Questioning Professionalism

THE BOLDER WAY™

QUESTION ANYTHING

QUESTION RESOURCE 0031

THE QUESTION

What is professional?

“Professional” can describe how a Human works, communicates, dresses, responds, behaves, performs, or relates to others.

It can refer to competence.

Conduct.

Appearance.

Reliability.

Ethics.

Restraint.

Polish.

Conformity.

Or something else.

Sometimes the standard is clearly defined.

Sometimes everyone is expected to already know what “professional” means.

Questioning professionalism does not require me to reject professional standards.

It allows me to Question what the standard actually is, what it is intended to accomplish, and who gets to define it.

A QUESTION TO HOLD

What am I actually evaluating when I call something professional?

BEGIN WHERE SOMETHING GETS YOUR ATTENTION.

You do not have to answer every Question.

THE BOLDER WAY™

QUESTION ANYTHING

QUESTION RESOURCE 0031

BEGIN HERE

WHAT AM I CALLING PROFESSIONAL?

What behavior am I describing?
What outcome am I evaluating?
Am I evaluating competence?
Reliability?
Ethics?
Communication?
Appearance?
Emotional expression?
Manners?

Responsiveness?
Deference?
Familiarity?
Conformity?
Something else?
Which of those actually relate to the work being performed?
Which relate to how I expect the work to look?
Am I evaluating the same thing each time I use the word professional?

WHAT IS THE STANDARD?

Is the standard written?
Was it communicated?
Is it measurable?
Is it connected to the role?
Is it connected to an outcome?

Is it connected to a legitimate responsibility?
Or is it understood because “everyone knows”?
Would different Humans describe the same professional standard in the same way?
What happens when they do not?

WHO GETS TO DECIDE?

An employer?
A manager?
A profession?
A licensing body?
A client?
A customer?

An industry?
A culture?
Society?
The Human performing the work?
What authority does each have?
Where does one standard end and another begin?

WHAT CHANGES WHEN I DISTINGUISH A PROFESSIONAL STANDARD FROM A PROFESSIONAL PREFERENCE?

THE BOLDER WAY™

QUESTION ANYTHING

QUESTION RESOURCE 0031

GO FURTHER

WHEN PROFESSIONAL BECOMES A JUDGMENT

What am I saying when I call someone unprofessional?
Am I identifying a specific behavior—or delivering a broader judgment?
Could I describe the concern without using the word professional?

What would I have to name more precisely?
What expectation was not met?
Was that expectation known?
Was it necessary?
Was it relevant to the work?
Was it simply familiar to me?

COMPETENCE, CONDUCT, AND CONFORMITY

Can someone be highly competent and still be called unprofessional?
Can someone look professional and still perform poorly?
Can something be unfamiliar and still be professional?
Can someone communicate differently and still meet the actual standard?

When does professionalism support useful conduct?
When does it begin enforcing sameness?
What differences become easier to criticize by calling them unprofessional?
What behavior becomes protected because it looks professional?

QUESTION TO GO FURTHER

Who gets to decide what counts as professional?

AND ANOTHER QUESTION

What happens when I call something professional without explaining the standard?

THE BOLDER WAY™

QUESTION ANYTHING

QUESTION RESOURCE 0031

LET THE QUESTION MOVE

WHAT SHOULD THE STANDARD ACTUALLY DO?

What is the purpose of the standard?
What responsibility is it protecting?
What outcome is it supporting?
What behavior is actually necessary?
What behavior is merely preferred?
Can the expectation be stated without using the word professional?

Would the standard still make sense if a different Human expressed it differently?
What becomes clearer when I name the specific behavior instead of the label?
What should remain consistent?
What can vary?

SELF

What do I change about myself in order to be experienced as professional?

Which changes help me fulfill a responsibility?

Which help me navigate expectations?

Which are simply attempts to avoid being judged?

SYSTEMS

What does this System require in the name of professionalism?

Which expectations are explicit?

Which are unwritten?

What purpose do they serve?

What happens when someone Questions them?

SOCIETY

Which behaviors have become associated with being professional—and why?

Which expectations have changed over time?

Which differences are interpreted as professionalism or its absence?

What have I learned to recognize as professional before I ever Questioned it?

RETURN TO THE QUESTION

What is professional?
What am I actually evaluating?
What is the standard meant to accomplish?

Who gets to decide?
What is necessary?
What is preference?
What remains a Question?

What does this reveal about Being Human?

Answers can come from anywhere. Questioning remains yours.

Questioning Professionalism — QR-0031