My Advice to professionals

If you are a professional, chances are that you will work in a team sometime. If you have team work to do, and the team requests of you something as a professional you know is not right, tell the team that “ as a professional, it would be wrong of me to do ….”. The team may insist and demand that you still go ahead and do so. Don’t take it personal. It is only human. Your job is to stand your ground – that is why you are a professional. You may smile while you tell them, or frown while you tell them. But whatever style you choose, tell them. And stand your ground. If you are an employee, who must necessarily take orders against your professional judgement, have the order “on record”. Have your professional advice against the order “on record”. That is called professional integrity.

If you fail to stand your ground, and do as they  say, chances are that when there is trouble, this same team will turn on you and say “you are the professional why did you not ….” Worse still, they may say “what kind of professional are you”; “you have been negligent, incompetent, etc”, and no one will have any tears for you, (except of course your friends and family who may be willing to put the blame on some other person or thing except where it squarely belongs - on your shoulders).

Remember that a professional who is too timid to stand their professional ground is not much of a professional.