No matter what industry you work in, professionalism is central to career success.

In our simple guide, we’ll give you everything you need to know about being professional, including why it’s important, core components of professionalism, strategies to leverage for your team, and a sophisticated app you can experiment with to develop your team’s abilities. 

What Is Professionalism?

Professionalism includes all the skills and qualities that exemplify someone’s character and capabilities at work. All the standards, expectations, behaviors, and attitudes that show someone’s competence at their place of work also point to professionalism. 

Many people think being professional means showing up to work or wearing business casual. But it involves so much more than showing up and dressing the part.

There are many qualities and professionalism skills that can improve your team dynamic, such as: 

• Work ethic
• Collaboration skills
• Efficient communication 
• Time management skills
• Flexibility and open-mindedness

Why does professionalism matter? 

Professionalism matters because it helps folks get ahead in their career and build a positive reputation for themselves at work. It also helps prevent toxic work environments. If you’re a manager or team leader, professionalism helps your employees thrive in their roles and exceed expectations. 

7 Ways to Boost Your Team’s Professionalism at Work 

No matter what industry you work in, professionalism is an important skill that takes time to cultivate, especially for newer or less experienced employees. Here are seven straightforward ways you can boost your team’s level of professionalism at work.

1. Prioritize efficient, respectful communication at work.

One way to improve the professionalism of your team is to prioritize and emphasize respectful, effective communication. Make sure your employees know that active listening is the standard. It’s not enough to just passively listen without actually hearing what the speaker has to say. 

Make sure you encourage your team to communicate clearly and to not be afraid to share their thoughts, perspectives, and opinions. That’s in part why it’s so important to foster a positive, safe work environment. Otherwise, your team will have trouble efficiently communicating.   

2. Exemplify positivity and have a positive attitude.

Although it’s definitely underrated, showcasing a positive attitude can go a long way in improving your team’s professionalism. As a team leader, aim to have a positive attitude and outlook, even when things get tough at work. It’s easier said than done, but exemplifying positivity at work can inspire and motivate your team to step up to the plate and do the same.  

3. Emphasize the importance of workplace etiquette. 

Workplace etiquette is important, regardless of the industry or company you work in. However, depending on the exact job, employer, and industry, the expected etiquette can vary. Still, there are some features of workplace etiquette that are common to the majority of workplaces, from healthcare to big business and sales.

For example, basic email and phone etiquette both emphasize the importance of clear communication. Emails should be grammatically correct and free of mistakes (although mistakes are bound to happen now and again) to your best ability. With phone or video calls, most employers expect their employees to answer calls as they’re available and communicate clearly and respectfully. 

Other workplace etiquette might include using respectful, inclusive language and avoiding disrespectful, offensive communication. Punctuality is another common thread in most workplace etiquette, specifically showing up to work on time and meeting your deadlines as expected.

4. Sharpen your team’s time management skills.

The ability to manage your time effectively is a significant part of professionalism, and honing your team’s time management skills is a great way to start boosting their professionalism skills. 

Give your team a basic rundown on time management and your expectations for the way they use their time. For example, you could model how you personally prioritize your assignments and tasks based on factors like importance and deadline.

You can also introduce them to specific time management methods. It could be something as simple as using calendars or apps to track your tasks and deadlines. Techniques like time blocking, where people designate a time block for different assignments, might be one strategy you’d like to introduce. This can help your team get a better idea of what professionalism looks like with regard to managing your time. 

5. Set clear expectations for your team to avoid confusion. 

Arguably the most important strategy for improving your team’s professionalism is setting clear expectations from the get-go. If there aren’t clear-cut expectations for your team to look to, chances are, they’re not going to meet your expectations. In some cases, that might mean your team fails to meet your standard of professionalism. 

To avoid misconceptions and confusion, clearly explain what you expect from your team in terms of communication, behavior, and performance. Depending on your team and industry, this could include making a code of conduct for your team so they have something specific to reference. Just make sure you routinely review these expectations to continue improving. 

6. Give your team feedback regularly.

Similarly, plan to give your team members feedback on a regular basis. This will help them boost their level of professionalism through continuous improvement. 

The feedback could come in the form of routine performance reviews to check on the employee’s progress, for example. Just make sure any feedback and criticism is constructive. This will help your team with their feedback reception abilities, too. Depending on the team dynamic, you could even encourage peer feedback within the team.

7. Acknowledge professionalism to encourage your employees.

In addition to feedback, you should also plan to recognize and call out professionalism (when appropriate) when you see it. For example, if you notice an employee doing an outstanding job communicating across teams, consider telling them they did a great job. This acknowledgment can motivate team members to want to continue being professional and exemplifying professionalism. If you want to take it a step further, you could even reward employees for good behavior and performance. 

5 Essential Components of Professionalism to Model for Your Team

Homing in on specific components of professionalism can make it easier for you to improve your team’s overall dynamic. Here are five core parts of being professional that your team should aim to improve.

Adaptability 

It’s much easier for folks to act professionally when they work on their adaptability skills. That’s because being flexible and adaptable helps employees prepare for unexpected situations. When faced with something unexpected or unwanted — like an urgent deadline for example — being flexible can help teams become more professional. 

Time management 

As mentioned above, time management skills are essential for boosting professionalism team-wide. If you can’t meet deadlines, show up to work late, or miss important tasks, it’s difficult to then present yourself as a professional. 

Encourage your employees to avoid procrastinating, especially on urgent, important tasks. If you find one of your team members is struggling with time management, you can also consider specific workshops and online courses for building time management skills.

Solid work ethic

Encouraging your team members to have a healthy work ethic can aid in their ability to be professional, too. Setting standards like being a reliable team member, showing a dedication to their work and tasks, meeting deadlines, and coming to work on time are all ways to boost professionalism in the workplace. The standards you set might vary based on the industry of your workplace. 

Problem-solving and conflict resolution skills

A large aspect of professionalism is the ability to solve problems and resolve conflict. Investing in your team’s conflict resolution skills will help them better navigate relationships in and outside of work. 

You can help your employees boost their problem-solving and conflict resolution skills by encouraging critical (and creative) thinking when evaluating problems and solutions, for example.  

In the long run, investing in your team in this way can also help them make more informed decisions on a day-to-day basis.

Effective communication skills

If there’s only one skill you have your team focus on for professionalism’s sake, effective communication should be it. The ability to explain and express your thoughts clearly to other people is a very valuable skill and helps folks be more professional at work. Efficient communication can help with cross-team collaboration, too. 

How to Practice Professionalism Skills With Yoodli 

When considering practicing professionalism, it isn’t usually feasible to practice at work. You can surely practice your skills during work, but that comes with a certain level of risk. If you misstep while trying to practice effective communication, that could come with real consequences. Enter, Yoodli.

Yoodli is an intelligent, AI-driven speech coach that offers folks a realistic, conversational way to practice their professionalism skills without risk.

In a workplace, you’ll face a whole host of different personalities, and that can be difficult to emulate with an AI simulation. That’s where Yoodli shines. Yoodli provides people with AI-generated personas that have different personalities and attitudes. That way, your team can practice their professionalism skills, like effective communication and conflict resolution.

Not only that, but as a communication coach, Yoodli provides an in-depth analysis to provide team members with specific metrics that show where they need to improve. For example, maybe one of your employees uses lots of filler words that cloud the message they’re trying to deliver. Or perhaps they accidentally use offensive or non-inclusive language. Whatever the case will be, Yoodli will highlight it for employees to home in on. 

If you’re looking to improve the professionalism among your team, find out how you can use this enablement tool for free at https://yoodli.ai/.

The Bottom Line 

Learning how to leverage and improve professionalism amongst your team is well worth the time investment. There are so many benefits for both you and your employees when it comes to learning how to be professional at work, from boosted productivity to more promotions. Plus, taking advantage of a tool like Yoodli can make practicing and improving professionalism that much easier.

Sources

• Department of Labor: “Professionalism.”
• Indeed: “Professionalism Skills: Definition and Examples.”
• Coursera: “Professional Skills: What They Are and How to Use Them.”
• Pearson: “Professionalism: Skills for Workplace Success.”