Do you have a professional attitude?

Are you a “professional” truck driver?  These are easy questions to answer, if you will be honest with yourself.  Is getting a CDL the only requirement for being a true professional?  Let’s look at some definitions.

 professional  /prəˈfɛʃənl̟/  adjective

1 : relating to a job that requires special education, training, or skill

    Do you have any professional experience?
professional people/photographers/electricians/soldiers (and I’ll add truck drivers)
a professional career
2 [more professional; most professional] : having or showing the skill, good judgment, and polite behavior that is expected from   person who is trained to do a job well

    He deals with the customers in a very professional way. = He is very professional in dealing with the customers.
I was impressed by the calm and professional way she handled the crisis.
The presentation was very professional.

professional  /prəˈfɛʃənl̟/ noun

1 : someone who does a job that requires special training, education, or skill : someone who is a member of a profession

    medical/legal professionals
The bathtub was installed by a professional.
2 : someone who has a lot of experience or skill in a particular job or activity

    She handled the situation like a professional.
“Professional.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/ dictionary/professional>.

If you follow the Webster’s Dictionary link above, you will find that about 10% of being a professional is WHAT you can do and the other 90% is about HOW you do it.  Being a professional is less about your level of skill to do a job and more about how you handle yourself while you do it.  So, is the truck driver a “Professional” by definition?  Yes.  Is the truck driver “Professional” in his actions?  Well, that is a different story. Here is another article I have on being a professional.

Luckily, the general public has a better outlook on truck drivers than we have on ourselves.  An article from Truckinginfo.com, says 65% of registered voters had a positive image of the trucking industry.

One need only spend a little time in a truck or at a truck stop to find out just how professionally truck drivers act.  Professionalism seems to be a quality that is not held in high esteem among many truck drivers.  But, with something to strive for, it can be.  Let me explain.

PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE IS ESSENTIAL IN THE ARMY.

I joined the U.S. Army in 1990 after I graduated high school.  I was just a kid.  Didn’t know anything about the world or what the world expected of me.  Naive to say the least.  As time goes on in the Army, you advance in skill (I was a tank mechanic) and rank (Private, Private First Class, Specialist/Corporal, Sergeant).

When you reach the rank of Sergeant (E-5), something changes.  Something happens almost overnight.  One day you are a Specialist/Corporal, the next day you are a Sergeant.  You instantly become more professional.  I saw it then and I remember it to this day.  When you get that rank, you begin to lead by example.  There is a voice in your head saying, “Hey, you are not a private any more so don’t act like one.”

Don’t act like a private and no one will treat you like a private.  The only difference between a Specialist (E-4) and a new Sergeant (E-5) is one pay grade.  When you pinned on that new rank, you did not become more skilled at your job than you were the day before.

18 years later I saw the same phenomenon.  I was 21 when I became a Sergeant in the Army.  Now, at the age of 39, I decided to put my 16-year-old son in Martial Arts.  All of a sudden, letting my 5’9” 175 lbs. son get a leg up on me did not sound like such a good idea.

My solution…I’ll take Martial Arts too.  Did I mention I am 39 years old at this point?  This had to be the most difficult thing I had done since my time in the Army.  But, something interesting began to happen.

As I advanced through the colored belts, not only did my confidence get a boost, but MY DESIRE TO DO IT RIGHT AND ENCOURAGE OTHERS began to grow.  The skill was not there yet, but the attitude was.  It is the attitude that leads to professionalism, not just the skill.

I did manage to earn my Black Belt in Taekwondo, and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity, but it is a lesson learned that I want to bring to truck drivers today. You had to go through a lot just to get your CDL and no one will deny you that fact.  I know it was not easy for me.

But, you must understand that having your CDL does not make you a professional truck driver. It is the attitude of how you carry yourself from this day forward that will make you a professional.

So, how do we instill a more professional culture in the trucking industry.  I believe we need a multilevel professional ranking system for truck drivers. (Not mandated by the Government)  Call it rank advancement, colored belts, special stickers to put on the side of your truck, whatever it takes to remind yourself of your commitment to a professional standard and display it for all the world to see.

My purpose in this post is to try and start a conversation on this subject. Check out this article on simple steps to being a great driver.

I am still working on my own kind of program to do this and I gladly look forward to any input you may have.  Please comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook.