Make it Easy to Opt In to a Future With You

If you’ve hung around me for more than five minutes, you’ve probably heard me say, “Every decision made about you and your opportunities is made in a room you’re not in. And what they’re saying is what you’ve taught them. So think about what you want to teach people about your potential.”

Why do I keep talking about this?

Because I continue to be frustrated and annoyed, I feel this way because I continue to watch companies and technologies build their people practices based on the past when the truth is that the decisions are made based on someone’s perception of who you’ll be in the future.

Decisions about who you’re going to Opt Into are ultimately made based on the other person’s belief, the story they tell in your head about your potential.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Have you ever been forced to work with someone you didn’t believe was a valuable team member? How did that feel? Did it work? Did you Opt Out?

• What about the opposite? Who’s the team member you’d collaborate with over and over again because doing things with them in the future always creates excellent results? Did you find yourself Opting In?

• Have you ever had someone hired for a role you thought you were equally qualified, if not more qualified for? Did it change your attitude toward management? What about the person they hired? Did you start Opting Out?

• What about the opposite? Have you ever received a promotion and then found that people you thought were your colleagues don’t respect you for your new role? Were they Opting Out of you?

• Have you ever joined a team where you felt you had something critical to contribute, and the team messaged enthusiasm for that contribution? How confident did you feel? How creative was the team? Were you all Opting In?

• What about the opposite? Have you ever been on a team where you didn’t feel seen or heard? Were you doing your best work? Were you Opting Out?

I know, obvious answers to the questions. In positive and negative situations, your confidence, creativity, and ability to be your best self at work relate to your or the other person’s perception of your future together. It’s why other people Opt Into the Future You. And your belief in someone else’s confidence, creativity, and future abilities is directly related to why you Opt Into the Future Them. And if you’re currently professionally bored, scared, or stuck, my guess is you’re trying to figure out a Future to Opt Into for yourself.

We all make decisions based on our Opt In Equation.

And this is not just for hiring managers and candidates. The Opt-In Equation factors in every collaboration and every relationship. Who are you Opting Into?

And here’s my final question. If any of these questions or this idea resonated with you at all, is it possible that the same might be true for the people on your team?

Are they Opting Into their future? Are they Opting Into each other? Are they Opting Into You?