Every decision made about you and your opportunities is made in a room you’re not in.

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 towards 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 give you the respect for the job you now have? 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 the future your 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, every relationship. Who are you Opting Into?

We don’t talk about this conversation.

• We don’t have tools that make this conversation transparent.
• While we call it potential, we don’t have a language for it.
• We also color the stories of potential based on our own experiences.
• We’re guessing about the most critical element of teamwork.

In the current state, we leave the entire process up to chance, and when it works, we’re amazing. When it doesn’t, we’re bored, scared, or stuck.

No wonder it’s all a bit of a mess. Don’t worry; I have a plan and a plan that can only manifest with your participation and help.

All I need you to do is choose Opt-In to the Future Me. And today, all that consists of is hitting the subscribe. I’m going to be back here every other week with more ideas, questions, and actions you can take to make it easier to create an Opt In Future.

So here’s my question, are you ready to Opt Into a Future with me? I’m keeping my fingers crossed that you do because I’ve got big ambitions for us both.