Professionalism and ethics

 

What is professionalism? According to the Cambridge dictionary it is 'the combination of all the qualities that are connected with trained and skilled people'. I've been thinking about professionalism a lot this week. What is my definition of professional conduct and why is it so important to me? 

In my view, the qualities that should be expected of a professional in our industry are mostly the same as any industry: punctuality, the specific skills required for the job at hand, respect, dedication. Another key quality is adaptability, scripts change last minute, scenes get re-rehearsed, keys get altered and you quite frequently find yourself at the end of a contract and unemployed for periods of time. I'm probably missing things but those are some of the key components of the professionalism that I try to have. 

Why is professionalism so important to me? I've been trying to find an answer to this question. I know that from a very young age I've always admired people who I considered to be very 'professional'. Funnily enough the real people and fictional characters that come to mind are all women! But I think when I compare these people, the thing they have in common is the way they carry themselves. They are also all very knowledgeable and skilled in their fields. I would like to think that I act in this way when it comes to my practice and I'm definitely always trying to expand my knowledge and learn new things! This course included.

I took the Bull's Eye values test recently and I think it's interesting to reflect on what I found out and how that might influence my ideas about professionalism. The Bull's Eye Values test was designed by Swedish ACT therapist Tobias Lundgren. It's purpose is to help you clarify your values and how you want to be as a person. In the introduction it emphasises the difference between a goal and a value:

'If you want a better job, that's a goal. Once you've got it - goal achieved. But if you want to fully apply yourself at work, contribute your best, and engage fully in what you're doing, that's a value: it involves ongoing action.' 

I found the exercise really insightful and it made me consider my actions and my practice in a fresh light. I think there's a nice parallel between goals and values and employment and practice. One is achievable and can be 'crossed off' the list, whereas the other is always ongoing, it's never a finished product. 

Then I wondered about the flip side of the coin. Do we always experience mutual respect in our professional field? Are others on time, do they show up prepared and ready to work, are they always kind and respectful of everyone else? I really wish I could say yes! I can only speak from my own experience and I have worked with amazing people who were fun and professional and made it a pleasure to come to work and perform. But obviously we don't live in a perfect world and I have also experienced a lot of terribly unprofessional behaviour. I wish I could say that lateness is the worst thing I've seen in the industry but in various jobs I've been in there's been body shaming, bullying, tantrums, sexism and horribly inappropriate behaviour. 

I think this is where it changes from a question of professionalism to a question of ethics. I have faced many ethical considerations in my practice and I continue to question how best to handle them. I know that my thinking on the subject is forever shifting and changing. When I was training and fresh out of school, I know that I didn't blink an eyelid at some of the unprofessional things I witnessed. For example, being told in dance class that we were 'too young to have bingo wings' and basically needed to lose weight. Back then, I definitely felt powerless to say anything. A few years later, during the rehearsal of a musical I was in, the director would constantly make very sexually inappropriate remarks to the cast, particularly the girls. Again, at the time I thought it was inappropriate and definitely creepy but all I knew to do was to carry on and be a professional myself, even if the director wasn't. Looking back on these things now, I wonder what would have happened if I had called these things out? I know for certain I would have been cut from the musical because they had already considered it due to the fact that I was on another contract and couldn't make every rehearsal in person (the picture above is from me rehearsing abroad for the musical). But would that have been such a bad thing? 

I think the BLM movement has really brought this idea to the forefront of our minds, encouraging us to speak up and use our voices. That it's not acceptable to sit back in silence. I think now more than ever it is important to consider our values in our professional conduct. While it's so important to hold onto gratitude when in a performing arts job, it should never be at the cost of your own integrity or ethics as a practitioner. I know the kind of professional I want to be and it's someone who stands up for themselves and others and ultimately just wants to work in a creative and inspiring environment with other wonderful people!

Let me know what you think! x