Dr. Kurien on Professionalism

First and foremost, the professional must be true to his “science” and committed to the unending pursuit of a mastery of his subject. This is the ethic of the professional.

Second, the professional has in his hands the instruments of change, the essential tools which society has to command, if it is to achieve the change it requires. The professional, even though he commands these tools, must use them not for himself but on behalf of society at large. In other words, it is about managing on behalf of others. This is the professional focus of the professional.

Third, the professional has to perceive - and even anticipate - the needs and aspirations of his constituency, gathering their diverse threads together and resolving any conflicts in them. The professional accepts the needs and aspirations of his constituency as the spur which drives him on, continuously seeking to improve his own performance. He develops an internalized vision of his constituency’s world that lies outside himself. This is the motivation of the professional.

Fourth, the professional has to be aware of the bureaucracy that he and his colleagues are forever building, allegedly to serve others, but always with the tendency to be self-serving. When he finds that he has erected his own bureaucracy, he has to tear it down and reform it. He has to learn to reject the old and expose himself to what is new. This is the revolutionary role of the professional.

Finally, and in summary, the professional has to keep in mind the difference between what he wants the world to be and what the world is, remembering that large endeavours are only the sum of many small parts.

The professional deals with a kaleidoscope of policies, administrative practices, work cultures, techniques and technologies. Through this kaleidoscope, the professional has to keep clear in his mind his perception of the social and economic impacts of the technologies which he commands. Only then can the professional give purpose to the majority’s awareness of what constitutes desirable change: The professional has to develop a perception of the mind that is neither romantic nor pessimistic. This is clarity of mind - which is the basis of professionalism.