Have you realized that there are many activities you can perform expertly? There are people highly gifted in different forms of art and some in diverse sporting activities. A gifted person could be a school teacher, banker, data scientist, or police officer.
Can the school teacher still become a successful artist or soccer player, for example? Emphatically, yes. You may hear someone say the teacher playing soccer is a Jack of all trades and master of none.
This Jack-of-all-trades notion loosely labels people with many skills and talents as confused and directionless. Yet, few people understand that confusion can arise from multiple gifts (multi-giftedness). A multi-gifted person can perform many activities at a professional level. But, multi-gifted persons may struggle to focus on one skill because different skills pull them left and right.
In the 21st century workplace, there is such a thing as transferable skills. A transferable skill is one that you can use across different activities (jobs, industries, careers, etc.). Transferability of skills connotes an ability to perform multiple tasks, sometimes unrelated, using skills acquired and meant for a completely different set of projects. Is this notion the same as the Jack-of-all-trades?
Some researchers have argued that for adults to succeed in their careers, they need to specialize. They are insinuating that attempting to use more than one gift may hinder your success. Such arguments, while not entirely wrong, do not support using multiple or transferable skills. You can specialize and still develop and use your other gifts.
In Exodus 31:1-5 (KJV), we read :
“1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: 3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 5 And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.”
Bezaleel was an artisan, in today’s terms. When God instructed Moses to build the Tabernacle, God Himself presented Bezaleel, a key player in the building project, to Moses. In verse 3, God clearly says that He gave Bezaleel the gifts. Verse 4 shows his multiple God-given gifts: he could work in gold, silver, brass, stones, timber, etc. Bezaleel could work skillfully “…in all manner of workmanship”; we read so in verse 5. If you read further in the same Chapter 31 of Exodus, you will see that Bezaleel had workers. Therefore, it may be safe to conclude that he was a good collaborator, communicator, team player, good motivator, good listener, and probably a good leader. Bezaleel was indeed multi-gifted. He had transferable skills. He was a Jack of all trades and master of all!
If God gave you gifts, would He not require you to be able to use them in their totality like Bezaleel?
I suggest that you develop and use your multiple gifts and serve them to the world in your chosen career. Developing and focusing on one dominant skill is a preferred way to start because that will help avoid you becoming a ‘…master of none”. But, hanging onto that one dominant gift and not developing yourself further in your other areas of gifting may prevent your skills from becoming transferable.
Post COVID-19, the workplace requires versatile persons with transferable skills right now.
I believe that living your ONLY life on earth as God intended depends on identifying your gifts and allowing your skills to determine your career.
IT IS YOUR TIME. THEREFORE, ARISE.
What are you going to do?
GetUp&Move!
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