Professionals Just Don’t Do That

A woman co-hosting  a call-in radio program chimes-in on a technical question from a caller.  She goes on at nauseam about the topic.  A different caller later challenges her conclusion.   After back-pedaling for what seemed like an eternity, the woman finally acknowledged she knew little about the subject.  It took guts for her to acknowledge that—but , for me, that experience was like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Professionals just don’t do that.

When faced with a similar situation, the professional would acknowledge that the question wasn’t  within their field of expertise and suggest an alternative person to talk to.

It’s usually ego that drives us to chime in when we shouldn’t.  Sure…we all want to look good…have credibility in the eyes of others…and more!   But portraying ourselves as an expert when we shouldn’t  will almost always backfire in the end.

Last week I mentioned I recently attended Keiretsu—a forum for entrepreneurs and investors to meet, collaborate, and perhaps put together a deal.  An investor asked a particularly insightful question of one of the entrepreneurs that put the entrepreneur on the spot—largely because it required some additional research.  Rather than wing it, the entrepreneur answered the portion of the question he could and asked for the gentleman’s card so he could follow-up on the remainder of his question.  That made big points with the investor.  The entrepreneur, who had already gotten off on the right foot, became even more impressive in the eyes of the investor.

The willingness to be vulnerable in the way this entrepreneur did is a sign of being comfortable in your own skin.  It’s keeping one’s ego in check (consistent with mind-set six) …a demonstration of maturity…a sign of being a trusted professional.