How to Identify the Right-Fit Opportunities

The clearer you get on your mission and values, the more opportunities come your way.

It’s counter-intuitive that getting more specific about what you bring to the table leads to greater opportunities, not fewer. But it’s true both in my experience and what I’ve seen in our clients.

That’s because, when you understand what you’re all about, you beam out a more focused and potent radio frequency that is uniquely yours.

People know what to come to you for, and because they do, they want a piece of that! They bring you aligned opportunities—like an invitation to join a committee that enables you to serve your mission, to lend your expertise on a grant review panel, or to share your story by speaking at an event.

If you’re like me, your default is to say yes unless you have a really good reason to say no. But if you said yes to everything, your plate would be overly full, leaving no room for margin, and leaving you teetering on the edge of exhaustion.

That’s no way to be. It’s not a way to strategically share your talents and grow as a professional.

Being strategic means having a filter to assess opportunities for the right fit. 
Before I say yes to anything these days, I turn to my “Strategy Screener,” which lays out a set of questions that help me understand if this opportunity is something I can merely fit in or if it’s the right fit.

Here are five questions to ask before you say yes to an opportunity:

1. If this were next Tuesday, how excited would I be?
​It’s easy for me to put something on the calendar for September because it’s pretty clear right now, but that doesn’t mean that I should say yes to any September opportunity. It’s worth asking: If this were coming up this week, how would you feel about participating? Excited? Inspired? Pulled away from what you really want or need to focus on?

2. What’s the total cost of this commitment?
​Every opportunity is like an iceberg—there’s the part you can see, and then the hidden time, energy, focus, and labor required to make it happen. On the surface is the grant review meeting for two hours on a certain day, but hidden underneath is the time spent meeting beforehand to understand the context, evening hours of reviewing grants, and travel to and from the review meeting. How does it feel when you add all this up?

3. How does this connect me with people or organizations I want to work with?
​A few months ago, I received an out-of-the-blue request from a self-described “unicorn tech startup” asking me to moderate a panel at their upcoming conference. It sounded big and important! Venture capital firms would be there! I heard the sweet siren song of Silicon Valley. But when I truly stepped back and thought about it, it was clear that these aren’t my people. My time would be better invested in connecting with people and organizations that I authentically want to align with.

4. What resources will I need if I say yes?
​I’m so used to scraping by that, up until recently, this question felt foreign to me. But I’ve learned that my ability to most effectively serve others starts with ensuring I have what I need. If your alma mater reaches out to ask you to speak, consider what you’ll need to be at your best: planning time (so you can be as thoughtful as you truly are), accommodations to stay over (so you’re not catapulted straight from stressful traffic to the stage), and recovery time when your event is over (so you’re not hopping right onto a work Zoom).

5. How does this help me to grow my skills in strategic ways?
​Anything, truly anything, can be framed as an opportunity to grow. Attending that networking event will extend my comfort zone! Joining my colleague for that event will expose me to a new topic! But ask the question: Is this growth strategic? As in, is it helping you grow in ways that you're specifically interested in? I said yes to serving on a nonprofit’s finance committee not because the organization asked—but because it was a pathway to further my goal of increasing my financial know-how (while also serving a beloved organization).

Being strategic means having a strong filter that helps you assess when to say yes and when to say no.

Asking these questions will ensure that instead of trying to be all things to all people, you’re showing up as you—true to what you bring to the table today, and stretching toward where you want to bring in the future, in a strategic and sustainable way.