Professionalism

What it Means to Be a True Professional

What do you think of when you hear the word professional?

Here are some words that come to mind for me:

Expert.

Experienced.

Competent.

Highly skilled.

Educated.

Certified.

With care.

With kindness.

With humility.

Courteous.

Thoughtful.

Polished.

Well done.

Successful.

Proper.

Prudent.

Distinguished.

Set apart.

Differentiated.

Professionalism as a Core Value

When we launched our wealth management firm nearly 20 years ago, we adopted professionalism as a core value.

You might be asking, “Why would a professional services firm need to adopt the idea of professionalism as a core value?”

Well, it’s simple. Many people and businesses claim to be “professionals”. But are they really?

Merriam-Webster defines professionalism as the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a professional person.

One reason we launched our firm in 2002 was the lack of professionalism from others in the industry. Unfortunately, not everyone in the financial services business can be trusted. Some claim to be experts, but aren’t technically competent. Others deliver poor service or are just simply rude to their clients. We knew we could do better.

So, we made a decision to strive to be a firm that represents the very top of the profession. By naming professionalism as a core value we programmed into our DNA the idea that we would do whatever it takes to earn the “professional” adjective next to our names.

We decided to be true professionals.