Whats going on....

Its been a while since my last posting and I apologize for such a long abscence. School has been taking up most of my time.

So what's going on with life as a public servant? Hmmmm....

Where to begin?

The Civil Service Tests begin this weekend (as well as next weekend) and we anticipate a strong turnout. Hopefully we can get a lot of good candidates to pass the test. The test is not easy but it isn't very hard either. If you can meticulously answer the questions you should do fine. It's the interviews and the dreaded "rule of 3" for hiring that is the kicker. I say that we have outside people (from other counties) come and interview along with management. That way, there will not be any bias. But who am I to say? I am just a peon public servant.

After the Civil Service Testing there will be Supervisor Promotional Tests. The big question is whether or not I should take the exam? Should I take the exam knowing what I know and make an extra $5000 or so a year or should I just do what I do and not worry about all the politics, game playing and hoop jumping? Its a hard decision. I could change the workplace, make a difference and enlighten the world as a supervisor, can't I? I could. But do I want to?

The cons of leading a team in a stagnant environment is that there is no incentive to do better. Motivating staff is difficult when there is too much work and no pay raises. Everyone seems to settle on the minimum requirement of their job duty. Unfortunately, I would make too radical a change as a new supervisor. I don't like routine and I don't like complacency. I like to change things up and rotate people around and do different things. I think that may be too much and I may be disillusioned or idealistic.

The pros of leading a team in a stagnant environment is the challenge. I like---no LOVE--a challenge, especially when it comes to workplace change or duties. I like problem solving and making things work. Taking on different responsibilities will rejuvenate me. And thats what I need.

We'll see what happens. As we used to say in the airline industry, everything is "subject to change without notice". Maybe the new year will bring about new decisions and answers.