Do You Feel Challenged?

     I'd like to talk to those of you who are employed. You fulfill the day in and day out, but you're stuck. How do you keep it interesting? When does the monotony end? You've seen someone at work actually 'thriving' at their job and they seem to love it. Why don't you feel that way about yours? You get solid performance evaluations. You get a pay raise every year, but yet, you feel like something's missing. That elusive, dangling carrot isn't out of your reach, it's no longer there. Here's how you get it back.
     Not everyone is fond of Human Resource Managers. Take Toby from the office, for instance. He was hated, loathed, despised and not trusted. Now, it was about 100% emanating from Michael, but it was a magnified manifestation of the chill that runs up most people's spines when HR is nearby. That's OK. We have a purpose and we wouldn't have this job if we didn't love what we do. To briefly sum up my position it encompasses staffing, scheduling and people development. There are many other things I do on a daily, weekly and monthly basis but let's not get lost in the minutiae. I'm nothing without my employees. They drive my career.
     I feel energized when a new supervisor walks in my office to talk about developing talent in their department, or better yet, in themselves. To walk through your job or career, on a daily basis, unchallenged by new processes or information would be a very boring and unsatisfying. I take a slightly aggressive approach when I see potential in employees who are performing well, or have seemed to master their skill level. There's nothing more disappointing than someone who learned their job and spend the next few years complaining about their pay, hours, lack of promotions available, and the like. These are the same people who, if you heard it from their manager, are passed by for promotion or merit raises due to their lack of motivation and disinterest in learning a new skill. 
     A few things that you, as an employee, are empowered to do is to develop your own potential. There are countless, inexpensive seminars that you can attend for an afternoon, a day, a weekend, etc. to increase your skill set in the workplace. You can take a Stephen Covey course; a Skillpath Seminar; read a book about becoming a better you in the workplace. Depending on the type of work that you do or career you have, there are resources out there for a incompetency that you have or have been told to develop. The main thing is to tell yourself, 'Ok. It's fine that I don't have skill in this area. I'm in charge of my worth. It's my job to fix it.' Then take the steps to do just that, then share that with your HR Manager (or Supervisor in your field).
     So, what next? You read the book, or attended the seminar, and now you need to do something with it. The resource you used gave you the next steps, put them into practice at work. Draw up a plan of attack and set up a meeting with your Supervisor, Project Team, etc. You need to now get it in action. If you write a new law, get it voted in but never put it into practice you've just wasted the tax payers money. The same goes for your business. You don't want to waste what you've done to improve yourself. Teach someone or put a plan into action. Make it stick and make some changes.
In short, you own the problem when it's you. You are in charge of when to challenge yourself. The promise I see in people isn't going to last if I don't see them continuing to move in a forward direction. I lose interest after a while. I tend to make suggestions, point them in the right direction and maybe even assign a task or two. Even if that task is to improve their knowledge base, it's worth it to me to see them develop a new skill-set. This new skill-set can be unleashed and a new program might pop up. An idea they may have could become the next best practice in their department. You never know!
     My challenge to you, as the new week starts tomorrow, is to try something new. Talk to someone about that next step and have a goal set in place. Be a part of the team and grow for the sake of the company or your department and teach other to do the same. Don't be like the guy standing around, unchallenged and disinterested in owning any potential. In fact, if you're reading this and thinking you'd like to take this challenge, really listen to the people who complain. Is it genuine and does it come from a solid source where the company has actually failed them? You may not know unless you truly 'know' this person and their work ethics. Can they be part of the solution and choose not to be? If that's the case, don't stop in their world for too long, you may never get out.
     Be encouraged this week. Learn something new. Take on a new challenge. Ask for development resources. Be part of the solution. Develop a new skill. Think outside the box. Engage someone in a positive conversation about work. Walk away from bad influences. If you're the right fit for the job, make the job the right fit for you...change it up!