Many people tend to think of athletics when the term “Pro” comes up, like Pro Football or Pro Baseball, where the very best at the game are rewarded handsomely in money, fame, and prestige. However, the very idea of being a “Pro” at anything simply comes from the notion of “professions” being a skill, trade, or activity where folks of sufficient abilities could charge other people money for their services. In fact, getting “paid to play” through salary, winnings, and/or sponsorship is usually the main criteria separating out amateurs and hobbyists from professionals such as seen in golf, tennis, and poker. But once you cross the “getting paid” barrier and can be considered a professional, what does really excelling – “Going Pro” - look like within your field?

 Every profession has its own internal comparisons that separates the true “Pros” out from the “pretty goods,” and this dynamic holds true from Plumbers and Electricians to Politicians and Engineers. It’s the commonality of these internal standards across professions that I want to focus on here. Even in everyday usage a person who develops a high enough skillset in almost any activity is often considered a “Pro,” precisely to the degree that they embodying certain standards and principles. Let’s take a quick look at a few of these that you can borrow to help you “Go Pro” in your career field, and your personal life as well.

 1)    Professional vs Personal – This first distinction is perhaps the most crucial one to make. At the core, what marks a Professional? Most simply, it’s not personal! For example, professional poker players work very hard to focus on just the hand in play, and same for professional golfers focusing on just the shot at hand. How you personally feel about what just happened or who was involved is indeed important. But it shouldn’t unduly impact your ability to focus on the immediate task at hand.

 How you react/respond to a situation with a lot emotional energy in play? How you decide to approach a dilemma with an annoying coworker? How you “show up” for a meeting, interview, or review when there is a lot at stake? How present are you for your partner when things get a little heated? Rarely will you do well in any of these if you have a lot of personal feelings-based energy in play like anger, fear, resentment, or jealousy.

 What personal stuff might be holding you back from showing up like a Pro?

 2)    Going Pro also requires you to be aware of and understand the basic objective metrics of evaluation that are relevant. What are the “industry standards” that you will be measured against? Are there clear goals or data points that are commonly used to determine who is a “Pro” and who isn’t? What external reference points should be checked or consulted in decision making here? Ethics and code compliance are obvious examples, but even such basics as common courtesy, attention to detail, and cleanliness are commonly mentioned in the context of professional standards.

 What are the standards of professionalism in play for you in your career field that separates out the true Pros? What about in your personal life? How are you measuring up to them? What could you change about your behavior and/or attitude to improve your performance as measured against them?

 3)    Perhaps most importantly, Going Pro requires dedicated attention and effort on improvement. Professionals understand that the game is always changing and that complacency leads to failure. Therefore, they spend a lot of time on training and development. Pro Football players watch film and run practices each week in preparation for the next week’s game. Professional poker players play lots of hands of online poker and study the habits and tells of other professionals in preparation for the next tournament. Professional actors rehearse the lines and facial quirks of their next role for months leading up to when the filming begins.

 What are you doing to prepare for your next opportunity to show up like a professional? How are you training to improve your craft? What are you already doing to take action here? Are you getting the results you want? Why or why not?

 Hopefully these 3 Tips for Going Pro land for you in a way that clarifies some next steps in front of you if you want to level up in your work place or better connect in your relationships. Putting some more effort in developing your professionalism by gaining more awareness of how you show up and what you’re being measured against are great actions to take in any event. Striving to improve in both areas can be hard, but the benefits of Going Pro will certainly make it worth your efforts.