I wrote recently that you do not need to become a corporate version of yourself to be taken seriously.
I nearly followed that with, “you still need to be professional,” but I stopped myself, because I have a bit of an issue with that word.
Not with professionalism itself.
When “Professional” Becomes a Mask
I have an issue with the way people use the word “professional” to mean polished, quiet, beige, corporate, unemotional, overly formal or stripped of personality.
For a long time, I think a lot of us were taught that being professional meant turning parts of yourself down.
Don’t be too loud.
Don’t be too emotional.
Don’t swear.
Don’t be too direct.
Don’t be too funny.
Don’t be too honest.
Don’t show too much of yourself.
Basically, don’t make anyone uncomfortable by being a fully formed human being.
And I’m not sure that has ever really sat right with me.
The Most Polished Person Isn’t Always the Most Professional
Because some of the most professional people I know are not the most polished people in the room.
They are the people who do what they say they are going to do. They reply when they say they will.
They tell the truth, even when it is awkward.
They respect people’s time.
They know their limits.
They own their mistakes.
They care about the quality of their work and most importantly to me, they treat people properly.
That, to me, is professionalism.
It is not about sounding like everyone else, and it’s not about wearing the right mask.
It’s definitely not about pretending you have everything together when you don’t.
It is about being reliable, respectful and honest.
Being Yourself Is Not Unprofessional
You can be warm and professional.
You can be funny and professional.
You can be emotional and professional.
You can be northern, direct, sweary, creative, neurodiverse, introverted, loud, quiet, different, and still be professional.
The two things are not mutually exclusive.
In fact, I think the businesses and people who stand out now are often the ones who have stopped trying to sound like everybody else.
People want to know who they are dealing with.
They want trust.
They want clarity.
They want to feel like there is a real person behind the business, not a perfectly polished version that disappears the second something goes wrong.
Building a Business Without Losing Yourself
That does not mean there are no standards.
There absolutely should be standards.
You still need to communicate clearly. You still need to deliver good work. You still need to be respectful. You still need to know when to rein yourself in, read the room and understand what is appropriate.
Being yourself is not a free pass to be careless, rude or unreliable.
But being professional should not mean removing every bit of character either.
At Launch North West, we have built a business by being ourselves.
We are not everyone’s cup of tea, and I am fine with that.
There was probably a time when I would have tried harder to soften the edges, sound more corporate, say the “right” thing and present the version of myself I thought people expected.
I do not have the energy for that now.
What I do have energy for is doing good work, building strong relationships, showing up properly, being honest with clients and creating things that have impact.
If that comes with personality, humour and the occasional swear word, so be it.
Because the people who work well with us usually value that.
They know we care, and they know we will tell them the truth.
They know we will not sell them something they do not need.
They know we will do what we say we are going to do.
That is the kind of professional I want to be.
Why This Matters for Small Businesses
I think this matters more, especially for small businesses.
When you run a small business, you are often the brand. People are not just buying the service. They are buying into you, your judgement, your values, your approach and the way you make them feel.
If you strip all of that away in an attempt to look “professional”, you risk losing the very thing that makes people want to work with you.
There is a huge power in being recognisable, so of course there is power in being real.
There is power in letting people understand what you stand for, how you work and what they can expect from you.
That does not make you less “professional”, but it does make you more trustworthy.
Define Professionalism Properly
So yes, be professional.
But define that properly.
Let it mean reliable, respectful, skilled, honest, prepared and accountable.
Let it mean doing the work well and treating people decently.
But do not let it mean becoming a watered-down version of yourself just to make other people more comfortable.
You can be taken seriously without becoming someone else.
And in my experience, the right people will respect you more when you stop trying to.
