Character Of The Best Professional Service Providers (Part Two)

RainToday Note: This is part two of two of Catherine Blake's article on the makings of a true professional. In the first section, Blake introduced her concept of real professionalism and elaborates on the first of three defining characteristics. Here, Blake discusses the final two characteristics that make a true professional.

Integrity

This character trait may seem obvious, but it bears discussion. Integrity means being honest and doing the right thing based on principle even when no one is looking. The old saying rings true: If I can't trust you with a little, how can I trust you with a lot? If we can't be trusted to honestly fill out our expense reports, then how can we be trusted with a client's entire marketing strategy? As service providers, we represent our companies to the outside world and are trusted to leverage the profitability of our organizations. We must not line our own pockets at shareholders' or clients' expense.

Once you lose trust in a coworker, don't you find it's almost impossible for him to change your perception? Integrity comes from deep values that respect people and property and is demonstrated in behavior. Would some white-collar criminals ever be questioned if they didn't have $5,000 shower curtains in their bathrooms?

Integrity may be an obvious virtue, but that doesn't mean it's always easy. I once discovered that my then-employer's chief executive officer had a dark secret. Our company hosted an elegant function to celebrate a quarter-century in business. Hundreds of clients attended to eat, drink and listen to live jazz under the stars.

The next day was the dreaded employee clean-up day. As the clean-up committee picked up cups, wine bottles, and paper plates, I found a yellow, folded sheet of paper on the ground. Thinking the note was an invoice dropped by the caterer, I picked it up and studied it.

Unfortunately it was police documentation concerning my CEO. You see, he had so many arrests for driving under the influence that he had lost his license and was in danger of serving jail time. If you were me, what would you have done in this situation? Would you have given the paper to human resources? Would you have given the paper to your boss? Would you have discreetly left it on the CEO's desk? If the sheet had been anonymously left on his desk, then the CEO might have thought the whole company had read it. I was in a quandary.

After some reflection, I knew I had to personally return the document to the CEO. So one day that week I quietly followed him outside to the parking lot and politely said, "Excuse me, but I found this on the ground while we were cleaning after the party. I realize it's very personal, but I only glanced at it and did not read it. I wanted to give it to you privately and assure you no one else saw it." What I learned from that experience was that integrity means doing the right thing, rather than doing things right.

Compassion

The third character trait is compassion, the quality that says, "I care about you." If you're a thinker in the Myers-Briggs sense of the word, then you're probably wondering what compassion has to do with being a service provider. Again, think of a role model you have great respect for.

• Are they inclusive of others?
  
  
• Do they discriminate?
  
  
• Do they consider and respect the individual?
  
  
• Do they take time to meet you where you are and really listen?
  
  
• Do they offer you heart-felt advice?

Yes, compassion in any business goes a long way. Sometimes it's as simple as a genuine smile or a "good morning."

The best sales manager I ever had did something for me that no other leader had done: She coached me. It sounds simple, and as leaders we should all take the role of coach, but it's amazing how many leaders don't make the time.

Early in my career I found myself in a conflict about something that in hindsight seems ridiculous, but at the time it devastated me. Although my heart was in the right place, I had made a mistake by being a little sassy in an e-mail to a manager in another department. That's what stress can do, right? That was my excuse anyway.

Well, the situation escalated to include my boss, and she called me into her office. I was nervous. But instead of reprimanding me, she coached me on what I might have done differently. Then she shared a personal story about a mistake she made and how she recovered. She showed compassion, and her example has continued to inspire me to this day.

Conclusion

Service providers stand apart through:

• Character qualities like discernment, integrity, and compassion;
  
  
• Making a difference—not just to higher-ups but to peers and subordinates (read the book The 360-Degree Leader by John C. Maxwell);
  
  
• Demonstrating leadership by putting core values first and acting accordingly; and
  
  
• Serving, putting oneself aside, and thinking about others.

In the end you'll not only be a great service provider, but a fantastic leader. Others around you will hold you up as their role model and the picture of a refined professional.

Catherine B. Blake, founder of Sales Protocol International has a passion for sales, marketing and business development and a heart for encouraging others to be their personal best. Blake has twenty years of sales and marketing experience with both FORTUNE 500 corporate giants such as EMC, GTE and IBM Corporation and start-ups.