I have transitioned smoothly from Senior Investment Bank roles to working in local education / schools . Interestingly my skills have proved transferable , good work organisation / ability to prioritise work , the ability to assess the facts , make decisions quickly / working at speed / getting things done and assisting other staff members as much as possible . Working with / for people with varying skillsets has been interesting however but thats part of the challenge I was fortunate in my early career to work with/for several impressive people who went on to forge stellar careers at board level at major UK banks & European Central banks . Lessons were learnt from these mentors , some are common sense 1 ) If you want to find out about any subject seek out the expert , ignore hierarchy 2 ) Communication is key however regular meetings for the sake of having meetings are pointless , 3 ) If you dont know the answer to a question just say so , but find out later , never bullshit 4 ) Ambition is good but only if it does not exceed ability , arrogance is fine but not twinned with ignorance 5 ) Presentation / PR can only take u so far 6 ) Managing expectations is an admission of defeat , always try to exceed them , as i was told by my manager when i first moved to the trading floor ‘ I wont know what i want until you give it to me ‘ 7) Empower staff to make independent decisions , it will be good for them and the organisation8) Be flexible and understanding to staff , you may be pleasantly surprised when they respond accordingly 9) Make decisions based on what is good for the organisation not you , they should be the same 10) Lastly , remember rules were designed for inexperienced people