What worries me is the professionalism of everything. (Irvine Welsh)
If there’s one single person I can thank to for teaching me about professionalism, it would be my mum. She’s the best teacher in that. She spent almost all her working life being a secretary to Indonesians as well as expatriates, and too bad her job title is often mistaken with anything else but professionalism. But somehow when people met her, she always won their respect by showing what she truly was, a real P.R.O. Seriously, I believe she’s one of the best in her job, and I’m sure if God have put her somewhere in Europe or in the US, she would have no trouble at all finding a job.
The first thing she taught me about being a professional is that you should always, always give more than 100%. Perfectionism is the keyword; she is the ultimate perfectionist, a treat which, naturally, she inherited to me, and she wouldn’t accept nothing but the best.
The second thing I learn from her, which I think made her any difference than any other pros, is that she always had a touch of personalism in what she did. Sometime I saw successful pros who done really well in their work but who aren’t really enjoying their social life, because they really separate their professional with personal life, and it made them, in a way, “alienated”, because their life is really about their work, and they somehow failed to put personalism in their works. I have a friend who is also a concert manager, but she never seems to be connected with the artists she worked with. When I asked her this, she said, “What for? Why should I be connected with them? They’re here for a short period, and you might never see them again.” When she said this, I thought she must be mad. If you’re not connecting with them, then where’s the fun in doing all the hard work?
But now, how much personalism can we actually put into our work?
That’s really what I’m learning right now, by myself. I always love, in fact, I adore, warm people, and I always try to build that kind of relationship with people I work with. I found out from the musicians who came here that a lot concert managers are really only about business of bringing artists to concert hall and getting the concert done. Besides these, they don’t give a damn about everything. They were pretty surprise that I asked personal things (being an Indonesian) and that gave them the feeling that they can really talk to me about many non-work-related, oft-silly subjects, and that I kept in touch by sending them personal e-mails asking how life is after years of concert.
But then, like everything else, too much of something is not a good thing. Especially difficult is when there is a certain feeling which develop between you and them but the feeling isn’t mutual. I thought the hardest to handle is distrust. But I just learn that romantic feelings could also made you feel miserable. Sometimes, for professional reason, you want them to come back and do more projects with you because they are so brilliant and caring and stuffs, but then, also for the sake of professionalism, you know well enough not to invite them again because the personalism involved in the relationship is just too much. And for the sake of both hearts, you should listen to your heart and wish them well, but in the back of your head, you are only too aware that you will not see each other again for many-many years to come. And that is, perhaps, the best laid plan.
Yet, already this thought breaks your heart. That happens when you’ve got too much personalism in your work. It can make things complex, difficult, and suddenly, work isn’t so much fun anymore. It can even make you shed some tears. But all in all, after everything that is happening and after all these contemplation, I think I might keep some of personalism in my professionalism. What I have to learn is the proportion.
If there’s one single person I can thank to for teaching me about professionalism, it would be my mum. She’s the best teacher in that. She spent almost all her working life being a secretary to Indonesians as well as expatriates, and too bad her job title is often mistaken with anything else but professionalism. But somehow when people met her, she always won their respect by showing what she truly was, a real P.R.O. Seriously, I believe she’s one of the best in her job, and I’m sure if God have put her somewhere in Europe or in the US, she would have no trouble at all finding a job.
The first thing she taught me about being a professional is that you should always, always give more than 100%. Perfectionism is the keyword; she is the ultimate perfectionist, a treat which, naturally, she inherited to me, and she wouldn’t accept nothing but the best.
The second thing I learn from her, which I think made her any difference than any other pros, is that she always had a touch of personalism in what she did. Sometime I saw successful pros who done really well in their work but who aren’t really enjoying their social life, because they really separate their professional with personal life, and it made them, in a way, “alienated”, because their life is really about their work, and they somehow failed to put personalism in their works. I have a friend who is also a concert manager, but she never seems to be connected with the artists she worked with. When I asked her this, she said, “What for? Why should I be connected with them? They’re here for a short period, and you might never see them again.” When she said this, I thought she must be mad. If you’re not connecting with them, then where’s the fun in doing all the hard work?
But now, how much personalism can we actually put into our work?
That’s really what I’m learning right now, by myself. I always love, in fact, I adore, warm people, and I always try to build that kind of relationship with people I work with. I found out from the musicians who came here that a lot concert managers are really only about business of bringing artists to concert hall and getting the concert done. Besides these, they don’t give a damn about everything. They were pretty surprise that I asked personal things (being an Indonesian) and that gave them the feeling that they can really talk to me about many non-work-related, oft-silly subjects, and that I kept in touch by sending them personal e-mails asking how life is after years of concert.
But then, like everything else, too much of something is not a good thing. Especially difficult is when there is a certain feeling which develop between you and them but the feeling isn’t mutual. I thought the hardest to handle is distrust. But I just learn that romantic feelings could also made you feel miserable. Sometimes, for professional reason, you want them to come back and do more projects with you because they are so brilliant and caring and stuffs, but then, also for the sake of professionalism, you know well enough not to invite them again because the personalism involved in the relationship is just too much. And for the sake of both hearts, you should listen to your heart and wish them well, but in the back of your head, you are only too aware that you will not see each other again for many-many years to come. And that is, perhaps, the best laid plan.
Yet, already this thought breaks your heart. That happens when you’ve got too much personalism in your work. It can make things complex, difficult, and suddenly, work isn’t so much fun anymore. It can even make you shed some tears. But all in all, after everything that is happening and after all these contemplation, I think I might keep some of personalism in my professionalism. What I have to learn is the proportion.
