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Fast Company
27-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Why your workplace needs more 'Gracious Professionalism'
When most people think about innovation, they imagine sprints, whiteboards, late nights, and the relentless pace of deadlines. What's often missing from this image are genuine acts of kindness and empathy—but perhaps they should be at the center. As the leader of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), a global youth STEM education community, I've seen firsthand the power of Gracious Professionalism. This ethos is about more than producing quality work: It's about valuing others—teammates, competitors, and the broader community—and showing respect at every turn. Gracious Professionalism empowers everyone, regardless of role or tenure, to lift others up and help create a culture rooted in acceptance and shared success. While the term may sound gentle for the high-stakes world of science and technology, its influence is anything but passive. Gracious Professionalism demonstrates that even in a competitive corporate landscape, it is possible—and powerful—to lead with trust, respect, and a spirit of cooperation. Companies that embrace this mindset can gain a real edge in innovation, talent recruitment, and long-term success. The origin of Gracious Professionalism Gracious Professionalism was the vision of the late and much beloved Pappalardo Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, Woodie Flowers, PhD. He was also a distinguished advisor to FIRST and longtime collaborator and friend of Dean Kamen, FIRST's founder and a lifelong inventor. Woodie believed deeply in the power of blending competition with kindness. His philosophy emphasizes striving for excellence while valuing others and treating everyone—teammates, competitors, and community members—with respect. Today, Woodie's legacy lives on through millions of FIRST participants and alumni. The mindset appears in small but powerful moments within our competitive youth robotics events, like when a team lends an opponent a spare part for a malfunctioning robot, or when a student pauses to encourage a teammate who is experiencing self-doubt. These everyday acts of support and empathy keep Woodie's profound vision very much alive. From robotics to the real world As demand grows for 'durable skills' like collaboration, resilience, and ethical leadership, Gracious Professionalism is more relevant than ever in the workplace. Ruhi Lankalapalli first encountered Gracious Professionalism as a FIRST participant. Today, as a manufacturing engineer at Medtronic, she credits this ethos with shaping her approach to work and leadership. 'Gracious Professionalism has shaped how I work and lead—it has helped me build trust quickly, collaborate effectively, and stay focused on long-term success. I've taken on many projects, spanning several teams at Medtronic, and maintaining the values of Gracious Professionalism has been crucial to building strong partnerships and finding common ground,' she said. 'When I stepped into my current role in Medtronic, I was invited to join a major project within just two months. Though I was new to the position, I stood out because of how I collaborated with the team and embraced new challenges, which set me apart through the ways I support others and contribute to a stronger team culture.' It shapes corporate culture The impact of Gracious Professionalism extends beyond individual growth. It builds organizational cultures rooted in trust, teamwork, continuous learning, and ethical decision making. The result? Greater innovation, stronger employee engagement, and long-term business success. Qualcomm, the global wireless technology company, is a longtime supporter of FIRST and has hired many program alumni who practice Gracious Professionalism in their everyday roles. 'Our employees who grew up participating in FIRST are known within Qualcomm for their ability to handle challenges with a positive attitude and a collaborative approach,' said Angela Baker, vice president, corporate responsibility, and chief sustainability officer at Qualcomm. 'Their ability to balance competition with respect and kindness is consistent with our value of 'winning together.' Their dedication to continuous improvement accelerates their own career growth while also contributing to our company's long-term innovation pipeline and their work ethic helps us deliver results.' The impact of Gracious Professionalism Gracious Professionalism is not just about being kind: It is a strategic advantage. Employees who practice this ethos develop essential skills like collaboration, empathy, and creative problem-solving, making them invaluable contributors and culture-builders. In a world where agility and integrity are essential for businesses' success, Gracious Professionalism proves that the most powerful path forward is one built on respect, excellence, and a collective drive to grow—together.
Fast Company
27-05-2025
- Health
- Fast Company
How to inspire future generations of innovators
Technological innovation continues to change our lives in seismic ways. But what will the technological advances of the future bring us? That depends in large part on the people helping to drive technology forward. Will they have the math and science training they need? Will they have the values of cooperation and the drive to work toward the societal benefits that innovators truly need? Recently, Texas A&M University sponsored a panel entitled 'A Force for Good: Visionaries Redefining the Future' at the Fast Company Grill during SXSW in which industry leaders discussed ways to drive interest in STEM fields and create a fertile environment for problem-solving and innovation. Here are three takeaways from their conversation. (Scroll to the bottom to watch the entire panel discussion.) 1. Innovation begins with aspiration. One of the major impediments to technological innovation is that many who might excel in science and engineering never seriously consider capitalizing on those skills. This challenge is particularly acute among girls and young people whose parents struggle financially. 'The problem is that we have kids, particularly girls, that don't believe science, technology, engineering, mathematics is fun, accessible, rewarding,' said Dean Kamen, an entrepreneur and inventor known for creating the Segway. 'They need to start seeing the world of science and technology as part of their future.' Texas A&M University, the nation's largest land grant university, is helping to bridge that gap, which means working with kids early in their educational journey. 'We used to target high schoolers,' said Dr. Amy Waer, dean of the Texas A&M University College of Medicine. 'But data shows that for young girls and young boys to feel empowered to go into STEM fields, you've got to [target the] third grade.' This introduction to STEM can be simple. Texas A&M has a program that asks third graders to teach kindergarteners how to use a stethoscope. Providing young children with this basic medical tool—and asking them to teach younger kids about it—can be the spark that puts math and science on a child's radar and eventually leads them to pursuing an education or career in those fields. 2. Strong values are critical. Encouraging an interest in science may be the first step in creating the next generation of innovators, but instilling strong core values is equally important. 'Part of our students' education takes place in the classroom with world-class faculty and staff, but another part of it is learned in student organizations and student leadership,' said Col. Michael E. Fossum, chief operating officer of Texas A&M University at Galveston and a former astronaut. He added that students must be exposed to experiences that further develop Texas A&M's Core Values: excellence, integrity, leadership, loyalty, respect, and selfless service. Those skills are crucial for visionaries and creators in the real world. Kamen, for instance, sponsors a youth robotics competition involving 82,000 teams through his nonprofit organization FIRST. Each team is given a specific kit of parts and a set amount of time in which to build a robot. Organizers are careful to stress that winning the competition is not the same thing as succeeding, he said. Rather, participants succeed by learning together and collaborating. 'Almost every robot will lose, but all the kids will win if they learn how to share, cooperate, and teach each other,' Kamen said. During the competition, individuals regularly help competitors repair broken axles or make design changes that improve each other's robots for the next round. 'Destroying your competition is not a way to improve the human condition,' he continued. 'In the real world, the public benefits when we get to see all the different good ideas that people have.' 3. Innovators can be a force for good. Educators have a responsibility to ensure that young people think about how their decisions, actions, and work can benefit communities and the world at large. Texas A&M encourages this type of introspection, for example, by requiring all new medical students to participate in a rural-medicine elective. This class gives students firsthand experience in resource-strapped communities that may not have good access to medical care. 'Not everyone's going to practice in rural Texas,' Waer said. '[But] whether they're going to be practicing as a cardiothoracic surgeon in Dallas or elsewhere, they need to know what may not be there in terms of medical care.' Understanding this need can have a big impact on students' decisions when they graduate. In fact, the first three students who participated in the program—all from major cities—decided to concentrate on primary care in rural communities. 'Service is important,' Kamen said. 'We need to inspire students. We need help them understand the value of serving your country, serving your community, serving your state in some way—the value of giving back.' Watch the full panel: "
