I came across this clip from Simon Sinek recently while scrolling through Facebook, procrastinating. This short clip helped me put into words something that I have been observing for a while.
Watch the clip yourself to see all the concepts he covers. I want to focus on the idea of ‘emotional unprofessionalism’ and the proposition that the current generation of employees can be, sometimes, less emotionally professional than their predecessors.
There is no single accepted definition of emotional professionalism, but I would define an emotionally professional person as one who:
- is aware and can manage their emotions
- can communicate effectively and clearly
- has the ability to empathise and consider the views of others
- is constructive in their approach to identifying and managing the stress of themselves and others.
Emotional professionalism does not mean:
- expecting work colleagues or managers to fix all problems
- making your non-work problems other peoples’ problems.
We all have bad days; every one of us has things going on in our lives that are challenging in some way. But the workplace is still a place of business with standards of behaviour.
The table below summarises the main signs of emotional professionalism and maturity compared with those that demonstrate a lack of professionalism and maturity.
Another concept that Sinek raises is the role of the ‘empathetic’ colleague, who becomes the go-to person for all their emotionally unprofessional teammates. If you are that person, you must be exhausted. You have your own issues and yet you are the dumping ground for everyone else. But you ‘want to help’.
It is great that you care but you need to learn how to set boundaries. You can still listen from time to time, but it is also okay to draw the line and to set boundaries and expectations of behaviour. It is not your job to make other people happy.
While you’re at work today, ask yourself:
- How emotionally professional or unprofessional is our culture and team?
- How emotionally professional or unprofessional is my behaviour?
- What can I do to ensure my behaviour is as mature and professional as possible?
- What can I do to support my team members to build emotional maturity and professionalism?
- What support do I need to become more emotionally aware, resilient and professional?
