What is Gracious Professionalism?

FIRST made up this phrase "Gracious Professionalism". Their definition is:

It's a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. With Gracious Professionalism, fierce competition and mutual gain are not separate notions. Gracious professionals learn and compete like crazy, but treat one another with respect and kindness in the process.

We went to show our robot and share our project idea at the Cool Science Festival last month. There were hundreds of people coming and going. As they passed, the Maniacs were more than happy to share what they had done with the robot already. Being an educational event, there were plenty of kids. It was no surprise to us when we had kids here and there say they were also a part of another LEGO FLL team. So these kids coming up to our table knew exactly what we were trying to accomplish in terms of the robot game.

I was impressed when our kids talked strategy with them and we all shared our ideas even though these kids would be our competition within the month. This is an example of Gracious Professionalism. The Maniacs were happy to share what they had learned about the robot game. I was proud!