Repurposed Power
How clever – and simple – the act of taking something and repurposing it can be. I learn this lesson repeatedly on Pinterest (rubber door mats for wall art – say what?!), but recently had the chance to witness it firsthand, too. I can’t help but think that the lessons gleaned from such experiences have more to do with the topic of successful employee development than what people may think.
The season of gift-returning, gift-card exchanging, and coveted winter clearance has only just begun, and during a recent trip to Target, I encountered two siblings, around 7- or 8-years old, playing in the aisles with one another, clad in what I first took to be Batman capes. Upon further inspection, I realized the costumes they were so fervently showing off were actually two dark grey blankets tucked into the nape of their shirts.
Besides enjoying the spectacle and getting nostalgic about my own childhood cape (admittedly, it was white with multicolor polka dots and satin trim), I was weirdly enthralled. Firstly, I was in awe of the natural creativity of children. Who hasn’t experienced the blanket-as-a-cape phenomenon, either themselves or through their own kids? Moreover, I was struck by the new and awesome role of the blankets. What once led a boring life on the back of a sofa or chair was now transmitting superpowers on the backs of elementary superheroes.
Shortly after, I read a report about the recycling of Christmas trees. Across the nation, as families take down the spruces and blue firs in their homes, several municipalities and local governments are turning the trees into gardening mulch and wood chips for playgrounds and walking trails. One blogger even turned to a 1796 cookbook to learn the recipe for making spruce beer out of her tannenbaum. What is so frequently tossed out as a piece of trash can live a whole other life as something else.
As a manger or employee, not every job or task you are first assigned is where you’ll end up, or what you’re meant to do (in fact, it rarely is). Change is the heart of growth. Increasing and improving your skills, capitalizing on opportunities, and repurposing your abilities to participate in a new project is all par for the course in development. A little creativity can go a long way in achieving these ends – as Christmas tree recycling and fleece blanket superheroes reminded me. The constant reengineering of what is to what can be ensures that every person is living up to his or her full potential.
As organizations usher in the New Year and leaders are busy designing projects for their employees, it’s helpful to be reminded of the stunning simplicity of some development plans. Repurposing skills and redeploying workers to new and different roles and responsibilities is one powerful way to leverage the talent your organization already has in house while simultaneously ensuring that employees are improving their skills and learning new abilities that can help them in future roles. And if you’re at a loss for what project to embark on next, just break out a blanket and put it on your shoulders. The superpowers it transmits just might be the catalyst you need.