We asked three of our consultants, all former public servants: “What’s a skill you gained working in the public sector that has helped you succeed in the private sector?”
In short:
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- Listening with purpose
- Systems-wide thinking
- Goal-setting and planning
Roger Gaudet
Senior Consultant and Facilitator
Listening and letting those that you consult know that they have been heard.
Listening is more complex than I initially thought. Listening to capture information is the base level. Once you have created a safe space for feedback, you must listen to understand the dynamic in the group or in the individual’s environment (reading the room or understanding where someone is coming from).
Then, you must listen to understand the need they are trying to satisfy by communicating. Does the group or individual seek to be:
- Helped—then you could enable the co-designing of a solution;
- Heard—then you could focus on validating their experience;
- Held—then you could pursue validating the individual’s or group’s feeling about their experience.
Being alert to these details allows you to you navigate the interactions during the consultation and choose your words well, whether conveyed verbally or in writing, online or in-person.
Read Roger’s profile.
Luc Hebert
Associate Consultant, Facilitator and Trainer
One skill that’s really stuck with me across sectors is systems-wide thinking, being able to see where decisions ripple through a broader ecosystem.
In some of the organizations I’ve been fortunate enough to serve, I honed something I already inherently did: connecting the dots, anticipating impacts and navigating layers of decision-making without losing the thread.
That experience also built patience and an appreciation for more altruistic work grounded in purpose and public good.
In the private sector, things move faster—there’s more emphasis on speed, clarity and results. What I’ve learned is how to balance both. I bring that big-picture lens but adapt to the pace in front of me, designing sessions that fit the organization’s reality so the outcomes are actually usable.
To learn more about the skills that have followed Luc throughout his varied career read: Facilitation: The Skills that Move with You.
Julie Fillion
Senior Consultant, Facilitator and Coach
The ability to set a goal, identify what needs to be done, in what order and along which timelines has been helpful to my career in a variety of contexts – whether being the only cook at a kid’s summer camp, working in a chemistry laboratory, managing operations, projects involving others or working as a consultant.
Planning requires anticipating potential obstacles or delays, preparing contingencies, structuring a course of action, coordinating with others and meeting deadlines.
Along with the ability to set priorities, work independently or as part of a team, and follow through on commitments, planning is a valuable transferable skill that enables people to work effectively in different career contexts.
In professional facilitation, it’s critical to meet deadlines, as the meetings or workshops we facilitate have a set date. In this context, proactive planning is essential to the success of each project I undertake.
To learn more about planning from Julie and colleagues, read: Advice on Planning in Times of Uncertainty.
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