In what many are describing as a ‘post-truth’ world, where experts are less trusted and we are all bombarded with information and limitless opinions via social media, developing our careers as professionals takes on a wider importance. Career development is not just about knowledge and skills, but also personal development, what we stand for and the experiences that shape us.

It’s worth reaffirming the role professionals play in providing assurance and confidence in an increasingly uncertain and complex world. The essence of being a professional is about being trusted, acting with integrity, applying expertise as well as judgement and critical thinking, and having up-to-date knowledge and skills. When I talk to professional bodies in other sectors, the promotion and growth of professionalism is a consistent trend.

Professionalism is also about belonging to a wider community, the principles it lives by and the responsibilities that brings. For our profession in particular, it’s never been more important to earn and sustain the trust of the employees we support, as well as the trust and respect of management and other organisational stakeholders. Part of that trust is gained through evidence and our expertise, as well as being able to explain the purpose and expected outcomes of what we do, which are vital for overcoming resistance or skepticism.

In this context, having clear and transparent guiding principles that shape our thinking and actions becomes more powerful than just compliance to rules. If we are to improve the world of work and corporate governance, we should be describing and working to good principles more broadly. We can’t expect that rules and policies alone will create the right outcomes; evidence from behavioural science has long shown that to be a very shaky assumption. Our anchoring principle should be that work can and should be good for everyone: for organisations and workers, and the communities, societies and economies they are part of. This should be central to everything we do as HR and L&D professionals. We have a responsibility to do all we can to ensure people at work feel safe, physically and emotionally, that they feel recognised and treated fairly, and that we support them to grow and give their best.  

The professional standards framework we’re developing will set out clearly the knowledge, skills and behaviours each of us needs to make such principles come to life in our day-to-day work. We also hope it will help you develop a stronger sense of professional identity and enable you to learn from others, as well as strengthen your ability to stand up for the collective values and principles of our profession.

We encourage all of you to make the most of the many online and face-to-face networking and development opportunities that come with being part of a worldwide community of more than 140,000 members. Our annual L&D Show in May is a good example of how we are trying to make sure people can connect and engage in different ways; you can listen to the experiences of your peers or you can take part in more interactive sessions. We also urge you to look beyond the profession for developmental opportunities, such as by volunteering your time and expertise. When you help schools with their careers guidance strategies, for example, or sign up as a Steps Ahead Mentor to help jobseekers improve their employability skills, you not only give something back to society – you give your career development a boost too.