Vol. 71 No. 6 — November/December 1990 —
The Soul
of Professionalism
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Who is a professional and who is not? The
question is confusing. Professionalism means several different
things . The only certainty about it is that it cannot be
conferred by others. Professionalism must come from within
...
The current use of the word "professional" in reference
to business attitudes is ironic in view of its traditional
meaning. For centuries in western societies, a professional
was precisely what a business person was not, It was commonly
assumed that there was a higher purpose to professional activities
than merely making a living. This put professional people
on a higher social level than those "in trade," who in turn
were assumed to have only money in mind when doing their work.
The idea that a profession had a moral dimension denied
to more straightforward commercial pursuits could be traced
to the origin of the word in the Middle Ages. Then, a professional
was someone who had vowed or "professed" to devote his or
her life to the service of God. It did not take long for certain
secular workers to point out that they too had taken vows
to serve mankind in the same selfless spirit. Thus teachers
(or "professors"), physicians and lawyers combined with the
clergy to form the professional class.
In theory, professional people put ethics ahead of money-making
or other personal interests. In practice, the reverse was
often the case as professional codes were wantonly honoured
in the breach. Sleazy lawyers figure prominently in the literature
of Elizabethan times, demonstrating that today's professional
scandals draw on a long and dishonourable tradition. But since
the majority of professionals over the ages proved honourable
enough to retain public respect, the established professions
enjoyed a degree of social esteem that was the envy of similar
occupational groups.
These strove to gain greater prestige by claiming professional
status. By the beginning of this century, dentists, accountants,
engineers, architects and others had been formally added to
the list of professions. From then on, the meaning of the
word expanded informally to include other workers who had
university degrees or the equivalent, and did not dirty their
hands in their jobs.
Dictionaries took to defining a profession broadly as a
"calling involving some branch of learning." These days, yuppies
(young urban professionals) constitute a type rather than
a social class. They are identified more by how much money
they make and how they spend it than by their specific careers.
Money has always had a good deal to do with the public perception
of the professions, since doctors, lawyers and the rest are
known for their relatively high incomes. At the same time,
though, it has been understood that there are some acts forbidden
by ethical codes which no amount of money can entice a scrupulous
professional to commit.
Indeed, professionalism in its purest form calls for a dedication
which transcends pecuniary or any other private considerations.
One of the most telling illustrations of what being a professional
is all about came in an anecdote told by a World War II correspondent
who once encountered a nursing nun tending to some horribly
wounded and diseased Japanese prisoners.
"I wouldn't do that for a million dollars," said the newspaperman.
"Neither," said the nun, "would I."
But professionalism has a second meaning which collides
directly with the spirit of the first. In the second sense
of the word, a professional will do absolutely anything for
money. One could be a " professional" torturer if the price
were right.
Being a professional in this sense also means doing for
pay what others do for nothing. It is the opposite of being
an amateur, although in its application to sports, the distinction
between the two designations has become blurred.
The mixing of amateur and professional values in sports
has raised moral as well semantic confusion. The amateur sportsman
or sportswoman plays a game for its own sake, and theoretically
puts a higher value on sportsmanship than on winning. A professional
in the second meaning of the word theoretically plays above
all for profit; if something unsportsmanlike must be done
for the sake of making that profit, then by definition it
will be done.
The interaction between professional pride and standards of workmanship
Being a professional further means doing full-time what others
do part-time or occasionally. A professional photographer,
for example , takes pictures not just on vacation, but day
in and day out. If a professional musician does not perform
every day, he or she practices every day to maintain professional
standards of performance. The mark of a professional is being
ready to perform whether one feels like it or not.
The saying that "the show must go on" might not be taken
seriously in an amateur theatrical company, but it is an article
of faith among professional troupers. Amateur athletes might
skip a game because their muscles ache or they have personal
business to attend to. Pro athletes "come to play" despite
sprains or bruises or whatever psychological troubles might
be weighing on their minds.
Once on the field, they throw themselves body and soul into
the game , putting their personal feelings and preoccupations
behind them. So the "real pro" at any activity can be relied
upon consistently to do his or her best.
In most cases, that "best" will be better than an amateur's.
Here we come to another perception of professionalism, which
is that professionals are very good at their work.
Hence the expression "a really professional job," which
could just as easily apply to the serving of a meal or the
installation of a window as to a surgical operation or a set
of architectural drawings . In this instance, performing professionally
means doing a job that is well worth the price being charged.
Professional pride interacts with professional standards
of workmanship. One is proud to be able to do an outstanding
job; one will not do less than an outstanding job because
one is proud.
In many cases, professional pride may be mingled with the
animal joy a person finds in the exercise of a natural ability.
Those with a strong talent for a particular line of work may
feel that this is what they were born for. Young people with
this conviction have a sense of professional dedication before
they ever take up their specialties.
"He was in love with his work, and he felt an enthusiasm
for it which nothing but the work we can do well inspires
in us," the American man of letters William Dean Howells wrote
of a colleague. Here he touched on three attributes of a great
professional in any field: a sense of vocation, enthusiasm,
and the special inspiration which is generated from within.
But, as Jean de la Bruyere remarked about authorship, it
"requires more than mere genius" to perform up to professional
standards of proficiency. If a professional will normally
surpass a gifted amateur at most activities, that is because
the professional has applied the mortar of technique to the
bricks of natural ability.
There are little tricks of any trade which become second
nature if one practices them constantly. These lend an unconscious
professional touch to the expert practitioner's every working
move.
As the American biographer Bernard de Voto wrote, "the skilful
man is, within the function of his skill, a different integration,
a different nervous and muscular and psychological organization
.... A tennis player or a watchmaker or an airline pilot is
an automatism but he is also criticism and wisdom."
The criticism referred to is more likely to be of oneself
than of others. What has been said of a true scholar may be
said of any true professional - that he or she is constantly
seeking and finding his or her own mistakes.
The polish that makes a professional piece of work shine
is usually the result of copious sweat and perhaps even tears
of frustration. The more agonizingly one toils at it, the
finer the product. As Daniel Webster wrote about his own sometime
profession, "If he would be a great lawyer, he must first
consent to be a great drudge ."
Professionals have confidence, but not over-confidence, in their abilities
The first thing a novice notices about an old pro in any
field is that he or she makes difficult tasks look easy. Along
with their other acquired expertise, professionals become
expert at never showing the intensity of their efforts. They
are more aware than anyone of the meaning of the classical
aphorism, "The perfection of art is to conceal the art."
The English language has never known a more readable stylist
than Charles Lamb, whose prose flowed with the clarity and
brilliance of spring water. But his author-sister Mary, in
a letter to friend, has left us with a endearing picture of
how painfully he achieved his mastery: "You would like to
see us, as we often sit writing at the same table .... I taking
snuff, and he groaning all the while, and saying he can make
nothing of it, which he always says till he is finished, and
then he finds out he has made something of it."
Lamb's uncertainty over his work clashes with the image
of cool professionalism held by the public. Seasoned professionals
are supposed to "know their stuff," meaning that they know
exactly what they are doing at any given time, and that they
know their subjects inside-out.
Professional persons tend to present an air of calm capability
to the world for the very good reason that what they essentially
have to sell is trustworthiness. None of us would want a dentist
who is evidently unsure of which tooth to drill or an accountant
who confesses his confusion over a newly-passed tax law.
And indeed thoroughgoing professionals must have confidence
in their own abilities. It is self-confidence that allows
them to break with tried and true techniques in the search
of fresh approaches to problems.
Professional self-confidence comes from having a sure grasp
of the fundamentals of one's subject. Where self-confidence
goes wrong is when senior practitioners in a field become
too sure of what they know, and come to believe that they
have completely mastered their subject. When they conclude
that they know all there is to know, they are no longer professionals,
but hacks.
Almost every occupation has become like a profession, in which something is always developing
Complacency is a distinctly unprofessional trait. The reason
there are scholarly journals is to make it possible for professional
men and women to maintain a knowledge of the ceaseless developments
in their chosen subjects. The journals also carry debates
over new ideas in the field, which stimulate lively and creative
thought about professional concerns.
If there is one characteristic of the established professions
which sets them apart from other employment, it is the continual
renewal of knowledge and expertise through publications, conferences,
seminars and so forth. That distinction, however, is becoming
less and less relevant with the passage of time.
It was once possible for a man or woman to get a job in
business or public service and retire from it 50 years later
with pretty much the same body of knowledge he or she acquired
in the first few months of working. Now, almost every occupation
in the western economy has become like the professions, in
which something new is always happening to enhance knowledge
and alter techniques.
Technicians and crafts persons nowadays are constantly having
to learn about new equipment, processes and methods. People
in sales are just as constantly being called upon to learn
the intricacies of ever more complex product lines.
In no industry are products and conditions the same today
as they were two or three years ago. Keeping abreast of developments
has become a way of life for anyone involved in administration,
production, servicing, or sales.
The renewal of knowledge is only one of the characteristics
of the established professions which are becoming common in
other occupations. As summarised by the American newspaper
executive Charles E. Scripps, some others are "high academic
standards, rigorous training, peer review, and permit by way
of government licence or some other empowered body."
Mr. Scripps made his observations in a letter to the editor
of a journalistic trade magazine. In it, he concentrated on
professionalism in the context of public responsibility. He
pointed out that anyone responsible for the physical or psychological
wellbeing of other people is capable of causing great harm
which cannot be completely dealt with by the legal system.
Journalists clearly are in a position to cause such harm.
For many years there has been talk about having journalism
designated as a profession, if only to encourage journalists
to exercise greater responsibility. Mr. Scripps argued against
such a move because of the threat it raises of government
control.
Going down a list of "professions," he wrote: "The practices
of medicine, or tennis, or prostitution are not civil rights
or human rights. The right to speak and write, to hear and
read, are human rights everywhere and civil rights in civilized
nations. Journalism is a noble calling, a skilled craft, a
respectable trade, or ignoble , sloppy, or disreputable depending
on the character and skill of the practitioner."
In this he echoed the widely-held opinion among journalists
that professionalism is where you find it. Professional and
unprofessional journalists may work side by side on the same
story or even in the same news room.
It is impossible to curtail cheating among business people who are inclined to cheat
Whether a particular person deserves to be called professional
or not depends entirely on how conscientiously he or she collects
and handles information. It can be argued that the same applies
to lawyers or accountants or architects; that calling them
professionals does not necessarily make them act like professionals
. Some do and some do not.
Because dereliction inevitably occurs in the best regulated
of professional families, some have formed their own governing
councils with powers to punish offenders by expulsion if necessary.
One reason journalism has never formally become a profession
is that is too amorphous to allow for the kind of self-regulation
practised in the law, medicine and the like.
Journalism ranges in quality from newspapers and magazines
in which every word is checked for accuracy to tabloids full
of "reports" about the ghosts of movie stars, grotesque multiple
births and visitors from other planets. Add to these the electronic
media in all their diversity, and it is just too unwieldy
for any professional body to grapple with.
If journalism is too big to lend itself to the formal imposition
of professional discipline, how much more so is the whole
broad field of business. True, individual industries - notably
those having to do with personal finance - have set strict
standards of ethics and training for people in sales. Still,
there is no controlling behaviour in business in general.
Any product can be made a little cheaper, a little less reliable,
a little less safe; anything can be sold under false pretences
to those who have no need for it. Short of the law, which
by no means covers all cases, it is impossible to curtail
cheating among business people inclined to cheat.
So, despite all the talk about "sales professionals," "management
professionals" and the like, business people are unlikely
ever to gain public recognition as professionals in the traditional
sense of the word. Instead, professionalism in business necessarily
will remain a matter of actions speaking louder than words.
In the end, the professional man or woman is one who behaves in a professional way
Like all professionals worthy of the name, business professionals
will put their customers' welfare before any personal consideration
. They will never stop renewing and improving their knowledge
and skills. They will conduct themselves with due professional
pride and integrity. They will not cut corners, whether in
terms of ethics , performance, or quality.
Never has there been more need than there is today for professional
attitudes in business. The large-scale financial failures
in North America in recent years were brought about by a lack
of the qualities which professionalism implies.
These include not only the ethical qualities implied in
the first meaning of the term, but the workmanlike qualities
implied in the second. The two meanings converge when they
come to professionalism in business, because the business
professional must be both a scrupulous dealer and outstanding
at his or her work.
"A great society is one in which men of business think greatly
of their functions," the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead
wrote. To think greatly of those functions is to regard doing
business as a profession whether or not it is so called.
In essence, the professional man or woman is one who behaves
professionally, not necessarily one who has been certified
by a licensing body. Professionalism cannot be conferred on
you by other people. It consists of what you expect from yourself.
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