Building The New Age Of Professionalism In 2020 And
Beyond
forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2020/02/13/building-the-new-age-of-professionalism-in-2020-and-beyond
February 13, 2020
Feb 13, 2020,09:00am EST|3,430 views
Joanna Shevelenko
Forbes Councils Member
Forbes Business Council
COUNCIL POST| Membership (fee-based)
Small Business
POST WRITTEN BY
Joanna Shevelenko
Chief Operating Officer of Atrium, championing women-in-business and diversity and
inclusion in the workplace.
1/4
Photo:
Getty
As we enter into a new decade, I’ve been reflecting on the personal and professional changes
I’ve gone through over the past 10 years. I became a wife, a mom to two children, a chief
operating officer and a cofounder of a venture fund that’s dedicated to increasing women
representation on cap tables.
I can say without hesitation how proud it makes me to see my focus, late nights and hard
work pay off. However, I also recognize that many of my accomplishments wouldn’t have
been possible had I simply maintained the status quo over the years. In fact, my professional
growth has never hinged on following the old ethos of professionalism—the one in which
professionalism correlates with wearing suits or hiding my emotions at work.
In many ways, my professional accomplishments have been bolstered by the milestones I
achieved in my personal life. This is because the way companies view professionalism in the
workplace is evolving toward an open culture of trust and transparency. As we lean in to this
next decade, I believe we have an even greater opportunity to embrace this new era of
professionalism and redefine what it looks like in the workplace.
PROMOTED
The Influences Of Wall Street And Silicon Valley
When we think about what professionalism looks like at work, it’s natural for people to
connect it to what they see on Wall Street: suits, formal business meetings, standing
presentations, strict agendas, and the list goes on. This sense of what professionalism looks
like is almost literal: It’s tied to how you look and behave in front of others.
Not that long ago, Silicon Valley completely disrupted this perception of professionalism.
Rather than adhere to the traditional Wall Street perception of what a business professional
should look like, they threw those notions out the window. They traded in fancy clothes and
formal business approaches for novel ideas and innovation. Intelligence, collaboration and
motivation, rather than what an employee wore to work every day, became the defining
factors for what professionalism looked like.
Today, we've evolved even further into this new age of professionalism. Being a professional
in today’s world means that our personal lives are intertwined, not separate or
compartmentalized from work. At its core, this means we're open and honest about what it
means to work and succeed through transparency and trust with our peers.
The Power Of Trust And Transparency
Under this new ethos, professionalism also represents our individual vulnerabilities and
unique selves. More and more, we don’t have to feel shy or embarrassed talking about our
personal lives at work. We can bring our full selves, not just the happy, shiny parts. Together,
2/4
we can embrace the hardships of being a single parent, share in the struggles of a divorce and
openly celebrate our lives in the LGBTQ community.
I remember one time my daughter put stickers all over my work laptop. I took them all off,
but it took a lot of time and effort to do so. A few months later, she did it again. But this time
around, I didn't try to hide them or clean them off. I used it as a conversation starter and
owned that I was a mom with young children.
In the traditional sense of professionalism, this wouldn't have been acceptable. My workissued laptop, covered with its colorful stickers, would have been perceived as
unprofessional. Yet in the new age of professionalism, this became an event that allowed me
to create an authentic connection through a transparent conversation.
We can’t hide who we are to fit a mold or maintain a certain look. We have to own our
differences, uniqueness and personal truths. Doing so will ensure that diversity and inclusion
continue to be embraced in the workplace, not judged. Because the lines between our
professional and personal lives are crossing, we can create more authentic and genuine
relationships with our colleagues, clients and partners. The more transparent you are, the
easier it is to create trust with your peers and teams.
More than anything, trust is the most important currency in business today.
Employee Satisfaction Matters
One thing that has stood out to me as a leader in the Valley over the past 15 years is that how
we work together and execute on a given goal is just as important as the strategy behind it.
I’m not alone in this belief: According to research, 88% of employees believe that a strong
company culture is key to business success. So, if you want a strong culture, start with
building trust with your teams.
Defining what professionalism looks like is another central part of building that culture.
While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, trust and transparency are at the base of it. How
do we know this? Our employees tell us. Research has also found that 61% of employees cite
trust in and with senior management as important to their satisfaction at the company.
For senior leaders, they can foster better trust throughout the company by simply making
themselves available to employees. At my company, executives hold weekly office hours to
encourage anyone to come and meet with us. I use this time to make sure I can be a trusting
and transparent leader for my own team and the rest of the company.
Being a professional in the workplace today doesn’t mean that you need to wear a suit, always
be formal or compartmentalize your personal life. The new age of professionalism embraces
you as an individual and celebrates that everyone is unique and different.
3/4
In 2020 and beyond, companies can no longer base professionalism on maintaining certain
appearances or withholding emotions. Their energy needs to be focused on building cultures
filled with trust and transparency to create an environment where employees are set up to
succeed at work.
Joanna Shevelenko
Chief Operating Officer of Atrium, championing women-in-business and diversity and
inclusion in the workplace. Read Joanna Shevelenko's full executive profile here.…
4/4