Behold the True Professionals

Sorry to crash the party, folks, but your clubby group is not as professional as once thought. It's time to reconsider what constitutes a profession and who is a professional. We must detach the notion of profession from job title, and reframe the concept of professionalism into qualities that exist regardless of organizational chart position, regardless of hierarchy in the corporation, cache, status, paycheck, or educational pedigree.

True, the claim industry has its outliers and scofflaws. Nevertheless, it is time to recognize that the criteria cited above, though helpful and perhaps a useful yardstick, do not capture the essence of professionalism. If those narrow criteria are too constricting, then what yardsticks make sense? Here are four alternative nominations:

Client orientation and putting the client's interests first. Are we doing things for our own convenience or for that of the customer? True professionals put the customer first, and their own needs second.

Commitment to lifetime learning. Have you ever known a 30-year employee who stopped learning 25 years ago? Chances are you have. Some CPCUs attained the credential years ago, and viewed that as the finish line. They may not have cracked a book or attended a CE seminar or a conference since 1991, yet they have the designation. They crossed it off the list, with a “done with that” mentality. Living on past laurels, they are 30-year employees who are really one-year employees 30 times over. True professionals show a commitment to a lifetime of learning. It's not the title that makes you a pro. Rather, it's the attitude and the commitment.

The Beginner's Mind

Zen Buddhism espouses a notion of shoshin, which can be roughly translated as “the beginner's mind.” It is an attitude of openness, eagerness, and a willingness to learn. Well, grasshopper, we need not don saffron robes, but a mark of professionalism is to have and cultivate this beginner's mind.

Sucking it up. Much (maybe most) of the world's work gets done each day by folks who do not feel 100 percent. You can't always feel great. Like pro athletes, we occasionally have to “play hurt.” That does not mean we infect coworkers or drag ourselves to the office if we are gravely ill. It means that maybe you don't want to deal with that difficult claimant; you're sick of fielding calls from that “pushy” insured; or you would prefer to opt out of that client meeting. As the Nike commercial advises, professionals need to “Just do it.” They feel poorly; they feel conflicted; they feel resistance to the next difficult claim task, but they do it anyway. Working in claims, one encounters many tough situations that trigger stress and may evoke resistance.

However, as Woody Allen said, “90 percent of success in life comes from just showing up.” Claim professionals — emphasis on that last word — show up. There are plumbers, landscapers, and carpenters who are more “professional” than some of the members of the so-called professions, all simply because they show up.

The big-picture perspective. We can view claim work as a job, a career, or a profession. A job provides a paycheck. A career provides long-term livelihood. A profession embraces a sense of mission.

Consider the parable of the three stonecutters, for example. One day, a man encountered three stonecutters working on a building. Each was cutting a block of stone. The passerby asked the first stone cutter what he was doing.

“What? Are you blind?” the stone cutter retorted. “Can't you see? I'm cutting this piece of stone.”

Shocked but still no wiser, the man turned to the second stonecutter and asked what he was doing. “I'm cutting this block of stone to make sure that its sides are straight and smooth so the builder can build a straight wall,” was the answer.

Feeling better, but still not wiser, the man turned to the third stonecutter, who seemed the happiest of the three, and asked what he was doing. “I'm building a beautiful cathedral,” the third stonecutter replied.

All three were doing the exact same thing. Two gave it a mundane context. One gave it a bigger context.

Professionals view what they do as more than just a job; they view it as a craft. Seeing their livelihood as a craft, they strive to get better every day. They seek ways to improve. For claim professionals, this means adding to their storehouse of knowledge and learning about areas of coverage and loss adjustment outside their comfort zones. It means seeking ways to streamline the claim process and holding themselves to high standards of client service. It means hitting deadlines and paying attention to details.

Sorry, but I don't buy into the paradigm that elevates just three careers as the only “true professions.” Professionalism is not like the crowd scene outside of an exclusive New York City nightclub, with a burly bouncer guarding the entrance, letting only the beautiful people in. It is time for claim professionals to join me in jumping the velvet rope. It is time to crash the party. I will see you inside!