Transferable skills

I am midway in a pretty major career transition. After 20 years in software, I started on a master's in clinical mental health and am now in year three of the program and midway through my counseling internship. I get a lot of cross-eyed looks from folks on both sides of my life (tech and counseling), confused about what seems to them like a radical transition. 

I recently went through a bunch of exercises in What Color is Your Parachute (man, is it a good read) that helped me clarify how I see counseling and coaching as a natural extension of what I loved in the first half of my career. It was a bit of a time-consuming exercise, but it was super helpful and informative. I would recommend the exercise to everybody who just wants to understand themselves a little better. It is a powerful thing to understand your transferrable skills and imagine how you could apply them in a variety of roles. 

Here's the exercise - it's challenging and super rewarding:

1. Write 5-7 stories of your life when you felt like you were doing great work and you felt great doing it. These can be short, but choose a variety of environments and ages.
2. Read through your stories and identify the skills represented in those stories (examples are consistent, assertive, open-minded, tactful - and the full list from the book is here)
3. Now, rewrite those skills as sentences. For example, "I use my intuition and experience to make decisions quickly and solve problems iteratively" or "I speak, guide, and mentor from knowledge and experience to increase individual and team effectiveness."

This is a list of transferrable skills that you bring to any situation - and it's a powerful list! This is what makes you unique in your role, and it's the special stuff you bring.

What I loved about the first half of my career has led me into this dynamic second half. I excel at breaking down ambiguous needs, creating individual growth and clarity, and solving problems iteratively - all special skills that I now get to bring into counseling. 

What are your top transferable skills? Any surprises in your list?