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Career Preparation Curriculum

UNIT3

LESSON2

PRESENTATION

WHAT DOES IT MEAN

TO BE PROFESSIONAL?

© The AOPA Foundation, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES


At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

  • Identifyappropriate behaviors for interacting with supervisors, customers, and coworkers.
  • Analyzeinteractions that occur in different workplace scenarios and make observations about how professionalism could be improved.
  • Createa professional code of conduct to adhere to in the workplace.

WARM-UP: THINK-PAIR-SHARE

Think about the places you go in your daily life.

  • Think of a time you experienced unprofessional behavior.
What did that look like? What happened?
How did it make you feel as a customer? What should have been done differently?

  • Now think of a time you experienced professional behavior.
How was this experience different?
What did the employee do that was “professional”? How does that affect your feelings toward the business?


Share your experiences with a partner.


WARM-UP: SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

Share your ideas about “unprofessional” and “professional” behavior. 
What are some characteristics of each?

WARM-UP: UNPROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR

Unprofessional behavior can be:


  • Rude or hostile
  • Incompetent
  • Lazy
  • Careless or sloppy
  • Flaky and unreliable
  • And sometimes dangerous!


WARM-UP: PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR


Professional behavior is:
  • Polite and respectful
  • Done correctly, with expertise
  • Diligent and hardworking
  • Careful and precise
  • Reliable and on time
  • Aimed at keeping people safe and comfortable




“PROFESSIONAL”


Aprofessional is someone who does work for money.


  • But what doesprofessional mean as an adjective?
  • What isprofessional behavior?

With your partner, brainstorm answers to these questions. Be prepared to share your ideas and help draft a class definition of the term.


“PROFESSIONAL” IS SITUATION-DEPENDENT

Professional behavior will look different depending on 
the time, the place, and the profession.


“PROFESSIONAL” IS SITUATION-DEPENDENT
  • How does the appropriate clothing vary for the four professions?
  • How might the speaking style vary for the four professions?
  • Do the three “action-oriented” workers still need to be professional?
  • Can we describe general ways of being professional that apply to all four professions?


IN AVIATION, SAFETY IS PARAMOUNT

When aviation workers are unprofessional, it isn’t just annoying.

Unprofessionalism could potentially lead to serious injury or death.



AVIATORS MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT (AMCC)

The Aviators Code Initiative has created model codes of conduct for a dozen aviation professions, including aviators.

  • There are seven sections of the AMCC.
  • Each section begins with a list of core principles.
  • Next comes a checklist of “sample recommended practices.”
How would you briefly sum up the first section of the AMCC?

Do you belong to a sport or an activity with a code of conduct for encouraging good behavior?


ACTIVITY: YOUR OWN CODE OF CONDUCT

You may not be flying an airplane, but your behavior affects many other people.

  • Your behavior at home affects your family.
  • Your behavior at school affects your teachers and classmates.
  • If you have a part-time job, your behavior at work affects your coworkers and customers.

The way you dress, speak, and interact with others can make life more smooth and pleasant…or not!


CREATE YOUR OWN CODE OF CONDUCT

As a student and future professional, I should:

          a.

          b.

          c.

          d.

          e.



RECALL: AVIATOR'S MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT

General Principles and Sample Recommended Practices to ensure professional behavior by aviators in seven different areas:

  1. General Responsibilities of Aviators
  2. Passengers and People on the Surface
  3. Training and Proficiency
  4. Security
  5. Environmental Issues
  6. Use of Technology
  7. Advancement and Promotion of Aviation


PROFESSIONALISM INCLUDES SIX TRAITS



Read more about this framework here:

  • https://nbaa.org/aircraft-operations/safety/professionalism-in-business-aviation/personal-professionalism/


  CHARACTER

“Doing the right thing is the right thing,  no matter what the outcome is.”
~ Sarah Feinberg, former Marine and financial analyst 
who acted as a whistleblower, revealing hundreds of 
millions of dollars of fraud in U.S. military contracts

  ATTITUDE

“This is the thing about work ethic that’s easy to forget. It’s not just about determination and persistence and discipline. It’s not just about holding your nose and getting through it, or sucking it up or never quitting. It’s also about finding a way to genuinely enjoy the task at hand.”

Mike Rowe, of Dirty Jobs

   ENGAGEMENT

“Every single day you're the result of what you did on the days prior.”

~ Chris Hadfield, astronaut 

“Chris Hadfield on how you can achieve your goals”

COMPETENCY IN VOCATIONAL SKILL

“Realistic optimism is a sense of self-confidence based on experience, knowledge, and proven skills.”

~ Captain Sully (Chesley Sullenberger) the pilot who 
landed US Airways Flight 1549 safely on the Hudson River

COMPETENCY IN VOCATIONAL SKILL

“I may not be famous or blonde, but I’m one terrific pilot.”
~ attributed to Pancho Barnes, stunt pilot who beat Amelia Earhart’s speed record

   IMAGE

Respectful image and manner:

  • Put people at ease
  • Show we take them seriously
  • Communicate respect


Disrespectful behavior can be perceived as harassment or animus.


RESPECTFUL IMAGE AND MANNER

  CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

“A true aviator really sees aviation as a whole, constantly improving but while still being humble, and realizing that you can never know everything there is to know.” 
~ Patty Wagstaff, aerobatics pilot

  CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
“Emotional Professionalism”

Professionalism does NOT mean pretending to be perfect all the time!
It can mean being vulnerable.

“Saying ‘I don’t know’ means someone can help us.”
~ Simon Sinek

ACTIVITY: PROFESSIONAL POSTER

Read more about the six traits of personal professionalism here:

  • https://nbaa.org/aircraft-operations/safety/professionalism-in-business-aviation/personal-professionalism/


Then, complete Student Activity 2.

  • Create your own Professionalism Poster using words and images that mean the most to you for each trait.


Remember: Professionalism is about being proud of who you are and how you behave!

RECALL: SIX TRAITS OF PROFESSIONALISM

PROFESSIONALISM IS HARD

It’s important to realize, that professionalism isn’t always easy.

When you’re “adulting,” life can be a grind—especially when you first enter the working world.

  • You may work long hours.
  • You may not enjoy being with your coworkers.
  • You may not always enjoy your job.
  • There will be difficult customers.
  • At times, you will make mistakes.
  • Sometimes, your boss will criticize you.
  • At first, you may not be paid very well.
It takes real strength of character to keep it together and always be professional!


PROFESSIONALISM IS HARD

When work gets tough, you’ll want to remember:

Staying professional no matter what happens is the key to getting a better job in the future!

LEADERS INSPIRE PROFESSIONALISM


You may be in charge of a team of employees someday.


How can you inspire them to
stay professional, even under
the pressure of stressful situations?

Mission Control and the Apollo 13 astronauts kept their heads, even when everything went wrong.

ACTIVITY: PROVIDE A PROFESSIONALISM PSA

Imagine that you are the manager of a large regional airport.
  • You have hundreds of employees, including pilots, stewards, air traffic controllers, mechanics, customer service reps, restaurant cooks, store clerks, cleaning, and janitorial staff.
  • Their professionalism determines the quality of the customer experience, the health of the employees’ work environment, and everyone’s safety—not to mention the airport’s profits!
How can you use the format of a public service announcement (PSA) to motivate and train all your employees to demonstrate professional behavior?



ACTIVITY: PROVIDE A PROFESSIONALISM PSA

PSA = a Public Service Announcement

  • Like a commercial to remind people of good advice.

Create a skit for your Professionalism PSA.
  1. Form a group and get your assigned Professionalism trait.
  2. Choose a specific behavior to inspire others (consider a slogan or motto).
  3. Write a script showing why that behavior is good—or why lacking that behavior is bad!
  4. Give everyone a role to play.
  5. Practice acting out the skit to perform for the class during the final session.




ACTIVITY: ANALYZE PROFESSIONALISM PSA'S

As you enjoy watching your classmates’ Professionalism PSAs, answer the questions in Student Activity 4 for each group:
  • What Professionalism Trait is the PSA focused on?
  • What specific behavior is the PSA trying to inspire?
  • Why is this behavior important?
  • How clear and effective was the message? How could it be improved?


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