Professional Maturity Starts With Being Self-Aware

March 18th, 2010

To me professional maturity is having self awareness and personal insight on how to act accordingly.

The other day my 8 year old son Bennett spilled his milk during dinner as he usually does about one time per week. Despite repeated suggestions by his mother and me to place his cup of milk to the upper right of his eating plate, Bennett continues to set his drink just outside his right elbow and close to the edge of the table. Can you picture the setting? Because of Bennett’s age and his relative maturity level, he will repeat the process of occasional spills until he grows older and begins to form self-awareness.

In contrast, my son Whitney, 24, hasn’t spilled a glass of anything in my recent memory. I know that many of his friends will cite something to the contrary (probably a beer spilling incident in Broad Ripple) but for the most part Whitney’s days of elbowing over a drink are over. Why? Through Whitney’s maturity, he has become self-aware that you don’t place drinks next to your elbow.

In business, professional maturity starts with being self-aware. Are you self-aware of your behavior and the implications that follow? If you ever wrestle with how you might conduct yourself in a business or professional setting, then ask someone who knows you. Risk being vulnerable and ask for feedback relative to how you navigate the waters of business. Many times we don’t get outside ourselves to see how we really are. I suggest that we don’t hide from possible truths that could cause discomfort and/or defensiveness because as we all know, truth always finds us. Embrace feedback from others because without their input, you may be spilling your professional milk all over your career.

Paul Lushin

Related Posts

• No Related Posts

Read the Story