At the insistence of well meaning friends I attended the revival of a well regarded, albeit mighty dusty Broadway musical. I expected to see a warmed over version of what I had seen in the past and was as delighted as I was surprised to find that the show was as fresh as if it had just been washed and fluff dried. The actors’ exuberant performance rang with enthusiasm and invited the audience to be part of something as new as it was familiar. The overall effect was more than satisfying; quite a feat for a vehicle that had been around the block more than a few times. The evening was worth more than the price of admission; it gave me an idea for this column:

If you’re about as exciting as last year’s news, reinvent yourself. Coming soon to a company near you! A reinvigorated employee who can’t wait to roll up her sleeves and do her absolute best at being the best at what she does best.

That’s the ticket.  Look at your work and your work place from the perspective of a new employee who wants to make a difference and believes that she can. Reinvent yourself and become someone who sees challenge as positive, opinions worth hearing, and teams worth joining.

Reinvent yourself. Do more of what you do best and less and what you do least well. Apply a positive attitude to your already competent aptitude. Give direction where it’s needed, credit where it’s due, and forgiveness when it’s the right thing to do.

Why? A little reinvention can save your job. If you’re the same person you’ve always been, with the same opinions, perspectives, and biases (we all have them) you may have become too predictable, and as a result, too easy to dismiss.

“Gary’s complaining? Gary always complains.”

“Terry vetoed your idea? Terry always vetoes ideas.”

Grumpy Gary. Turf-tuff Terry. They’re stuck in a rut, doing what they’ve always done. What about you? When’s the last time you had an original idea? And if you had one, when’s the last time someone paid attention to it and to you when you described it? When’s the last time you listened to people who disagreed with you and took the time to understand why they felt as strongly as they did. When’s the last time you had the courage to take a calculated risk, one that if you were successful could mean a promotion, an increase in salary?

Reinvent yourself. Identify personality characteristics that you know get in your way (we all have them) and replace them with behaviors that can open doors and prompt possibilities.

Your attitudes can be working against you. Take a fresh look at old problems.  If you believe that employees ought to be loyal and work hard without encouragement and support (“we pay them, that ought to be enough.’) and you’re finding instead that they act disloyal and lazy, something’s not working, besides them. If you reward the employees you like the best, and ignore those you like least, and wonder why the two camps don’t work as a team, something’s not playing, besides them.

If you take a half empty attitude and turn it into one that’s half full you can create potential for better things to come. Ask questions to understand, listen without judgment.

In other words, don’t change your values, just change your response to those individuals whose values are different from yours. You’ll be surprised at what you learn once you’re open to the possibilities.

Reinvent yourself and you’ll see the same old in a new way. In some instances you’ll find answers where there were problems; in others, you’ll find problems where you thought you had the answers.

Reinvent yourself for no other reason than you can. Wear a different color, drive a different route. Try a new restaurant and chance a new cuisine. Try being nice to someone you never take seriously, try finding humor in the midst of challenge; try taking yourself less seriously and try taking change in stride.

Have the courage to reinvent yourself. Surprise your detractors. Teach yourself new tricks. You dog, you.