Professionality

When I was in my mid to late 20’s and managing a call center of 100 agents, I was asked to teach a class on professionalism.  The class was part of a leadership program called “eyes on you” and as growing leaders we were tasked with walking the talk and leading by example.  I chose to focus on professionalism and dressing for success.  Recently I have felt the need to revisit my notes on professionalism for reasons that are too long to share in this post. 

I remember calling my class “professionality” and to me the word culminated professionalism, personality and attitude.

After a quick review of the Internet the best definition I found of the meaning of professionality was “the quality of being professional”. Ever heard of the saying, “dress for the position you want not the position you have?”  Or did you know that people judge you by your appearance and that first impressions are lasting impressions?  Yes!  It’s true.  I’ve tested the theory many times and I can attest to the validity of those words.

So why am I going public with my view on this topic?  I think society has become too relaxed in the business world and people think they can wear anything they want and expect to move up the ladder with their sloppy dress and attitude.  I’m here to tell you it does not float with me.  Sloppy dress equals sloppy work and a lackadaisical attitude.  You do not have to agree with me but after over 25 years as a professional I think I know a thing or two about this topic.  That said, each environment sees Business Casual differently and if you call yourself Business Casual and you allow sweats, yoga pants and sneakers Monday- Thursday, you may want to reevaluate the meaning of Business Casual.  This post is my opinion and it’s based on years of experience.

Office environments should maintain a standard.  Some are Business Casual and some are Business Formal.  Doctor’s offices have their own dress code by allowing staff to wear scrubs.  I don’t have a problem with this because I think it works for the environment.  The focus of this post will be  on the business casual environments. Business Casual is defined as - relating to or denoting a style of clothing that is less formal than traditional business wear, but is still intended to give a professional and businesslike impression. (Business Insider, Web; 2014)  This photo isn’t the best quality but it does illustrate appropriate Business Casual attire.  I think Dockers for women with a nice top works well too.  But take notice, no jeans, no t-shirts, no yoga pant material, no sweat shirt material and everything is neatly presented.

 An example of sloppy attire and should not be worn in business casual environments nor should this be worn to an Interview! Yeah.. that happens.

 Casual Friday is slightly different but still needs to be addressed. Nice jeans, sneakers, even a t-shirt so long as it is presentable with no offensive language are ok with me. Some offices will say no to sneakers and t-shirts and that’s their prerogative. The main point here is a neat appearance is still important on Fridays.

I know that a professionally dressed person and a great attitude reap many rewards. You can be the best dressed and have a crappy attitude (and vice versa) and wonder why you are not moving up the ladder of success. That’s a segment I will explore at another time. So stay tuned!



Until next time Dress for the position you want not the one you have!