The Three Equations for Honing In On What You Want In 2021 ÷ Why You Don’t Have it Now

“What’s Your Possible?” is a new mentorship and inclusion podcast and newsletter that aims to give you the tools you need to reconstruct your vision about inclusion, opportunity, and possibilities for people of color. We will upend the view of success and illuminate new solutions to your everyday challenges.

The notable question I’ve asked myself over the last five years is, what do you want and why don’t you have it now? But now that question seems germane, how do you answer – what do you want when survival is all that matters?

If there’s one thing 2020 taught all of us, we must rethink everything. In a year that saw us reevaluate how we function, how we manage employees, how we stay safe, how we reckon with racial justice, how we educate our children, how we view our mortality, and how we continue life with some semblance of normalcy? The constant questions for me have shifted to – What is the definition of possible? What do you do now? What do you change forever? What remains when this is all over? What do you want to write in the next 100 chapters? Now what? These questions formed the foundation for “What’s Your Possible?” my new podcast and newsletter.

In 2021, my team and I are embarking on a new journey – we are building inclusion as the success factor for everything we do. We are asking bolder questions and reframing our lens of impact. I never thought I would think about legacy – for crying out loud, when you’re in the trenches of work, you never think to ask what is my impact and do I leave the next generation with a better path than I had? Honestly, I don’t feel that the road for black women is any better than when I started my career in 1983. It’s a much more nuanced window dressing than substantive change. I know now that I don’t have any restraints about my agitation, and I can be bolder when I add my voice to advocacy.

There was a time when fear of offending the planet by saying what I felt gripped me into not being bold enough, 2020 taught me that I only have one voice – so use it.

When You Ask the Question “What’s Possible?” Do You Immediately Think – What Do I Want?

The Oxford definition of Possible – able to be done, within the power or capacity of someone or something. A person or thing that has the potential to become something.

The Merriam-Webster definition is much more synchronized with where we are headed, their description – being within the limits of ability, capacity, or realization—having an indicated potential.

Possible implies that things may exist or occur given the proper conditions; this is the definition we seek. Everything is possible, not only if you believe – but if the opportunity is deliberately created to foster what’s possible for you.

So the question is not, what do you want? The question is instead – what are you doing to create what’s possible of me?

Our three equations are built around creating success, being purposeful, and finding clarity.

Equation 1: Creating Success = My vision + Your vision + Pathway x Opportunity.

Creating success is a deliberate art form. Most people view success through the lens of “things” – I’m successful if I own a beautiful car, or I’m successful if I have this job title—the challenge with success it is objective and subjective. Subjective success is based on or influenced by personal feelings and opinions; it answers the monolithic questions – what is the outward proof or appearance of success? Objective success is impartial and unbiased; it answers a reflective question asked over and over again – what is my view of success in this situation, and am I creating the pathway and opportunities for success? This is the question we want you to continually ask until you eliminate all barriers to success.

When you are deliberate about creating success – the lens of pathway and opportunity align.

Equation 2: Purposeful = Possibility + Practicable + Feasible x Change

Being purposeful about how we exist in the world is a science and a deliberate calling. I love when organizations say we intend to create opportunities for women or people of color, but in the end, nothing really changes. To be purposeful in your life, your career, and your organization, you must first view everything through the lens of possibility. What’s possible for those who work for you? On an individual level, the question is more granular – do you create your possibilities, or do you leave it up to others? Being purposeful asks you to be practicable – can success be created within the current structure? That leads us to feasibility, what will work given the circumstances, and will the current framework create the desired end result? If you follow the equation, add possibility and practicable, define what’s feasible and create purposeful change – what would be the end result?

To create what’s possible, we must evaluate how purposeful we are and what we intend to really change to have the desired results. What will you change on purpose to create possibilities for yourself and others?

Equation 3: Clarity = Who + What + Why x Transformation

Clarity is the roadmap to creating what’s possible. Where are your forgotten goals trapped behind the trapping of success but yearning for more? Transformation is a profound and radical change that orients you in a new direction and takes you to an entirely different level of effectiveness. But you can’t get there until you are clear about who you are, what you want, and why you don’t have it now? It is the inward honest reflection and introspection necessary to foster possibility. This equation is the hard work that we often avoid doing. Finding clarity means finding your power. What I know and what you know – success is about you. You get to decide what you want, you get to select the path to success, and you get to champion your progress.

The challenge for most of us – we rarely find clarity, and we often don’t maintain the vision when we get clear. What do you need to let go of to find transformational clarity?

All of us are on a treadmill and what we want is often just beyond our grasp. The secret to evaluating what’s possible for you, for your team, and your organization is to not focus so much on what you want – but clearly define why you don’t have it now. Take an inventory of what you or your organization needs to discard – what do you need to throw away to create more possibilities for everyone else? Then start throwing stuff away.

What’s Your Possible Podcast Launch

Think of these three lessons as a first chapter in “What’s Your Possible?” the art of building a more inclusive world so everyone can have what’s possible for them. Now you know why I set out to launch this weekly podcast and newsletter. In the coming weeks on, What’s Your Possible Podcast, I will pull back the curtain and peel the onion on inclusion, talent development, career advancement, and illuminate new solutions to our inclusivity challenges.

Stay tuned; in the meantime, if you’re a woman leader wondering how to build a bolder career, pick up a copy of Leadership Self-Transformation: 52 Career-Defining Questions Every High-Achieving Woman Must Answer. If you’re a team leader pondering how you will shift your organization from diversity by the numbers to inclusion as a value proposition, sign up for our newsletter at margaretspence.com