weLEAD Online Magazine

leadingtoday.org

Avoiding the Autopilot Syndrome

How to keep challenge alive in your work.

By Jody Urquhart

Are you bored with your job? Has your work become one endless task after another? Many people are so caught up in getting things done they lose sight of the purpose of their work and quickly get bored. In fact, the more secure and stable a job starts to be, the more likely we are to find it unchallenging. What used to be fun and interesting is now boring and monotonous. In The Tragic Sense of Life, Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno writes, “To fall into habit is to begin to cease to be.”

Why does it matter how challenging your work is?

1) Usually, tasks performed over and over again become less challenging and are sure to become a bore

2) Challenge and stimulation are the fuel of passion for the job.

3) What is challenging for one person may not be for the next. The only person really qualified to decide what is challenging for you—is you

4) Jobs are not designed specifically to challenge people. They are designed to get the job done. It’s up to individuals to create challenge in their work.

Keep Challenge Alive

How do you keep challenge alive in your job? First, decide what challenges you. What are your most important sources of challenge? Think of times when you felt challenged and write them down. Look at your list and answer the following. Do you feel challenged by:

1) seeing the results of your effort;

2) solving problems;

3) implementing other peoples ideas;

4) knowing exactly what is expected and doing it;

5) knowing exactly what will happen in the future;

6) learning new skills and using them;

7) developing new ways of doing things;

8) getting involved with new things;

9) getting others involved in new things.

Challenge and the Bigger Picture

Pay attention to what challenges you and find a way to incorporate more of it. If this requires a job change that is

not feasible right away, then make it a part of your long-term vision. In the meantime, find out what it takes to

have these elements in your job and decide how you will keep challenged. Write a three-year timeline. Consider

involving your manager so she can help you build your timeline. You may want to sit down with a manager and

“customize” your workload to add more of the elements of challenge to your work. Most managers would be

receptive to this because it shows responsibility, commitment and growth. Remember it’s not up to your

manager to make your job challenging; it’s up to you.

What do you need to do to get there? As you take these steps you are crystallizing your future vision and making it real. Now deepen your understanding of the big picture. Draw out your own company flow chart to trace where you fit in the organization. Then diagram where your service affects others in the company, including customers and suppliers. The more you understand how your role affects others and the bigger picture, the more naturally motivated and challenged you will be.

Next, ask yourself how you help customers to be more successful. Make this a core part of what you do. Are you really serving others? Can you serve them more? Connect your role to others in the company, customers and the community. This is critical to building more challenging work. It gives you something meaningful to aim for and adds challenge.

Challenge and Meaning

When I speak at conventions about creating meaning in work, I start off by asking a rhetorical question: “What gives something meaning, besides the meaning we give it?” People usually immediately nod their head in recognition. The neat thing about understanding this is it gives license to make anything meaningful, from apparently mundane tasks to the important ones. Meaning is created by each and every one of us, whether we know it or not. Add meaning and challenge to your work by re-assessing what you think and feel about the job. Take stock of what you do in a week. Find ways to challenge yourself more with regular tasks:

1) do them faster;

2) do them with a certain intention in mind. (ie. doing paperwork with the intention of accuracy);

3) talk with others in the office and decide how they add challenge to specific tasks;

4) reframe your perspective. (ie. a realtor isn’t just selling houses but helping clients build a better future);

5) act as if every task you do, big or small, is really important. How can you put everything into it?;

6) what are you most passionate about in your job? How can you find ways to do more of this?

7) how can you have a child-like curiosity about your work?

Intention in Action

What is intention in action? For example, I used to hate cold calling. It was a very boring and seemingly pointless activity. Now I love it. I think it is thrilling and challenging to talk a perfect stranger into wanting to do business with you. Why the change of heart? It’s called Intention in Action. Making day- to -day sometimes trivial work meaningful requires intentionally thinking of it in a meaningful way. Not just thinking about it once a year, but every time you do it. In the act of working keep your meaningful intention alive. You could deal with customers with the intention of strengthening the relationship by making them feel valuable. Every interaction with every customer (even the irate ones) your intention could be, “ how can I help this customer feel valuable?” Of course this is great for your business and great for customers, but it’s also great for you because it makes your work more challenging, stimulating and interesting.

Actively thinking about what is challenging and meaningful to you will inspire purpose in your work. Remember, the only person who can really give your job challenge is you. The challenge is up to you!

Comments to: ido@idoinspire.com

BACK TO weLEAD HOME PAGE

About the author:

Jody Urquhart, a popular speaker and writer, is recognized in Canada, the United States and Europe, She has presented her signature topic, Joy of Work, to 65 organizations last year alone. Her monthly column on the same subject appears in over fifty trade journals. Jody is also an associate speaker for the Individual Development Organization in Vancouver where she works with Bill Clennan, the Dean of Canadian Speakers.

Jody holds diplomas in Professional Speaking and Writing from Mount Royal College and in Management and Marketing from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. She studied Management for three years at the University of Calgary. Her business experience includes management positions in both the banking and retail industries. Jody is a proud member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers and holds the distinction of being one of its founding board members. Jody is the author of the book “ALL WORK & NO SAY TAKES THE PASSION AWAY”. To order your copy, or to discuss having Jody speak at your next meeting, feel free to email her at ido@idoinspire.com