I'm going to add yet another blog about our communication discussion. One question that really stood out to me was the question of why do men and women communicate differently? Immediately, I thought to myself that we communicate differently because we were made by God to compliment each other. I'm always afraid to express this viewpoint because it seems that religious views aren't seen as professional in an academic setting.

This message that I've received - that religious views are unprofessional - affects my professional development. My faith is incredibly important to me. In a professional setting, my faith will help me make moral and ethical decisions. I don't want to be afraid to tell my supervisor or boss that the reason I made a decision was because of my faith. How do I learn how to do this when the academic environment I'm in doesn't allow for that? Maybe it does...I just haven't been brave enough to speak up and see what will happen.

This is related to professional development in general because knowing your values and beliefs is an important part in being able to justify your actions. A professional must know how to explain to their supervisor or boss why they handled a situation in a certain way. Our background, beliefs, and values all factor into our reactions to different problems. Professionals must be aware of what part of their background, beliefs, and values affect how they make decisions and be able to communicate that to their superiors.