Unprofessional - Professional

Each company has its own standards of conduct that employees must follow, but there are some general principles that apply. Boss acts in a manner that you don’t like, depending on the deed, the company might not deem it as unprofessional. For example, he may be self-centered, arrogant or egocentric. Though you might not like his personality, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s unprofessional. It is understood that bosses are the ones that run the company. There is a lot of responsibility when you are in a position of power or authority. Without even realizing it, bosses may be directly responsible for the low morale of employees.

It led to people quitting and created an atmosphere of discord. When my resignation was accepted, I went to the lawn outside the office and made a victory fist punch because I was relieved. The word ‘relieved’ was an understatement when I reminisce the one year at that office. Was my job bad? Not really. Was I given a decent salary? Not exactly. Did I get along with my peers? Absolutely. My only grouse with the job was the manager aka the boss who was a killjoy.

• Lack of empathy 
The lack of human emotion makes you unprofessional.   

• Lack of commitment 
If you say you will do something, it should be done. There are no ifs and buts circling around it. People should be able to have a good night’s sleep knowing that you will complete your task on time. If you don’t, it besmirches your reputation. 

• Lack of the ability to take hard decisions 
Are you one of those bosses who take weeks to arrive at a decision? Do you go back and forth over a decision that you made? Your indecisiveness affects your employees too, as they are clouded in confusion and the sadness of having a boss who lacks guts to take big decisions. Yes, we do understand that big decisions take time and considerable thought, but as the captain of your ship, you do know how much time is available for making a decision and you need to act accordingly. Before you decide on something, make sure that you have a step-by-step plan to go through and an immediate contingency plan if plan A fails.   

• Lack of focus
Do you ask employee A to do something in the morning and then barge into their cabin in the afternoon to give them another task because the one assigned in the morning was not important enough. Such behaviour reeks of unprofessionalism. Stick to the things that you know are important. The lack of focus gives your employees the impression that it is alright for them to be less focused too.

If any of these sound eerily familiar to you because you are guilty of doing it, then hopefully you’ve taken note and decided to work on yourself.