Transferable skills are critically important for moms returning to paid work. It builds value, confidence for both the working mom and for the teams they join. In the third part of this 4-part interview series with Danielle Dobson’s return to work success story, she lists transferrable skills that helped her put her foot back into the business world. To catch up with the interview, read part 1 and part 2.
-----------
Anna: What were some of the transferable skills between parenting and working for you?
Danielle: Previously, I had a career in finance, so I developed skills and mastery around problem-solving, organization, planning and scheduling, measuring outcomes, and speaking to people. I was in audit, and my last role was internal audit, and I learned how to get things out of people by listening to them and understanding them. Financial literacy and awareness, I completely underestimated that. So definitely having that and just my general strengths that I guess I've always had—resourcefulness, motivation and drive. I just brought all those strengths and skills to my role of parenting.
Anna: But from your role of parenting to this new role that you have…
Danielle: Critical thinking. It might seem crazy, but I've got three young boys and have often had the case of “Who do I save first? The one who’s going to fall off the deck? The one who’s going to run out into the road? Or the one who’s just about to smash his head?” And people might say, “That has nothing to do with the business world,” but it's like lightning quick, and you have to prioritize.
And then things like scheduling. I have to get that person set up and all the obstacles out
of their way so they're in a good position to be able to carry on with this. Removing obstacles to set others up for success. That was a big one.
Creativity – As moms we’re incredibly creative with setting up connections and opportunities for our kids and other people’s.
Collaboration – with groups, with other parents, with teachers. Meeting the needs of people with entirely different objectives and emotional discombobulation, getting them to all move together in a team, is hard. So, motivation and drive. Finding out what makes people tick and how to motivate them to get in on the group mission.
Innovative thinking. You’ve got to be so innovative and creative all the time as a parent. Adaptability, flexibility, empathy, and perspective. I think perspective was one of the biggest ones. You have to always understand that person in front of you [unsure] and how to get the best out of them.
Anna: Definitely. Yeah, that's awesome. If you can work with a two-year-old and get the best out of a two-year-old, you can do that out of a 42-year-old.
Danielle: I think one of the biggest things is there’s a blessing and a curse. I didn't know anything about child raising, so I was feeling my way the whole time. And I thought the only way I can do this thing is to understand each of my kids, what makes them tick individually and uniquely. I brought my strength of curiosity to that. I was always asking, “What makes them do that? Why are they doing that?” trying to understand them. Because the only way I could do this parenting gig was to understand each one individually. Or trying to relate to them and motivating them by how they respond individually. There's no one size fits all. And there's a thousand books on parenting, but there's no one book. So, you’ve got to feel your way.
Anna: And I know that you use your research skills of figuring out all the pieces of information from those parenting books that were helpful for you. Just like you're figuring out all the pieces of the research that you're having to pick through for your book. I mean, I think that's really pretty cool.
Danielle: And I think the more we look for all of those similarities and how we show up in different realms, the more we can be congruent and have the flow. Rather than looking at how they’re all different.
-----------
This is a 4-part interview series with Anna McKay, Founder of Parent’s Pivot and Danielle Dobson of Code Conversations. If you are interested in learning more about how you can successfully pivot to paid work, contact Anna today.
