Does professional qualification guarantee professionalism?

It is usually unquestioningly assumed that professional qualifications guarantee an individual to be professional by default. However, more than a quarter century of experience across various sectors and varied roles do not seem to necessarily corroborate with the above assumption. While professional qualification certifies ‘what’ a person possesses as certain skill sets and/ or knowledge to execute a job with responsibility, professionalism focuses on the ‘how’ element of execution. The gap between ‘what’ and ‘how’ is significant.  Let us share a few real-life instances to drive home the point.

a)    An important meeting was being chaired by a Unit Head in a conference room. It was organized hurriedly as a Senior Government dignitary was going to pay an unscheduled visit the factory premises the next day. Attending the meeting were all the Function Heads from Operations and a few from the Support Services. While the meeting was in progress a couple of individuals, sitting next to each other, started conversing in their native language a little too loudly to the annoyance of the rest. Most of those present were from other parts of the country and hence, the disconnect. The Unit Head quickly sensed the discomfiture among them and made light of the situation by politely requesting the two, “Humare saathe bhi thoda share kijiye aap kis vishay par charcha kar rahein hai.”

b)    The CEO of a Group company was addressing employees during a Townhall about business performance in the preceding quarter. There were close to 250 persons who were attending it in the auditorium. In course of the presentation, a video of a newly launched advertisement was to be shown. Unfortunately, despite prior testing the video appeared without any sound much to the embarrassment of the person who was given the responsibility to run it from his laptop. What unfolded after that was something employees were not prepared for. The CEO screamed and berated the poor fellow in front of the audience for a couple of minutes before walking out of the auditorium in a huff!

c)     With a view to keep check on safety incidents safety meeting is scheduled on the 15^th of every month between 3 pm to 5 pm, unless of course it is a holiday. It is mandatory for all the Department Heads (DHs) numbering around 30 to attend it. In case anyone is unable to come, one is expected to send a representative. These meetings are chaired by the Safety Head and the Operations Head by rotation. However, on most of the occasions the meetings commence not around 3.30 pm. It meant those who are punctual had to wait for more than thirty minutes. Obviously, meetings get stretched to 5.30 pm almost always.

Countless number of such examples can be shared. A quick help from AI Overview to understand the meaning of professionalism shows it as ‘the conduct, behaviour and attitude that demonstrate competence, respect and a strong work ethic in a working environment’. So, what do we make out of it? Professional qualification does not ensure professionalism at the workplace.

Otherwise, how do we explain the attitude and behaviour involving the professionally competent Function Heads, CEO and Department Heads?