Professional Conduct: Development Officers are Never ‘Off-Duty’
Read and pondered Ross Bjork’s post on NAADD this morning (found here: http://www.nacda.com/sports/naadd/spec-rel/020810aab.html) about professional conduct. In it, Bjork, Senior Associate Director of Athletics at UCLA, points out that first impressions, presentation skills, and professional etiquette are all important to the work that we do, and most importantly, that “It is okay to have fun socially but be mindful of your surroundings and who is watching.”
Because first impressions create the lens through which we may be seen for an extended period of time, it’s important to keep in mind that even though we are off the clock, we’re not really ever off-duty. Recently, I was invited to attend a gathering by a generous supporter of the program, and got to put this adage into practice. We have a tradition down here, affiliated with Mardi Gras, called “12th Night.” In the Catholic faith, it’s the 12th night after Christmas, purportedly the night when the wise men first meet Jesus. In the Louisiana faith, it’s the first Mardi Gras party night of the year (officially, anyhow)!
In attendance at this party was our Athletic Board president, two other Board members, several co-workers, our largest annual donor, and many other alumni and friends of the university. Without indemnifying anyone in particular, I’ll say that the beverages were in no short supply, and everyone was feeling A-OK. I had a drink or two, as is my custom (there is a great John Lee Hooker tune, that I use as my guideline in such situations) and, by the end of the evening, I am certain that I was among the most sober folks in the room. I made several visits, made some good connections, and even established a couple of follow up meetings (I had to work quickly!) and, by avoiding the temptation to follow suit and let my hair down, hopefully made a good impression on everyone in attendance (at least so far as they could remember!).
Monday morning, our largest annual donor emailed me and complimented me on my professionalism in the face of such temptation. Actually it was a good-natured ribbing about ‘always being on the clock,’ but I figure that has to be worth something.
If nothing else, it’s better than the alternative, which could be losing the support of that donor because of actions that I may not have even remembered.
Ross says it better than I do, so please, check out his write-up on the NACDA/NAADD website:http://www.nacda.com/sports/naadd/spec-rel/020810aab.html.
William Broussard