What To Do When You Aren’t A Good Fit For An Opportunity


What To Do When You Aren’t A Good Fit For An Opportunity

I was contacted about an opportunity that looked great. It was a speaking engagement at a business conference. The industry was new to me, but was going through massive change, which I knew well. 

The session title and synopsis referred to “change management” and the challenges it would discuss appeared to be ones I had experience in.

Over the weekend, I took a closer look at the session description and the conference agenda. Although “change” was referenced, objectives had little to do with the topic. The session was really about managing difficult relationships where few connections or little trust exists. It was a relationship management session. 

My a-ha moment quickly turned into a feeling of dread. My enthusiasm for an opportunity was leading me down a path I did not know. I had three options:

a) Do the presentation anyway
b) Negotiate a new topic that I was qualified to speak about
c) Decline the opportunity

a) Doing the presentation anyway appealed to my “can do” attitude. With time, research and determination I could figure it out. The problem is that I would be compromising the value I provide, devote an inordinate amount of time researching a topic I wasn’t knowledgeable on and potentially damage my reputation. 

b) Negotiating a new topic could work but it wouldn’t fit the themes of the conference so what would be the benefit? The poor fit of topic would compromise the value I could provide.

c) Declining the opportunity meant passing on an opportunity to share what I know with a group that might benefit from it. On the positive side, it would demonstrate honesty and integrity. This was the only credible option.

The next time an opportunity arises, I will ask better questions before I enthusiastically say “great”. The most important one will be, “Is this a good fit for my skills, experience and goals? I know what I will say if the answer is no.

Phil

 
 

1 Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Are NOT a robot, right? Please answer this simple math question * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.

Take Action

Ask us a question about your change

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Subject

    Your Question


    Get the newsletter
    Change With Confidence
    Please type your name and email address and click on "Send". We will add you to our newsletter distribution list. Thank you.




    Get Change with Confidence
    Change With Confidence

    Get Change on the Run
    Change With Confidence

    Twitter

    When impressing leaders, what is the 1 action you would take to get 80% results in 20% of the time? Here’s mine: bit.ly/3CHq0Ho. The podcast episode with key opinion leader @RobbyNap is on Sounder bit.ly/3iKl2js. #change #changemanagement #leadership #podcasts pic.twitter.com/wUxLfW3w0M

    About 2 weeks ago