Professional Conduct and Leading Your Practice

I remember a discussion I had with a friend about a social event. The bottom line of the conversation was that there is a reason for the rules of etiquette--those rules helps us to socialize with good manners, respect, and care for one another.

The same is true for professional conduct. As I think of the hundreds of pages we have to read at the start of the year every year to guide our professional practice and efforts, I realize that a simple list of professional behaviors would probably be more important. What are the golden rules of professional behavior and conduct. I searched for this short list and found one that emphasized the following rules.

• Always strive for excellence
• Be trustworthy
• Be courteous and respectful
• Be honest, open, and transparent
• Be competent and improve continually
• Always be ethical
• Always be honorable and act with integrity
• Be respectful of confidentiality
• Set good examples

As I think of these golden rules, I think it's probably true that all of us see areas of strength and areas where we can improve. I also think this is a good list to share with our own children as they embark on their professional careers--having this article and short list readily available will support their good work and success into the future.

Sometimes professional organizations can be difficult to navigate and we can get pulled in directions that are not the best professional paths, but that doesn't mean we can't strive to do better using these golden rules as a road map.