagement strategies
• Professionalism and leadership training programs
• Professionalism and emotional intelligence assessments
• Professionalism and conflict resolution workshops
• Professionalism and time management seminars
• Professionalism and communication skills training
• Professionalism and diversity and inclusion programs
• Professionalism and ethics training sessions
• Professionalism and stress management workshops
• Professionalism and team building exercises
• Professionalism and performance management systems
• Professionalism and career coaching sessions
• Professionalism and negotiation skills training
• Professionalism and public speaking workshops
• Professionalism and personal branding workshops
• Professionalism and mentorship programs
• Professionalism and professional development opportunities
• Professionalism and organizational culture assessments

By exploring these professionalism essay topic ideas and examples, you can gain a better understanding of what it means to be professional and how you can cultivate these qualities in your own life and career. Remember, professionalism is not just about how you present yourself to others, but also about how you conduct yourself in all aspects of your life.

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Ensuring Professional Success

By  Michael A. Matrone

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In January, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, I attended a small conference for the Graduate Career Consortium’s Southern Regional members. Among the engaging discussions, the conversation turned to professionalism. By professionalism, I refer to professional behavior in the workplace, not ethics or the responsible conduct of research, although the two are intimately intertwined with professionalism. During the discussion, a conference attendee from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine informed the group of their professionalism policy , a series of “recommendations regarding what it looks like to act professionally.”

The policy got me thinking about how we learn professionalism. The dictionary defines professionalism as “the skill, good judgment and polite behavior that is expected from a person who is trained to do a job well.” What struck me about the definition was “expected.”

Are we expected to know what constitutes skill, good judgment and polite behavior for our work environment and profession? After all, the transition from student and trainee to professional can be a culture shock. Are we expected to know implicitly and abide by adages like “Do unto to others …” or “If you don’t have anything nice to say …”? If so, then our expectation is that professionalism is experiential -- learned by observation, role modeling or from our own mistakes as we make them. In my opinion, one cannot rely solely on experiential learning, as without an explicit and consistent curriculum and standards of measurement, expectations of professionalism become assumptions of professionalism. And as another adage goes, “Never assume, because when you assume, you make an ass out of u and me.”

Anecdotally, my own professionalism education, from undergraduate to postdoctoral, was purely experiential. Professionalism was not in the course catalog, nor was I was told explicitly what was expected of me. And I admit, most likely as a result of my temperamental and uninhibited Northeast upbringing , I learned purely through trial and error -- i.e., the hard way. In one instance, in graduate school, I replied to a departmental email with what I thought was great wit and humor but was in reality poor judgment and impropriety. Needless to say, I offended my colleagues, landed in the department chair’s office, made a formal apology and now know better.

Perhaps in response to trainees like me, didactic training in professionalism may be the new normal. A cursory Google search reveals many online and classroom-based seminars and courses designed to teach you how to act professionally. Similarly, according to the National Postdoctoral Association, which lists the fourth of six core competencies for postdoctoral training as professionalism, 59 percent of higher education institutions offer training in interpersonal skills, as reported in its Institutional Policy Report 2014.

Graduate medical education seems to be following a similar trend. For example, the University of Washington employed a competency rating form to evaluate professional behavior among their urology program residents before and after a professionalism training lecture. Participants scored higher and more consistently following the intervention, “suggesting that residents were more consistent in their professional behavior and/or the faculty observation of resident professional behaviors was more focused.”

How do you, as a graduate student or postdoctoral scholar, gain the professionalism skills you need? Clearly, one way is to seek out didactic professionalism training, perhaps specific to the field you wish to pursue. But what if your career path is yet to be defined or you do not have access to such focused training?

My suggestion is to treat professionalism not as a set of behavioral expectations to be learned, but as tools to advance your career. Though career planning is a personal process, it is not accomplished in isolation. To advance, you must interact with others, and the manner in which you do so affects your professional reputation. You can acquire behaviors associated with professionalism by training in the skills used to relate effectively with others. I recommend that you:

Enhance your emotional intelligence to interact professionally. Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and manage your emotions and those of others, often measured in terms of your emotional quotient. Emotional-intelligence skills involve harnessing and regulating your own emotions, allowing you to apply them toward specific tasks. Such skills can also help you identify the emotions of those around you, influencing your interactions both personally and professionally in matters of collaboration, conflict resolution and leadership. To learn more, refer to the work of Daniel Goleman, a psychologist and foremost authority on behavioral science and emotional intelligence. Twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has written extensively on emotional intelligence in the workplace.

Adopt a time-management strategy to plan professionally. Regardless of the career path you take, the ability to allocate your time wisely will allow you to fulfill your obligations and complete projects in a timely manner. It is important to remember, however, that a time-management strategy must also consider how your actions affect the time of those with whom you work. As some of the components of this strategy, you should:

Treat all of your commitments with equal importance. Whether a one-on-one with your supervisor or a training session led by an instructor, treat equally all meetings to which you have committed to attend. The party with whom you are meeting may have invested considerable time in preparation. Not attending or canceling without notice is not simply disrespectful -- it may disqualify you from being invited or included in the future.

Renege with dignity. It is a given that unexpected events occur that may affect our commitments -- we get sick, our cars break down, flights get canceled. If you find yourself in a situation outside of your control that requires you to renege on your commitment, take responsibility. Send a note expressing your regret that you are unable to fulfill your commitment.

Know when to say no. As you manage your career, you will set short-term objectives and long-term goals to help you advance on your career path. Undoubtedly, new opportunities will arise, and you will need to determine those that will guide you on your path and those that will deter you on it. If the latter, it is much more gracious to decline than to commit to something in which you may not be completely invested.

Participate in communication training opportunities and then practice communicating. In order to embody professionalism, you need to communicate like a professional -- both on paper and verbally. The best way to become a better communicator is to practice communicating. Writing about and presenting your research at a conference is one obvious way, but many other opportunities exist, such as joining a Toastmasters club or attending networking events to learn the language of a field in which you are interested. Universally, some sound advice that you should consider is to:

Use business-appropriate language. Consider my story as the cautionary tale and be aware of how the reader may interpret your written communications. The written word lacks inflection and audible tone, so be sure that other people won’t misinterpret your message. In addition, not everyone will share the same sense of humor; in fact, what is humorous to you may be offensive to others.

Be clear and concise in your requests. Many people approach making requests by building a case or argument first and then asking their question at the end. The best piece of advice I’ve ever received for such communications was to reverse that order. Ask first, to be clear about what is being requested, and then build your case or argument, if necessary.

Be aware of your nonverbal communication. Just as your words must convey a professional tone, so too must your appearance and body language. Regardless of the attire that your workplace requires, keeping a clean and well-groomed appearance ensures that colleagues notice you for your expertise. In addition, your body language may convey more than you intend. Though I do not believe that one body position conveys one specific meaning (e.g. folded arms as a sign of frustration), be aware of how your body language conveys your overall demeanor.

The core of the Vanderbilt professionalism policy is that positive professional interactions gain respect and rewards, helping you advance in your career, whereas negative interactions limit future opportunities, holding you back. Seeking training in professionalism will help ensure the former, but didactic training may not prepare you for every situation. If you find yourself in unfamiliar territory where you question how to act, simply ask what is expected, or seek advice from peers, in order to turn the implicit into the explicit.

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The Science of Strong Business Writing

• Bill Birchard

Lessons from neurobiology

Brain scans are showing us in new detail exactly what entices readers. Scientists can see a group of midbrain neurons—the “reward circuit”—light up as people respond to everything from a simple metaphor to an unexpected story twist. The big takeaway? Whether you’re crafting an email to a colleague or an important report for the board, you can write in a way that delights readers on a primal level, releasing pleasure chemicals in their brains.

Bill Birchard is an author and writing coach who’s worked with many successful businesspeople. He’s drawn on that experience and his review of the scientific literature to identify eight features of satisfying writing: simplicity, specificity, surprise, stirring language, seductiveness, smart ideas, social content, and storytelling. In this article, he shares tips for using those eight S’s to captivate readers and help your message stick.

Strong writing skills are essential for anyone in business. You need them to effectively communicate with colleagues, employees, and bosses and to sell any ideas, products, or services you’re offering.

• Bill Birchard is a business author and book-writing coach. His Writing for Impact: 8 Secrets from Science That Will Fire Up Your Reader’s Brain will be published by HarperCollins Leadership in April 2023. His previous books include Merchants of Virtue, Stairway to Earth, Nature’s Keepers, Counting What Counts, and others. For more writing tactics, see his website .  

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Professionalism at Work

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What is professionalism?

Why is professionalism at work important, characteristics of professionalism, how to show professionalism in the workplace, examples of professional behavior at work.

Striving for professionalism in the workplace is key to building trust and respect as well as advancing within your career. However, many people have different perceptions of what professionalism in the workplace means and how to effectively display it. In this article, you can explore what professionalism in the workplace is, why it’s important and how you can boost your own professionalism at your job.

Professionalism is how you display your behavior, attitude and level of skills in the workplace. Being professional at work can be described in many ways, with one of the most agreed-upon definitions being a person’s ability to demonstrate a conscientious, courteous and business-oriented manner while on the job. Professionalism is typically always expected within the workplace and is a quality that all employees should strive to embrace and exhibit.

Related:  The Ultimate Guide to Professionalism

Professionalism in the workplace is important for a number of reasons and can be beneficial to employees and employers in all industries. This behavior is a necessary component to the long-term success of both a company as a whole and its workers. By establishing the expectation of professionalism at work, a company can reap the many benefits that come with professional behavior.

The following are a few of the many benefits that professionalism at work can provide:

• Encouragement for employee improvement.  A business environment where professionalism is encouraged and practiced can boost overall employee success and motivation. When employees see coworkers striving to their best and acting in a professional manner, they are more likely to do the same. Workers who perform professionally are more likely to have better success with clients and complete their work in an efficient and competent way.
• Established and understood boundaries.  When a company clearly outlines their expectations for professionalism in the workplace, employees are more likely to respect and fulfill these expectations. For example, if your company has straightforward professional dress code expectations that are defined in the employee manual, workers are less likely to show up to the office in jeans and flip flops and more likely to dress professionally. Establishing clear boundaries for the level of professionalism that is desired makes it easy for employees to act in an appropriate and professional manner.
• Boosted workplace respect. Employees who act in a professional way and work in an environment that encourages professionalism are much more likely to respect both each other and the leaders of the company. This can help to minimize overall workplace conflict and help to quickly deescalate conflict when it does arise.

The ways in which you conduct yourself as an employee, manager or business owner are key to your overall professionalism and how others perceive you in the workplace. 

Here are a few of the most important characteristics that individuals who exhibit professionalism share:

A professional demeanor

Your demeanor can play a large part in your overall professionalism and how professionally you are perceived by others in and out of the workplace. Maintaining a confident and respectful demeanor without being arrogant or brash can convey your professionalism. Also, remaining calm and level-headed even during tense situations can go a long way to demonstrate your dedication to remaining professional at work.

Reliability

Being able to be counted on in the workplace is another characteristic of professional individuals. When you say you will perform a task by a certain date, it’s important to follow through. If you discover that you aren’t able to complete a job by the deadline, be sure to let your manager or superior know ahead of time so they can make the necessary arrangements. Being reliable at work can let others know they can count on you and boost the respect that coworkers and superiors have for you as a professional.

Accountability

Taking responsibility for mistakes you have made shows your credibility and honesty. Not only are you demonstrating that you know why you are responsible, but also what you will do to fix things. By choosing not to be reactive and choosing to hold yourself accountable, you show others your commitment to professionalism as well as reinforcing that you can be trusted and counted on.

Related:  Integrity: Definition and Examples

Proper communication etiquette

How you talk on the phone, send emails or otherwise communicate in the workplace is a key factor in your professional behavior. Speaking in a polite and formal tone and keeping email correspondence professional and well-written are all characteristics of professionalism at work.

A well-kept appearance

Choosing to keep a neat appearance and dress professionally is another important component of displaying professionalism at work. For example, many company leaders will wear suits every day to demonstrate their level of professionalism and commitment to portraying this to workers and customers alike.

Professionalism in the workplace is something that must be practiced daily if you want to increase your level of respectability and trust. 

Here are some ways you can show professionalism at work on a daily basis:

1. First, arrive on time

Arriving on time shows how serious and committed you are. Whether you have a scheduled appointment or are simply arriving for work in the morning, getting there at the agreed-upon or expected time portrays your dedication to being professional. It also shows that you are able to manage time well and managers can trust in your punctuality. 

2. Second, dress appropriately

If your company has a dress code, be sure to follow this at all times. For example, if your organization asks that employees dress in a business casual way, strive to wear nice pants or a skirt and an appropriate top that has been ironed every day. Even if other employees do not maintain the dress code, you should be considerate of your company’s wishes and abide by the rules to demonstrate professionalism.

3. Third, become an expert at your job

In order to serve clients and your company as a whole, you should be as knowledgeable as possible in your field. Make a decision to study hard and learn anything that you have not had the chance to learn. Knowing how to perform your job efficiently, effectively and in an expert manner portrays your dedication to not only your position but also your overall professionalism.

4. Fourth, practice basic manners

As simple as it may seem, using basic manners such as saying ‘please,’ ‘thank you’ and ‘excuse me’ can show professionalism at work. If you are not used to using these terms, begin practicing them in your day-to-day life so that they become a normal part of your working vocabulary.

5. Last, commit yourself to workplace ethics

Ethics are unwritten rules that help you decide between right and wrong in the workplace. Abiding by workplace ethics can show that you are dedicated to remaining professional in all situations and that you are able to make important and sometimes challenging ethical decisions. An example of practicing workplace ethics includes asking for help when you don’t know how to complete a task rather than risking completing it in a subpar way. Another example is reporting instances of ethical violations when you witness these situations in the workplace.

The following are a few specific examples of professionalism in the workplace:

Example :   You have a disagreement with a coworker on how to best complete a project. The coworker has upset you and refuses to hear your ideas as to how the project should be done. Rather than gossiping about your coworker to others or sending your coworker an unprofessional email, you ask to speak with your manager in private about the best way to address the situation.

Example :   You have a meeting with your manager that is set to begin at 9 a.m. Rather than arriving exactly at 9 a.m., you arrive no later than 8:45 a.m. to prepare for the meeting and go over your notes. 

Example :   You have made a mistake on a project that will impact when the project is able to be turned in. Instead of trying to place the blame on other members of your team who are also working on the project, you approach your manager and let them know that you have made a mistake. You then ask your manager what you can do to fix the mistake and let them know that you will strive to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Example :   In a meeting, you raise your hand to share an educated opinion on what is being discussed. You keep your share to a few minutes so that others in the meeting will also have the opportunity to provide input.

Professionalism

Professionalism is the conduct, behavior and attitude of someone in a work or business environment.  A person doesn’t have to work in a specific profession to demonstrate the important qualities and characteristics of a professional.  Professionalism leads to workplace success, a strong professional reputation and a high level of work ethic and excellence.

In a recent study on Career Readiness conducted by NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers), employers who hire college graduates were asked which professional competencies were essential to workplace success.  Professionalism/work ethic topped the list with 97.5% of respondents identifying it as either “absolutely essential” or “essential” for a new college hire’s success.

Here are 12 ways you can develop and practice professionalism:

• Be productive Use your time productively at work.  Focus on your job responsibilities and avoid getting pulled into social media, web browsing and phone activity while on the clock.
• Develop a professional image Project a professional presence and dress appropriately for your industry and organization.  A good rule of thumb is to dress in the position you aspire to have.
• Take the initiative Ask for more projects to be given to you or think of assignments that will meet your organization's goals.  You don’t want to be under-utilized.
• Maintain effective work habits Prioritize, plan and manage your assignments and projects.  Follow up and follow through with your supervisor and team members.
• Manage your time efficiently Establish priorities, set goals and create action plans to meet deadlines.
• Demonstrate integrity Be accountable for your work and actions while behaving ethically at all times.
• Provide excellence Produce work and results that reflect a sense of pride and professionalism, often exceeding expectations.
• Be a problem-solver When you run into problems and obstacles take the time to brainstorm a few solutions and alternatives before you meet with your supervisor.
• Be resilient Develop coping skills to manage setbacks and challenges with a positive and constructive attitude.
• Communicate effectively Practice professional on-line, in person and interpersonal communication skills.
• Develop self-awareness Learn to manage your emotions and gain awareness of your emotional triggers so you can manage your reactions positively and productively.  Accept and reflect on feedback to assist as you learn and grow.
• Build relationships Network with colleagues, customers and clients to build professional cordial relationships, work on teams and collaborate effectively.

Table of Contents

Collaboration, information literacy, writing process, professionalism & work ethic.

• Understand the importance of professionalism and work ethic to success in professional contexts.
• Learn to work and compose smarter.

Professionalism and Work Ethic refers to a cluster of traits that people use to describe a person’s character and behavior.

• a cluster of competencies that experts possess. For instance, a mathematician can work with mathematical formulae to solve real-world problems while a tennis pro can hit the ball from anywhere on the court.
• a cluster of general competencies needed to achieve in the workforce. The Department of Labor defines Professionalism as “conducting oneself with responsibility, integrity, accountability, and excellence. It means communicating effectively and appropriately and always finding a way to be productive.”
• a moral code or code of ethics. These codes may include explicit rules of conduct codified by a community or professional society. For instance, the American Medical Association or the American Bar Association have ethical codes that doctors and lawyers are expected to follow when working with clients.
• Work Ethic refers to a person’s commitment to self-discipline and commitment to the daily grind. Examples of Work Ethic traits are attributes like showing up for work, being punctual, meeting deadlines, focusing on the process while also being aware of the end goal (winning a sports championship, getting a client’s business, evolving as a person).

Professionalism and Work Ethic are obviously tied to success in the workplace. They also play leading roles in our personal lives and sports. In the psychological literature, Professionalism and Work Ethic are associated with the personality construct called Conscientiousness , a cluster of traits related to competence, order, dutifulness, achievement striving, self-discipline, and deliberation.

Standards of Professionalism and Work Ethic are constantly evolving as a result of changes in society, globalization, and technology. For instance, in the U.S. there has been a general move toward more informal attire in business settings. Now it’s common place for a business to allow for casual dress unless you are seeing clients regularly.

Yet there are a few behaviors that are persistently tied to success in the workplace. Promptness is a big one. Employers expect you to show up on time. And of course they expect you to have good hygiene, to listen, and to be respectful to colleagues. Employers also value people who assume responsibility, people who do what it takes to get the task completed. 

Having a strong work ethic–in personality life, sports, and work settings–doesn’t necessarily equate with incessant hard work. While every culture needs worker bees, ideally Worth Ethic involves more than effort, dedication, and a focus on hard work. Rather, a sound work ethic invokes worker smarter and not necessarily harder.

Professionalism & Work Ethic in the Work Place

Not surprisingly, perhaps, intrapersonal competencies, which employers often call “soft skills,” are crucial to professional success in work contexts.

Each year, NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) conducts a survey of its members to explore what prospective employers are looking for from recent college graduates. In its annual survey of the most prized workforce readiness competencies, NACE found U.S. employers rank Professionalism/Work Ethic as the third most important workforce competency (after Critical Thinking and Collaboration) for years 2015 through 2018.

While employers clearly prize Intrapersonal skills, in 2019 they gave college graduates low scores (3.49) for their mastery of professionalism/work ethic (NACE 2019):

While employers clearly prize Intrapersonal skills, in 2009 they gave college graduates low scores (3.49) for their mastery of professionalism/work ethic (NACE 2019):

Professionalism,Work Ethic & Writing Processes

Like other highly demanding cognitive tasks, writing well requires deep declarative knowledge regarding communication and writing processes . Professionalism requires knowledge of Collaboration , Genre , Information Literacy , Invention , Mindset , Organization , Research , Rhetoric , Style , and Editing .

Beyond understanding the values, practices, and aesthetics of successful writers, aspiring writers need loads and loads of practice : Procedural (Tacit) Knowledge.

Ultimately, other people cannot make you a better writer. Rather, you need to invest in yourself. This requires a strong work ethic and professionalism. In a word, conscientiousness . Particularly when the document is important, you may need to write dozens and dozens of drafts.

At Writing Commons , we are eager to publish research and theory as well as pedagogical exercises that help students better develop their professionalism and work ethic. Please see Contribute to learn about how you can collaborate with us and help students along the way.

Department of Labor. Professionalism. https://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/youth/softskills/Professionalism.pdf.  12/5/19.

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Whether it’s your first job or one you’ve had for a long time, it’s always helpful to know what it takes to be professional in the workplace. Have certain codes of conduct and core values that indicate your expertise and comfort in the field is an important part of career development.

A company may completely disregard your knowledge and skills if you are unable to act professionally among colleagues and clientele. Below we’ll cover what professionalism is, six characteristics of a professional, and tips for being professional in the workplace.

Key Takeaways:

Professionalism are the traits of a well-trained and well-adjusted employee.

Although professionalism is partially based on the context of the work environment, there are common characteristics found in all jobs.

Professionalism includes respect, competence, confidence, accountability, integrity, and etiquette.

To improve your professionalism live a healthy life, be an active listener, and develop your transferable skills.

6 Characteristics of a Professional

11 tips for professionalism in the workplace, why is professionalism important, final thoughts.

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Professionalism is a combination of traits, skills, behaviors, and good judgment expected from an individual well-trained and well-adjusted to their career. Professionalism also involves adhering to a set of standards that is commonly practiced among colleagues in the same workplace.

Ultimately, what constitutes professional conduct depends on the company and the culture they foster.

For example, ABC Inc. might allow client-facing staff to wear business casual clothes and arrive/leave work at flexible hours. XYZ Corp. might consider anything less than a pantsuit or jacket and tie innapropriate and hand out demerits for employees who show up three minutes late to work.

What’s considered highly unprofessional at XYZ Corp. wouldn’t cause anyone to bat an eye at ABC Inc., so learning to be professional is as much about figuring out your work environment as it is determining a foundational set of principles to follow.

Respect. The most important element of professionalism is respect , for your supervisor , coworkers, subordinates, clients, and anyone else you interact wtih throughout your day. In conversation, respect means listening when someone else is speaking, showing interest through eye contact, and couching feedback in positive language.

Competence. When people think of professionals, they don’t usually associate them with disorganized, unknowledge people. To be truly professional, you should strive for a deep understanding of the work you do and how it fits into the grander scheme of things.

Confidence. While it’s wise to admit when you’re unsure of something, a professional should express certainty in most of their decisions and actions. Professionals don’t second-guess themselves on the basics or go running for help at the first sign of trouble.

Accountability Confidence is great, but you’re still going to make mistakes. Don’t let that shatter your self-esteem or cause you to pass the blame on others. Take ownership of your missteps and express enthusiasm to learn from them and move on.

Integrity. Integrity means doing the right thing, even when nobody’s watching. A true professional won’t take shortcuts just because they know they can get away with it. They give their best effort to every task set before them and can always feel proud about their day’s work.

Etiquette. Performing professionalism is a whole let less important than actually exhibiting it, but etiquette is still an element of professionalism. At the very least, it shows that you’re willing to abide by certain cultural norms for the general comfort of your work environment.

However, a big problem with relying on etiquette and other (somewhat) empty forms of professionalism is that these are often coded in ways that can be deconstructed as sexist, racist, or culturally biased.

Know your workplace etiquette. Strive to be aware of your company’s culture and expectations. There are some standards that everyone should know.

They include how you talk to people (politely and respectfully), what you should wear (dress to the expectations and standards of your field, level, and company), how you interact with your phone and computer (stay off inappropriate sites and don’t be distracted).

Be an effective communicator. In any relationship, communication is the key to success.

This is incredibly true and important in the workplace, where your relationships with your supervisors, coworkers, and customers determine how tasks are completed and set the stage for your future endeavors. Generally, communication is broken down into verbal, nonverbal, and written forms, and they require the same basic principles.

Whether it’s your word choice or your physical stance, let your presence respectfully reflect your professional needs. It may take practice, so be open to feedback. You may not always succeed in communicating your needs, but if you can focus on those factors, you begin to head in the right direction.

Be an active listener. You won’t get far in successful communication if you don’t listen. Not only do you want to listen, but you want to be an active listener . This means that you are engaged in the conversation at hand. This does not mean you are always interrupting, nor does it mean you are silent the entire time. Instead, you want to strike a balance.

Pay attention and ask questions, but only if it seems like there is an appropriate break in the conversation. Another key is to show you have been listening. One good way to do this is to summarize what you heard. This also allows the speaker to clarify if need be.

Be productive. Another pretty straight forward area of professionalism. If you cannot be productive at work, chances are you will not have the job for very long. Being productive in the modern age can be challenging , but not impossible with the right level of awareness.

Mitigate factors that lead to procrastination, such as task switching, can be remedied by being organized . This includes focusing on one task at a time, scheduling related tasks around one another, and minimizing distractions.

Be alert. Speaking of getting sleep, it doesn’t do you any good to be caught falling asleep at work. Even being tired and groggy can have damaging effects.

If you suffer from tiredness at your job, the first step is finding out the cause. It could be from poor sleep hygiene, or perhaps your work is not exciting or challenging enough for you, or it could be from some underlying mental health problem.

The best way to figure this out is to develop good habits that increase alertness. These are good to know even if you don’t find yourself sleepy at work.

Be mentally healthy. Maintaining your mental health is crucial for your career. Those who ignore their mental health tend to suffer from burnout , professional stagnation, or job loss.?

Be aware of your environment. Physically, is it clean and organized? Socially, do you and your coworkers have positive relationships and interactions? Is the culture conducive to feedback and growth?

There are many techniques to help improve your workplace mental health. Have open conversations with colleagues and managers via meetings or surveys. Use online resources and mental health apps to improve performance and educate yourself on the different levels of mental health needs.

Be clean. A clean workspace not only has a positive impact on your mind but also highlights your professionalism to your peers and supervisors. It reduces distraction and gives a good impression. This is particularly important if clients come to visit.

Overall, a clean workstation is a considerate move to make, and being professional is all about being thoughtful. So make sure to keep your space organized and your trash thrown away.

Develop your transferable skills. Certain skills can be used in any profession. These are your transferable skills , which include punctuality, communication, teamwork, problem-solving, flexibility, organization, and more.

Since these skills are transferable among different career paths , it is good always to be working on improving your transferable skills.

Learn to deal with a difficult boss. Dealing with a difficult boss is one of the most critical moments to act professionally. Your job may depend on it, so you must be professional. First and foremost, check your behavior to make sure it’s not you who might be the difficult one.

Use effective communication and active listening to figure out your boss’s needs and do your best to be proactive about meeting them, such as asking for feedback and providing relevant progress on projects.

Learn to deal with difficult coworkers. Just like in dealing with a demanding boss , dealing with a difficult coworker is a crucial situation that will test your professionalism. Similarly, you must remain respectful.

Find a mentor. Finally, another great way to develop your sense of professionalism is to find a mentor . Find someone at your company who has positive and healthy traits of leadership.

In some settings, you may be assigned a formal mentor , but if not, look around for people who have been there longer and/or in higher positions, whose behavior shows integrity and a healthy work ethic.

Grab lunch or a sit down for occasional meetings and talk things over. Topics can range from the specific (certain tasks you might be facing) to the abstract (philosophies of professionalism).

Professionalism is important because it creates a more productive and satisfying workplace. Both employees and organizations benefit from professionalism.

You as an employee benefit from professionalism because you can feel good about doing your best and having a role to fill. More importantly, a professional attitude can lead to better opportunities and rewards, such as promotions and raises.

An organization obviously wants to have a high level of professionalism as well because it increases productivity. When all employees work in a professional manner, an organization can be sure that there is effective communication, delegation, and implementation of goals.

So there you are. These are just some ways in which you can, regardless of your position, improve your professionalism. It all boils down to being respectful, both in your mindset and your actions. Make these a part of your core values and abide by them.

Taking time every day to work on even just one aspect of professionalism will increase your chances of success in whatever the future may hold for you. The first step is to try one day at a time, and soon you’ll find yourself far ahead on your journey to being a well-rounded employee.

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Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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Professionalism Essay | Importance and Essay on Professionalism for Students and Children in English

Professionalism Essay: Professionalism is the behavior of someone in a work or business environment.  Professionalism is not just wearing a coat and tie or possessing a title. Professionalism is how you present yourself during your business affairs.

You can read more  Essay Writing  about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

True professionals possess a number of important characteristics some of them are:

Follow a Dress Code: Professionals need to be decent in appearance. Be sure to follow the requirements of your company’s dress code. Pay special attention to your appearance during meetings with prospects or clients. Personality is the main source of attracting the clients

Be Confident and Polite: You should handle your superiors with confidence but at the same time be polite and well-spoken with your customers or co-workers. You should handle any situation calmly. Your body language and facial expressions must convey the message you want others to hear successfully

Keep Your Word: Providing an instant response to people promptly and following through on promises is also important. Value time and be at work on time, start meetings on time and follow through on all your commitments

Keep Upgrading

Professionals need to keep on upgrading themselves to strive in the market. They need to get the expertise in their field, to attract customers. Continue to upgrade yourself by taking various courses, attending seminars and attaining any related professional workshops. Always be productive

Utilize your time productively at work. Focus on your job responsibilities.  Avoid using social media, web browsing and phone activity while at work

Be Organized

A professional should keep the work area neat and organized, so that they can quickly and easily find what is needed. Moreover, your briefcase should contain only what is needed for your meetings, appointment or presentation. Being organized reflects your dedication to your work

Accept your Mistakes

As a professional, if you make a mistake, accept it and try to fix it if possible. Don’t place the blame on your juniors or someone else. If your company made a mistake, take responsibility and try to resolve the issue

Have Good Conversation

Your phonic conversation is an important part of professional behavior. Be sure not to dominate the conversation and listen to the other party carefully. Call back and follow up on any actions you agree to during a conversation

During the written conversation, keep your letters brief and to the point. Your tone should be polite and formal This also applies to email correspondence

Keep a Positive Attitude

A professional must always carry a positive attitude. Never have senseless gossip among colleagues. Don’t complain publicly, talk badly about your customers or the company in any way. Leave personal issues at home and don’t waste your time with idle chit-chat. Communicate all business-related matters in a professional manner at all times

Professional behavior demands honesty and ethical behavior. This includes always representing yourself and your company accurately. Never lie or mislead customers

Always try to meet the customer requirements and complete the commitments as agreed upon and any promises that are delayed. Provide notices periodically if not fulfilled

Practicing proper professionalism in the workplace can get you success to a much greater extent. If you value your work. your commitments and remain dedicated, and productive, you would build up a respectable reputation within your organization

Short Essay on Professionalism

Rightly said, “Professionalism is not the job you do, it’s how you do the job.” Professionalism is defined as the way in which business people interact with colleagues, clients and customers. Professionalism is a powerful quality to impress and inspire others.

Here are some definite ways to develop and practice professionalism:

• Be productive: Always try to use your time productively at work.  Concentrate on your work responsibilities and avoid using social media, web browsing and phone activity while on work
• Carry a professional image: Appearance and personality are very important aspects of professionalism. Choose to dress appropriately for your industry and organization.  Always be decent at work
• Take the initiative: Always be ready to take on new projects and challenges that are helpful in the growth of your company. Think of new ideas that will meet your organization’s goals.
• Be sorted: Prioritize, plan and manage your work, assignments and projects.  Keep in touch with your head and team members. Always be organised at your work
• Manage your time efficiently: Set your goals and create plans to meet deadlines. Utilize your time for the betterment of the organisation
• Provide excellence: Produce best results that reflect a sense of pride. Excellence is always be rewarded
• Be a problem-solver: When you are facing any problems and obstacles, take the time to find solutions and alternatives before you contact your supervisor. This will keep your image at the highest.
• Communicate effectively: Be polite while communicating with your customers, colleagues and supervisors. Respond to the problems effectively. Instant service attracts customers
• Develop self-awareness: Accept and reflect on feedback to learn and grow
• Build relationships: Communicate with colleagues, customers and clients to build professional relationships. Work in teams and collaborate effectively

FAQ’s on Professionalism Essay

Question 1. What is the importance of Professionalism?

Answer: Your customers are not your mates or your siblings. These are the people that provide the income to your business, which pays your salary. So it is very important to respect professionalism no matter how small or large you are

Professionalism encompasses the way you present yourself, your attitude and the ways you communicate with others. Professionalism can create a positive impact on the consumer, successful interpersonal relationships and a lasting reputation within your organization and industry

Question 2. What is the role of punctuality in professionalism?

Answer: Punctuality plays a very important role in professionalism. Punctuality is more than just getting the work done on time. It includes being at your work on time, completing your deadlines, being on time for client and staff meetings. People who are punctual are respected by clients more than those who are always late

Question 3. Is dress code an important aspect of professionalism?

Answer: Yes, professionalism far more is defined by appearance and personality. Your dressing sense says a lot about your professionalism. While everyone has their own personal style, there are dress codes at most workplaces. If a uniform is required, it should be neat and clean. Grooming is another aspect of professionalism.

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Why Professionalism Is Essential In The Workplace

What is professionalism in the workplace, why is professionalism important.

• How to be more professional at work

1. It shows and invites respect

2. business reputation will flourish, 3. it helps minimise conflict, how to be more professional at work: 3 tips, 1. punctuality is key, 2. behave with integrity, 3. present yourself professionally at all times, what do you think.

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*The Australian Institute of Business (AIB) is Australia’s largest provider of MBAs. Source Ready, B. (2023) Domestic Enrolments Surged During COVID After International Students Locked Out, MBA News. Available at: MBA News.

Yes! Even if you’re just a sales associate, it will never hurt to always be professional, especially in emails/letters.

The way you appear and behave in the workplace can send a number of different messages to managers and colleagues. One has to adapt to the culture of his/her workplace.

Definitely a Yes!! Professional behaviour in the workplace will always brings customers back to your doorstep…business will flourish because people in and out of the business are treated professionally.

“Professional Behavior always increase the Brand value among customers”

indeed professional behaviour will always have a positive impact towards the growth of a company

Exactly!through professionalism organisation will increase the trust to the clients and a highly reputation while conducting their businesses/activities.

Professionalism allows peaceful working environment to the entire team in an organization

Professionalism is a key component of all successful businesses!

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Essay Samples on Professionalism

The importance of professionalism in nursing: a critical reflection.

This assignment aims to critically reflect and discuss the importance of professionalism, communication and compassion, in relation to delivering person centred care in Nursing. The importance of professionalism in this essay will be defined. Moreover these key terms will be outlined with supporting literature and...

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Student's Path to Develop Professionalism in Pharmacy

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What Does Professionalism Mean to You: the Art of Being a Nurse

In order to do justice to a chosen subject which is professionalism in nursing, one must first of all, begin by characterizing and describing what does professionalism mean to you? The current essay explores the concept of professionalism in nursing profession. Here we will refer...

The Importance of Work Ethics and Professionalism in Business

Ethics and business are correlated to each other as for the success of the business and for the welfare of the society. There are several challenges faced by the business in terms of ethics such as ethical communication, ethical decision making, leadership ethics, global business...

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What I Define as Professionalism in Social Work: My Experience

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What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up

What i want to be when i grow up? I want to be a pediatric surgeon. A pediatric surgeon specializes in treating babies kids pre teens and teenagers. I love working with kids and helping others so combining those two really ends up working in...

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Why I Want To Be A Real Estate Agent

There is nothing better than living in the perfect home for you and your family. I want to become a real estate agent one day just for that reason and many others. Real estate agents are the middle man between buyers and sellers of properties...

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The Process of Encoding Experiences Into Long-Term Memory

The study of memory, and how memory is encoded, has long been debated within psychology. While some researchers focus on the different parts of long-term memory, this essay focuses on how experiences encode into long-term memory, with a specific focus on predictor error signals, closely...

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The Usage Of Cinematic Techniques By Tim Burton

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Beneficial Role of Mentor in a Student’s Life

Have the thought of finding a mentor ever crossed your mind? Often there are times when students seem perplexed looking at the various career opportunities the world has to offer. Everything seems so overwhelming, that it becomes difficult to choose the right career path. No...

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Mentorship Program for Healthcare Professionals

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Personal Philosophy of Nursing: The Lessons of Caring

Caring is an art that has never belonged solely to nurses. However, nurses have made a profession out of caring. It is the betterment of myself within this profession that I have made into my life-long pursuit. Within this pursuit, I have found passions that...

Why I Find Caring My True Calling

My dream has always been focused on working in the care profession and to be a certified nurse, and that is why I want to fulfil my dreams of studying this degree. I like helping and working with other people, and for the past 18...

Professional Development and Teachers’ Performance in Public Primary Education

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Code of Conduct in a Social Workplace Environment

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Ethical Issues in Nursing: Investigating Two Fundamental Topics

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Historians As Individuals Who Connect The Past & The Future

Historians are individuals whose primary task is to collect and interpret data from past time periods in order to generate accurate recordings of significant human events, within such objectives they also hold the ability to change the future through generating knowledge from which later generations...

The Core Principles Of Email Etiquette

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The Importance Of Literacy In The Field Of Dentistry

Literacy is a form of communication that is made up of three main components; reading, writing and mathematics. It is important because it is used as a form of communication that not every individual may be competent in. In fact, about 1 in 3 people...

The Requerements Needed To Become A Pharmacist

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My Medical Career: Gaining Professional Knowledge In The Field Of Anesthesia

Curiosity is the cornerstone of my medical career. Whether was about pathophysiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, or pathology, curiosity has been the driving force of my medical education. Hence it was only fitting that in choosing a medical specialty curiosity played a pivotal role. During my clinical...

The Professional Practice Experience Reflection

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Best topics on Professionalism

1. The Importance of Professionalism in Nursing: a Critical Reflection

2. Professionalism in Early Childhood Education: an Ethical Self

3. Student’s Path to Develop Professionalism in Pharmacy

4. What Does Professionalism Mean to You: the Art of Being a Nurse

5. The Importance of Work Ethics and Professionalism in Business

6. What I Define as Professionalism in Social Work: My Experience

7. What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up

8. Why I Want To Be A Real Estate Agent

9. The Process of Encoding Experiences Into Long-Term Memory

10. The Usage Of Cinematic Techniques By Tim Burton

11. Beneficial Role of Mentor in a Student’s Life

12. Mentorship Program for Healthcare Professionals

13. Personal Philosophy of Nursing: The Lessons of Caring

14. Why I Find Caring My True Calling

15. Professional Development and Teachers’ Performance in Public Primary Education

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Revealed: Harvard Business School’s New MBA Essays For Applicants

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Harvard Business School’s Baker Library.

With just 10 weeks before its first application deadline on Sept. 4th, Harvard Business School today (June 25) revealed a newly revised application for MBA candidates, including a new set of three short essays along with a refresh on how it will evaluate applicants for future classes.

The new prompts?

Business-Minded Essay : Please reflect on how your experiences have influenced your career choices and aspirations and the impact you will have on the businesses, organizations, and communities you plan to serve. (up to 300 words)

Leadership-Focused Essay : What experiences have shaped who you are, how you invest in others, and what kind of leader you want to become? (up to 250 words)

Growth-Oriented Essay : Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth. (up to 250 words)

NEW HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ESSAYS PUT THROUGH BY NEW MBA ADMISSIONS CHIEF

Eagerly awaited by thousands of prospective students and admission consultants, you can bet that the admissions pages of the HBS website were continually refreshed all morning for a glimpse at the new essay. The Harvard Business School essay prompt for the Class of 2027 was posted at 10:30 a.m. with the opening of the 2024-2025 application online.

This year’s change was put through by Rupal Gadhia , who joined the school as managing director of admissions and financial aid last October. A 2004 Harvard MBA, Gadhia came to the school with no previous admissions experience, having been the global head of marketing for SharkNinja robots.

In explaining the change in a blog post , Gadhia noted that “we have refreshed the criteria on which we evaluate candidates. We are looking for applicants who are business-minded, leadership-focused, and growth-oriented…This is your opportunity to discuss meaningful or formative experiences that are important to you that you haven’t had a chance to fully explore elsewhere in your application…Be authentic, be yourself.”

WHAT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL IS REALLY LOOKING FOR IN THE NEW ESSAYS

The school added some context to its new criteria for admission, more clearly defining what it means by business-minded, leadership-focused, and growth-oriented.

Business-Minded

We are looking for individuals who are passionate about using business as a force for good – who strive to improve and transform companies, industries, and the world. We are seeking those who are eager to solve today’s biggest problems and shape the future through creative and integrated thinking. Being business-minded is about the interest to help organizations succeed, whether in the private, public, or non-profit sector. This business inclination can be found in individuals with a variety of professional and educational experiences, not just those who come from traditional business backgrounds.

In Your Application: We will look for evidence of your interpersonal skills, quantitative abilities, and the ways in which you plan to create impact through business in the future.

Leadership-Focused

We are looking for individuals who aspire to lead others toward making a difference in the world, and those who recognize that to build and sustain successful organizations, they must develop and nurture diverse teams. Leadership takes many forms in many contexts – you do not have to have a formal leadership role to make a difference. We deliberately create a class that includes different kinds of leaders, from the front-line manager to the startup founder to the behind-the-scenes thought leader.

In Your Application: Your leadership impact may be most evident in extracurriculars, community initiatives, or your professional work.

Growth-Oriented

We are looking for individuals who desire to broaden their perspectives through creative problem solving, active listening, and lively discussion. At HBS you will be surrounded by future leaders from around the world who will make you think more expansively about what impact you might have. Our case and field-based learning methods depend on the active participation of curious students who are excited to listen and learn from faculty and classmates, as well as contribute their own ideas and perspectives.

In Your Application: We will look for the ways in which you have grown, developed, and how you engage with the world around you.

TIGHTER TIMEFRAME FOR ROUND ONE APPLICANTS

The new essay prompts come  nearly two months after candidates to the school’s MBA program would more typically know what was expected of them. Some admission consultants say the delay over the prompt’s release, along with nearly a month’s slow down in releasing application deadlines, is “wildly insensitive” to applicants who will have less time than normal to prepare for the round one deadline of Sept. 4th.

That’s especially true because the most successful applicants to HBS have highly demanding jobs that consume the vast majority of their time. Many candidates go through multiple drafts of their essays to get them as close to perfection as humanly possible. MBA admission consultants are expecting a lot of up-to-the-deadline work this year to help prep candidates for Harvard and other top business schools.

The new application still preserves the post-interview reflection for applicants who are invited to a 30-minute admissions interview. Within 24 hours of the interview, candidates are required to submit a written reflection through the school’s online application system.

REACTION TO THE NEW CHANGE IS MIXED

Early reaction to the change suggests the likelihood of mixed reviews. “This is an uninspired and odd set of questions,” says Sandy Kreisberg, founder of HBSGuru.com and an MBA admissions consultant who closely reads the tea leaves of Harvard’s admissions process. “I don’t know how it’s different from what else do you want us to know about you, frankly,” he adds in a reference to last year’s single essay prompt.

“HBS has certainly moved from the abstract to the concrete,” believes Jeremy Shinewald, founder and CEO of mbaMission, a leading MBA admissions consulting firm. “Some applicants previously felt like they didn’t know where to start and some weren’t sure if they had answered the question, even when they were done. Now, the questions are quite straightforward and all have a cause and effect relationship — one where the applicant discusses the past to reveal the present or future. Smart applicants will understand how to share their experiences and, more importantly, how to relay their values. Some will mistakenly try to whack HBS over the head with stories of their epic feats, but the key isn’t to brag or embellish – the key is to simply create a clear relationship, via narrative, between past experience and true motivations.”

Shinewald found it astonishing that Harvard could not have made the change earlier. “It is, of course, surprising that HBS left applicants on edge until the last minute, all to create very traditional essays,” he adds. “As applicants learn in MBA classrooms, change can be hard and take time. The bottom line here is that these essays are somewhat of an applicant’s dream – they allow the savvy applicant to play to their strengths and draw on their best anecdotes and experiences to create a complete story. Some applicants will lament the absence of a ‘Why HBS?’ prompt, but my guess is that the admissions committee recognized that they would get an almost homogenous collection of essays touting the case method and other well known features. HBS gets some kudos for keeping the focus on the applicant.”

Adds Petia Whitmore of My MBA Path: “I think they reflect one of the traits of this new generation of candidates which is that they don’t handle ambiguity well. So it seems like Harvard had to spell out what they’re looking for way more prescriptively than in the past.”

Some, however, find the new essays a return to the past. “To me, the prompts feel quite regressive, and a return to the more formulaic approach that pervaded MBA applications two decades ago,” believes Justin Marshall, a New York-based MBA admissions consultant. “Because the previous prompt was so open ended, it forced applicants to be introspective and self-aware. You couldn’t just ramble for 900 words; you had to identify themes in your life to show how your personal experiences shaped your values, your leadership style, and your goals. Comparatively, these new prompts are much more paint-by-numbers. Applicants will likely cover the same ground in terms of topic, but there’s very little room for nuance and self-expression. I think it will be harder for applicants with less conventional backgrounds and experiences to differentiate themselves. I’m sure HBS grew tired of reading so many painfully earnest ‘life story’ essays, but I suspect they’ll soon find themselves yearning for essays that have a heartbeat and personality. 250 words just doesn’t allow for that unless you’re a very crafty writer.”

Whatever the case, getting into Harvard’s MBA program is still a daunting exercise. Last year, 1,076 of the 8,264 candidates who applied for admission to Harvard Business School gained admission, an acceptance rate of 13.2%, making HBS the second most selective prestige MBA program in the country after Stanford Graduate School of Business which had an admit rate of 8.4%. Harvard saw a 15.4% drop in MBA applications from the 9,773 it received a year-earlier.

Joint degree applicants for the Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Kennedy School must provide an additional essay: How do you expect the joint degree experience to benefit you on both a professional and a personal level? (up to 400 words)

BIGGEST CHANGE IN HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ESSAY IN NEARLY A DECADE

Joint degree applicants for the Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences must provide an additional essay: The MS/MBA Engineering Sciences program is focused on entrepreneurship, design, and innovation. Describe your past experiences in these areas and your reasons for pursuing a program with this focus. (recommended length: 500 words). Applicants will also be able to respond to an optional essay.

In any case, it’s the biggest change in Harvard Business School’s application in nearly a decade. The last time HBS made a major switch, moving to the essay prompt it just eliminated, was in 2016. That change to just one essay with no word limit and a post-interview reflection was made by then admissions chief Dee Leopold.

When Leopold applied to Harvard as an MBA candidate in 1978, she had to write eight essays. Over her years as managing director of admissions, she first cut the essays down to four and then one, making it optional, and finally the one last prompt with a post-interview reflection, saying that applying to HBS should not be a writing contest .

OUR BUSINESS CASUAL PODCAST: The New HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA Application:   Fortuna Admissions’ Caroline Diarte-Edwards and ApplicantLab’s Maria Wich-Vila join P&Q’s John A. Byrne to offer applicant advice on how to answer the new HBS essay prompts

DON’T MISS: 2024-2024 MBA APPLICATION DEADLINES or  HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL WILL NOW UPDATE ITS MBA ESSAY 

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Harvard business school announces 3 new application essays.

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Harvard Business School.

Harvard Business School announced a surprising departure from its single, open-ended application essay to three short essays with specific prompts. The HBS website sums up the kind of applicant the school is seeking: “We are looking for future leaders who are passionate about business, leadership, and growth.”

The prompts for the class that will begin in fall 2025 instruct applicants to address each topic in turn.

• Business-Minded Essay : Please reflect on how your experiences have influenced your career choices and aspirations and the impact you will have on the businesses, organizations, and communities you plan to serve. (up to 300 words)
• Leadership-Focused Essay : What experiences have shaped who you are, how you invest in others, and what kind of leader you want to become? (up to 250 words)
• Growth-Oriented Essay : Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth. (up to 250 words)

The prompts ask applicants to go beyond simply asserting their allegiance to the ideals of business, leadership and growth. Each of the three questions asks for evidence: “experiences,” “experiences” and “an example,” respectively.

The prompts do not expect a straightforward list of what happened in the past. Rather, they encourage reflection on how these experiences affected present realities and future goals.

Applicants are asked to reflect on past, present and future as an ongoing process of becoming who they are now and who they wish to become. Even the “Business-Minded Essay” is about past choices and future impact; it also assumes you “plan to serve.” The “Leadership-Focused Essay” does not ask applicants to recite a list of titles, but to discuss who they are and how they relate to others; not what title they aspire to, but “what kind of leader you wish to become.”

Perhaps the most surprising essay prompt is No. 3, which asks about curiosity. It opens the door for applicants to discuss a more personal aspect of their candidacies. The prompt asks not about end result, but about the process of change. Once again, the emphasis is on “growth.”

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In short, the prompts ask about person and process.

How The 3 New Prompts Differ From Last Year’s Single Question

This year’s prompts give applicants more direction than the previous open-ended instruction, which was: “As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program?”

Applicants may find it easier to follow these more detailed instructions and to stay on topic. They no longer need to face an open question and a blank page.

Another aid is the shorter word limit. The essay on being business-minded has a limit of 300 words, and the essays on leadership and growth through curiosity are limited to 250 words each.

A third difference is the specific inquiry about business. Last year’s prompt allowed candidates to choose anything they thought would be important for HBS to consider. Some applicants struggled to decide whether to focus on business or something beyond work. While the “Business-Minded Essay” is still personal, it does ask applicants to reflect on their careers.

One might also speculate that the new, more directive prompts makes it easier for the admissions committee to compare essays across applications, while still leaving room for considerable variation in how applicants choose to address the essay prompts.

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Judge acquits 28 people accused in Panama Papers case, including law firm co-founder

FILE - Juergen Mossack, partner of the law firm Mossack-Fonseca, leaves the Supreme Court during the trial of the “Panama Papers” money laundering case in Panama City, April 8, 2024. On Friday, a Panamanian judge acquitted Mossack and 27 other people who were accused of money laundering in the notorious Panama Papers case. (AP Photo/Agustin Herrera, File)

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PANAMA CITY (AP) — A judge has acquitted 28 people accused of money laundering in an international case known as the Panama Papers, including the co-founder of a law firm that authorities say was at the center of a conspiracy to hide money linked to illegal activities.

Jürgen Mossack founded Mossack & Fonseca with then associate Ramón Fonseca, who died in May. Mossack was acquitted on Friday along with others after a Panamanian judge found that the evidence against Mossack didn’t comply with the chain of custody after authorities raided the office of the now defunct firm.

Prosecutors had accused Mossack, Fonseca and others of creating offshore companies and using complex transactions to hide money from illegal activities related to the so-called car wash corruption scandal involving Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, which pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to a charge related to using shell companies to hide millions of dollars in bribes paid worldwide to win public contracts.

The judge noted that other evidence in the Panama Papers case “was not sufficient and conclusive to determine the criminal responsibility of the accused.”

In addition, the judge lifted personal and property precautionary measures against all the defendants, according to a judicial statement.

“We feel satisfied in the midst of mixed emotions, because many lives were affected along the way,” Guillermina Mc Donald, who was the defense attorney for Mossack and Fonseca, told The Associated Press. Her firm also represented 80% of the accused firm’s collaborators.

Judge Balaoisa Marquínez had decided to combine the Panama Papers case with another known as “Operation Car Wash,” a major anti-corruption investigation that began in Brazil.

On Friday, she ruled that in the car wash case, “it was not possible to determine the entry of money from illicit sources, coming from Brazil, into the Panamanian financial system with the purpose of hiding, concealing, disguising or helping to evade the legal consequences of the preceding crime.”

In June 2022, Mossack, Fonseca and 37 other people were acquitted in a separate money laundering case.

The investigation in Brazil began in 2014, with the Mossack & Fonseca firm later coming under scrutiny after 11 million financial documents tied to the company were leaked.

The repercussions of the leak were widespread: it led to the resignation of a prime minister in Iceland and brought scrutiny to now former leaders of Argentina and Ukraine, Chinese politicians and Russian President Vladimir Putin, among others.

The Link Between Professionalism and Ethics Essay

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Professionalism and ethics are key factors in a job setting. These two aspects work hand in hand. Engineering is no different case. Ethics seeks to evaluate deeply on moral aspects. It entails the practices that the staff carries out in an establishment. It incorporates; good value, code of conduct, moral value, principles and virtues. The ethics enable one to outlay professionalism in undertaking his engineering career.

Professional ethics helps a lot in proficiency and comprehending problems encountered in this field. Ethics assists one to know the good and bad sides of a person in a work setting. Engineering ethics are the codes of standard applied in the field of engineering. These ethics portray good conducts in professional engineers.

In accordance with the innovation in science and technology one needs to uphold high moral standard in terms of principle and practices. It concentrates on doing the right action with out inconveniencing other parties. In engineering one needs guidelines that propel him or her to success in this field. The guidelines are set values that give the ability to make correct choices, decisions and action. Not all values are equal.

It all depends with the perception of a person and his/her experience. One can modify and create beliefs that define his identity. Thus he may hold characters such as social skills, peace among co-workers, truth and honesty. Perseverance, discernment and accuracy are also values that one needs to have in order to relay services professionally. This boosts his moral behavior and upholds professional skills.

In addition to values and morals a professional needs work ethics. These ethics ought to be principled and easy to interpret. Employing attitudes of work value will need a lot of motivation in order to succeed. This goes along way to increase the productivity and overall performance in engineering.

In the work place the relationship among co-workers and employees in the organization, depends heavily on the ethics. The engineers tactfully apply the code of ethics to tackle problems encountered in the field. The engineer should offer high standard of service to the client. He should work towards achieving set objectives as part of strengthening his skills in the profession (Naagarazan 41).

Moral issues may arise at certain times in an organization. This will require one to apply professionalism to tackle such issues. Issues such as resource crouch may lead one to be manipulated and unethical termination of projects. Another issue is applying double standards in making decisions and selection of projects.

The management may seek to fulfill their interest more than the employees. The employees may develop poor attitude to providing services to the consumers.

These issues can be sorted through normative inquiry where norms are used to guide the employees and the management to run the organization. The management should come in strongly to offer a neutral field for implementation of these norms.

Another way of curbing moral issues is by conceptual inquiry where all the employees are directed and informed of the concepts and principles. Factual or descriptive inquiry is another way to solve the moral issues arising in an organization. This inquiry provides information about practices and effectiveness of the system.

When one upholds professionalism he or she expects to be loyal to the organization, have high level of integrity, be knowledgeable and applies tact in undertaking tasks of the organization. He should be a social catalyst and serve the management and other employees without biasness.

The professional conduct helps to gain trust in the public and improve professional development (Naagarazan 39). Professionalism in the public domain determines how resources and other activities are carried out. A professional will bear responsibility of his work in the sense that he becomes liable and accountable for action he takes in the organization. By carrying out his duty well, he gets appraisal from the management due to his success.

A competent professional will strive to meet the requirement of the client. It is highly recommended that clients confidentiality to be observed. This is also part of professionalism since the client builds trust in the employee.

Other attributes of a competent professional is to respect the management and other employees as well as the client. Courtesy when communicating to client will boost confidence in the engineer from the client perspective. They should also be ready to offer services to a diverse population.

The employee should avoid fraud and misuse of resources at all times. Above all discipline is very important. In a sum up professionalism is the equality of being honest and faithful to the profession. Always honor the law and observe rules and regulation of the State.

Professionalism may be hindered by a number of factors such as poverty levels and high level for illiteracy in the society. Most engineers may take advantage of these situations in the society and offer substantial services to them. To curb this situation the engineers should be given adequate remuneration to refrain them from exploiting the less fortunate (Philip 74). Professionalism and ethics work hand in hand.

For one to be a successful professional he or she needs to have all the ethics values and virtues. Successful engineers are as a result of the moral behaviors and work ethics they endorse in their day to day undertaking. If these ethics are advocated world wide then the world will absolutely have more engineers who are professionally fit.

Naagarazan, Ramayan. Textbook on Professional Ethics and Human Values. New Delhi: New Age International, 2006. Print.

Philip, Sadler. Management consultancy: a handbook for best practice. London: Kogan Page Publishers, 2002. Print.

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Ukraine needs to stop fighting the war Russia wants

• Ukraine is trapped in a strategy that favors Russia, a Ukrainian security expert argues.
• Without a grand strategy for victory, the most that Ukraine can do is try to hold on.
• "The lack of a strategy for victory will turn this war into a war of attrition," Oleksandr Danylyuk told BI.

Ukraine is caught in a strategic trap. It barely has the strength to keep Russia from making major advances, yet it is not strong enough to eject Russian forces from the territory it held prior to the 2022 invasion. The result is a war of attrition that Ukraine can't win.

The solution? Build up Ukrainian military power and compel Russia to agree to peace, argues a Ukrainian security expert. But that can't happen unless Ukraine devises a grand strategy that extends beyond mere survival that's characterized much of the war in 2024 as Russia exploited the long delay of US arms support.

"The lack of a strategy for victory will turn this war into a war of attrition for Ukraine, which completely coincides with Russian interests," Oleksandr Danylyuk told Business Insider.

Danylyuk dismisses the notion that even with Western aid, Ukraine can match Russia in the sheer numbers of military power like tanks, artillery and troops. "Trying to win a war with Russia at the expense of only a symmetrical mass increase is a flawed strategy, given that Russia has a larger number of [military-age] human reserves (about 30 million people in Russia, compared to about 8 million people in Ukraine), significant stockpiles of weapons and military equipment inherited from the USSR or built by 2022, as well as a developed defense-industrial complex and a powerful mining industry that satisfies its needs for a significant amount of strategic materials," he wrote in an essay for the Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank.

That leaves improving the quality of Ukraine's military. But this involves more than better weapons and tactics. Danylyuk argues that political mobilization is just as important, a view that seems reminiscent of the 19th Century German military philosopher Carl von Clausewitz, who envisioned a nation's war effort as a trinity comprised of the people, government and military.

"The political effectiveness of a military organization consists of its ability to receive financial support, the provision of weapons and military equipment, and the replenishment of human forces in the volume and quality necessary to eliminate existing threats," Danylyuk wrote. However, "the political effectiveness of the [Armed Forces of Ukraine] remains insufficient, as Ukraine's defense needs are currently only partially met."

Danylyuk blames Western restrictions on the types of weapons being supplied, and how they can be used. The US and Europe have long imposed restraints on using long-range weapons, such as ATACMS long-range guided rockets , to hit targets deep inside Russia. Only recently has the Biden administration begun to relax that policy . Easy victories with Western weapons have failed to materialize as the war has dug in. It's also clear that even with robust EU and US support, Ukraine is still at a disadvantage against the Russian war machine in a years-long fight.

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Danylyuk also worries that political divergences between Ukraine and its allies are undermining Ukrainian military effectiveness. Ukraine's current government wants to liberate all occupied territory, which is "undeniably fair and rational, but it ignores the fact that the liberation of territory does not necessarily mean the end of the war," he wrote. On the other hand, US and European desires for a negotiated settlement "will be viewed by Russia as a tactical respite which can be used to restore and build capabilities and plan a new phase of aggression."

In other words, Russia could exploit a peace deal to rebuild its battered forces before launching another invasion of Ukrainian lands.

The result is that the Ukrainian military isn't sure what kind of war to prepare for. "The AFU are in an extremely difficult situation, as the political leaderships of both Ukraine and its partner countries see these goals in different ways, which negatively affects the ability of the AFU to develop and implement a military strategy aimed at achieving them," wrote Danylyuk.

Without a grand strategy for victory, the most that Ukraine can do is hold its own, Danylyuk told Business Insider. "The planning of individual operations, the assessment and provision of the needs of the AFU, the development of training programs and preparation, and the introduction of new tactical techniques can at best support Ukraine's ability to conduct the war, but not to win it."

There are too many competing visions of Ukrainian victory, he argues. These include retaking all lost Ukrainian territory, threatening Russia's hold on Crimea to force it into negotiations, punishing Russian industry and exports to try to force Russians to reconsider the war's costs, or exacting such a heavy toll that Russian leaders are compelled to withdraw similar to the Soviet pullout from Afghanistan.

Danylyuk does fault Ukraine for some military mistakes, such as failure to adequately prepare and train for the failed counteroffensive against well-entrenched Russian forces in summer 2023. But he considers tactical improvements to be at the bottom of Ukraine's to-do list.

The West can boost Ukrainian military power by focusing on weapons that have already proven devastating against Russian vulnerabilities, according to Danylyuk. This includes cheap naval drones that have sunk numerous Russian warships and driven Russia's Black Sea Fleet from the Ukrainian coast, as well as giving Ukraine more Western aircraft and air-to-air missiles to contest Russian airpower.

Interestingly, Danylyuk blames the West for failing to adapt its equipment to the lessons of the Ukraine war. "This concerns, first of all, their ability to quickly improve military equipment not only because Ukraine needs it, but also because the security of the partners themselves depends on its improvement. The current pace of this improvement is completely unsatisfactory, and the approaches to identifying and eliminating the shortcomings of such systems require a complete revision."

Danylyuk's analysis does leave some questions unanswered. For example, as the Germans discovered on the Eastern Front in World War II, quality doesn't always triumph over quantity. And as Ukraine's failed 2023 counteroffensive demonstrated, achieving decisive battlefield success is no easy matter . With Russian society mobilized for total war, and with Moscow able to procure resources from allies such as China, North Korea and Iran, Russia's ability to wage a long war is considerable.

Also, choosing a grand strategy is easier said than done. For example, the Ukrainian government vows to liberate all occupied territory, including the Crimean peninsula and eastern Ukraine which Russia has annexed. Some critics say this is unrealistic, and Ukraine will have to accept some loss of territory.

Whatever strategy Kyiv chooses, Danylyuk argues, it can't be the status quo.

Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn .

Watch: What's next for the war in Ukraine?

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Guest Essay

I Know What America’s Leading C.E.O.s Really Think of Donald Trump

By Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld

Dr. Sonnenfeld is the president of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute.

Recent headlines suggest that our nation’s business leaders are embracing the presidential candidate Donald Trump. His campaign would have you believe that our nation’s top chief executives are returning to support Mr. Trump for president, touting declarations of support from some prominent financiers like Steve Schwarzman and David Sacks.

That is far from the truth. They didn’t flock to him before , and they certainly aren’t flocking to him now. Mr. Trump continues to suffer from the lowest level of corporate support in the history of the Republican Party.

I know this because I work with roughly 1,000 chief executives a year, running a school for them, which I started 35 years ago, and I speak with business leaders almost every day. Our surveys show that 60 to 70 percent of them are registered Republicans .

The reality is that the top corporate leaders working today, like many Americans, aren’t entirely comfortable with either Mr. Trump or President Biden. But they largely like — or at least can tolerate — one of them. They truly fear the other.

If you want the most telling data point on corporate America’s lack of enthusiasm for Mr. Trump, look where they are investing their money. Not a single Fortune 100 chief executive has donated to the candidate so far this year, which indicates a major break from overwhelming business and executive support for Republican presidential candidates dating back over a century, to the days of Taft and stretching through Coolidge and the Bushes, all of whom had dozens of major company heads donating to their campaigns.

Mr. Trump secured the White House partly by tapping into the anticorporate, populist messaging of Bernie Sanders, who was then a candidate, a move that Mr. Trump discussed with me when I met him in 2015. The strategy might have won voters but did little to enhance Mr. Trump’s image with the business community. And while a number of chief executives tried to work with Mr. Trump as they would with any incumbent president and many celebrated his move to cut the corporate tax rate, wariness persisted.

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