WHO IS A SUCCESSFUL PROFESSIONAL?

A LESSON OR TWO FROM THE DANFO DRIVER…

I am not about to hand down tips and nuggets on HOW you should perform your duties and responsibilities (you’ve been there so long because you do, anyways, otherwise, your juju dey work!) but below, you’ll find (more/some) qualities you might want to refine, re-define, adopt or discard, all together.

A professional danfo driver possesses the following outstanding (and astounding!) qualities:

ü  He starts his bus without a manual or visible key in the ignition – INNOVATIVE.

ü  He’s the driver, owner, conductor and mechanic of the bus – MULTITASKING.

ü  With 1 hour - 10 hours experience, he can drive any moving contraption (BRT, keke, molue, your car etc) – EXPERIENCED and SKILLFUL.

ü  He appears unkempt, unwashed and generally untidy, ready for eventualities (fight or flight) – SMART.

ü  With his side and rare-view mirror broken, facing inwards or non-existent he easily shunts between lanes and manipulates his way between cars without scrapes or bruises – FLEXIBLE.

ü  His hand is permanently on the horn which serves both as a warning and as music – CREATIVE.

ü  He knows his right of “one way” and uses it – DISCRETION.

ü  Holds up traffic to pick up or drop off passengers – RESOURCEFUL.

ü  To your queries and inquiries, he can decide to answer you roughly, nicely or outrightly ignore you – RESPONSIVE.

ü  He knows every ‘short cut’ and uses them – INITIATIVE/KNOWLEDGEABLE.

ü  He’s fluent with invectives – EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION SKILL.

ü  He is his brother’s keeper – TEAM PLAYER.

ü  He’s always full of, and ready with apologies for his misdemeanors (and are they many!) but not without first cursing (you) under his breath, and arguing – RESPONSIBLE.

ü  He knows every LASTMA official and how to avoid the Police (if need be!) – DISCERNING.

ü  He can personally bundle you into his waiting vehicle – PASSION.

ü  Gets you to your destination, not necessarily in one piece, but alive– SUCCESSFUL.

ü  ETC ETC ETC

I could go on and on because they have become a very significant part of my career-life. As a driver you might be tempted to attempt these stunts. DON’T! (Well, except of course, you wake up every day to a cocktail of herbs, roots, and local gin = PARAGA!) Being like them is not for the ‘regular guy’ because there’s nothing simple about it – they got there by constant practice!

And that is what being a professional is all about - constant practice: it takes careful thought and deliberate effort, and has little to do with what you learnt within the four walls of a classroom in front of a blackboard.

You see, I’ve always admired any girl who worked as a concierge. (The not-so-nice ones got a dose of my ‘bad eye’ with a”No be me do you o!” thought running through my mind!)

When I got the opportunity to fill this position, I understood better. It was exciting – an opportunity to meet all classes (and characters) of people, show a beautiful face accompanied by a disarming smile…literally sit pretty! Big deal. My professionalism is tested every minute by being polite over the phone (letting my voice smile, biting and loosing the tongue as occasion demanded). On a one-on-one, making eye contact without staring at and down at clients, remembering names without guessing, exhibiting knowledge of something I knew absolutely nothing about, (without giving myself away) and trying to patiently respond to questions without rolling my eyes, outrightly laughing and saying, “Abeg, leave me o, I no sabi!” or ripping the person apart.

To get all this in perspective you must first determine:

1. What you have been called to do?
2. Why do you do it the way that you do it?
3. How do you do it?
4. When is it OK to do or not to do it?
5. Must you do it at all?

For you, the HOW might have been clearly spelt out in the company’s (usually obsolete) handbook but WISDOM sets you apart.

Please Note: Professionalism is an ATTITUDE and more than just about getting the job done (except, of course, you’re a danfo driver)!!!

Ecclesiastes 10:10b