When skills are mentioned, what do you think of? Practical ‘hands-on’ skills like being good at DIY? Football, cycling, sports skills? Or being able to communicate or negotiate well? These are all valuable skills as are so many more. As Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard said, “Happiness is a skill, emotional balance is a skill, compassion and altruism are skills, and like any skill they need to be developed.”
We all have skills
Just because you haven’t ‘learnt’ something doesn’t mean you don’t have any skills. Life lessons and experiences teach us many valuable skills that can be transferred into all aspects of life, personal and professional.
These are transferable skills, and they're incredibly valuable! They're the ones you can use across different jobs and industries because they focus on how you approach tasks and interact with others. Here are some key transferable skills that transfer from life to work:
Recognising that you have strong skills can help you both in your personal life and in your professional life. For example:
Increase job opportunities: a strong skillset makes you a more attractive candidate to employers. This is especially true for specialist skills that are in high demand or specific to a particular job.
Improve your performance: the better you are at something, the more efficiently and effectively you can do it. This applies to both technical skills and soft skills like communication and teamwork.
Boost your confidence: mastering a new skill or improving an existing one can give you a real sense of accomplishment and make you feel more confident in your abilities.
Open doors to new hobbies and interests: there's a whole world of activities out there that you can explore once you have the necessary skills. Learning to play an instrument, improve your swimming, or simply challenging yourself to try something you’ve always been meaning to – fishing, painting, paddleboarding, for example.
Help you solve problems: strong skills can help you approach challenges in a logical and methodical way, which can be helpful in all areas of life.
Learning new skills
Learning something new needn’t be a daunting prospect. It should be exciting, and something you feel ready to embrace. It doesn’t have to be huge – start small to make it achievable – or it could be improving or refreshing a skill you already have. And just like making and embracing change, consistency is key. Keep at it and when you start to see a change or improvement, you’ll be spurred on to keep going.
It's not always easy to see our own skills. We’re not great at self-praise, ‘Oh yes, I’m good at x, y, z,’ just doesn’t come naturally. You could ask a friend or trusted colleague what your strengths are – and these should come up in your work appraisals too. Or if you get stuck, have a chat with me and we can look at what makes you tick, what you enjoy doing and what you can develop more. One person’s skills are different to the next and that’s what makes us unique as well as being able to work together – combining skills and strengths makes stronger families, communities and workplaces.