Article 5: “Defining your professional self & avoiding CLM’s” 

I have recently been introduced to the concept of a CLM. And for those of you who don’t know yet – a CLM is a very important aspect of your professional career. No – it’s not something SARS requires you to fill in. It’s actually much worse than that.

A CLM is a Career Limiting Move.

Okay, so what is a potentially Career Limiting Move (CLM). Anything and everything can be, unfortunately! It can be your dress code, your use of language, your tone, your use of technology and most of all your behaviour. After discussing this matter with my clients and various colleagues in business I have decided to dedicate the next few articles to exploring potential Career Limiting Moves. What they are. How to become aware of them. And how to avoid crossing these invisible lines.

The first step to understanding CLM’s is to explore the boundary between your professional self and your social self. In today’s workplace we are constantly being confronted with situations that appear to call on our social self. More and more business is being conducted outside the office, workplaces are becoming less formal and more and more organisations are encouraging their employees to socialise within the company and with clients.

These aspects, although great for business and individuals can create a blurred line between your professional self and your social self. It is important to realise that although our generation is not required to hold a formal professional image like previous generations, this does not lessen the need to behave in a professionally appropriate manner.

If, like many of my client’s, you question what is professionally appropriate behaviour I will clarify this to its simplest form. Professionally appropriate behaviour is not about what you find appropriate… it is about what those around you find appropriate. And those around you are your colleagues, seniors, boss and clients. In other words, if you wouldn’t do it in front of your parents – DO NOT do it in front of your boss or clients.

Now I realise there may be exceptions to this, but more often than not even if your boss is doing it - it isn’t okay for you. Also another point to consider – before downing shooters at the end of year function – is that people form judgements about our abilities and competency as a result of our behaviour in these settings. Therefore, we cannot claim to be judged on our behaviour in the office alone. These new settings and contexts play a part in our professional image as well as our performance in the office. So if you want to be respected for your professionalism and build relationships with your colleagues and clients always try keep in mind the appropriateness of your behaviour.

The easiest way to avoid a Career Limiting Move is to establish a clear boundary between your professional self and your social self. Your social self is an important aspect of your being and we are all have the right to our personal beliefs and personality. However, once we step into the workplace we owe it to ourselves and our employer to establish a clear professional identity. This allows us to develop meaningful relationships with clients, colleagues and employers since we are able to maintain respectful boundaries.

In the next article I will discuss “What your Profile says about you” and we will explore the impact Facebook, My Space, and other social networking sites and web access points have on your career.

I look forward to hearing from you.

To your brilliance…

Danielle

Box Edge