3 Lessons on Potential from the Women in Consumer Finance May Workshop

Understanding, owning, and communicating your potential is key to securing new opportunities. Women from the WCF community recently sat down with Joanna Bloor to discuss how they can do this.

Here are just a few of the takeaways from the workshop. 

1. “Potential is infinitely easier to recognize when you’ve seen it before."

When it comes to opportunities, promotions, and collaborations, people base their decisions on the story they tell themselves about you. The best thing you can do for yourself, then, is to put a bit of intentionality into impacting what they see. Write the best version of you into the story. Help them to visualize what that future you looks like. When you give them a glimpse of who you’ll be and what you’ll do, they’ll be eager for more. That might mean creating a detailed proposal for a new idea, getting specific about your goals when you talk to your supervisor, or going intentionally above and beyond to show what you’re capable of.

2. Know what you want to be known for and project it.

As Joanna famously says, “Every decision about you is made in a room that you’re not in.” So what are they saying about you in that room? And more importantly, what do you want them to be saying? What do you want to be known for? Don’t stop at a generic answer like “getting things done” or “efficient, high quality work.” Those things are great, and they’re essential, but they’re not the core of what you do. Strive to be wanted for something unique and specific. This is what will make you stand out when potential is being considered. And when you’re wanted for what you want to be wanted for (say that ten times fast) magic happens. 

3. Your time is a valuable product.

It is unique, value-packed, and infinitely upgradeable. So, how are you presenting your most valuable asset to those who may be interested in renting it? Your resume, LinkedIn page, and job title are just one part of this. Those tell the story of your past, but your potential makes you valuable. Make sure to frame your story from the perspective of where you want to go and what you want to be known for when asked to describe yourself and what you do.

These points offer just a small glimpse of the insight Joanna shares in her new book Tales of Potential: The Cinderella Story You Haven’t Heard, which sheds new light on a classic story and offers practical guidance for bringing your ambitions to life in the real world. Get your copy here to stop leaving your future to chance and start telling your own tale of potential.