Professionalism in the Office

Cultivate a positive attitude to see your role as part of the whole organization, visualize potential with coworkers, customers, and clients, and inspire others through your behavior.

Define accountability, develop an entrepreneurial attitude, and practice personal accountability by creating a personal change plan and taking action to implement it.

Assess your overall professional image and explore the benefits of a strong, authentic presence in the office. Learn how authenticity informs professionalism and how to update your office skills.

Update your office skills to boost your professional image, focusing on office administration, technology and software, management, marketing, financial analysis, accounting, business law, and communications.

Maintain a tidy, well-organized workspace to convey professionalism, and keep clutter out with everything in its place. Avoid vulgarity, nudity, or suggestiveness, and do not display pin-up calendars.

Rate each task's impact on a 1-10 scale and classify into a, b, and c priorities. Schedule high-impact work during peak energy and delegate c priorities to boost productivity.

Group tasks for greater efficiency by batching outgoing messages, drafting replies, stocking supplies weekly, and organizing mail; set regular meetings with assistants and managers to streamline communications and follow-ups.

Identify your stressors to improve efficiency. Eliminate interruptions, last minute requests, unpredictable time blocks, redundant questions, poor communication, irrelevant emails, and a messy workspace to become more effective.

Explore making decisions through six easy steps and rate your decision making skills. Develop practical skills for decision making and improve professionalism in the office.

Rate your decision making by describing a recent decision, whether you gathered information, evaluated options, weighed consequences, informed others, and what you would do differently.

Paraphrasing helps you capture the speaker's message by focusing on the essence and key points, identifying facts, opinions, and ideas, and using your own words instead of parroting.

Develop confidence in business writing with active construction and simple words. Clearly state purpose of letters and memos, personalize messages, keep file of samples, and proofread for names and grammar.

Set clear ground rules for videoconferencing, including how questions are delivered and how dialogue is hosted. Ensure all participants stay in camera view to gauge engagement and facilitate introductions.

Perform an after action review with your manager to assess meeting arrangements, note data needs, and file the meeting folder with handouts and takeaways for follow-up.

Practice assertiveness by being pleasantly direct, honest about what matters, and respectful of others' opinions. Communicate directly and respectfully to juggle duties, gain energy, and perform better.

Master five keys to making a good first impression in networking: stay positive, research contacts, dress appropriately, position yourself for dialogue, and communicate with care through listening and asking questions.

Build a network and keep it alive by documenting helpful contacts, seeking mentors, sending letters of praise, attending open houses, volunteering, and drawing an organizational chart.

Explore how assertiveness and receptiveness shape collaboration, build relationships and networks, and apply six steps to resolving conflict for stronger office dynamics with your manager and colleagues.