This is My Parachute Color. What is Yours?

What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles is one of the most powerful frameworks for career reinvention. Recently I did this exercise for myself using AI prompt (see my blog#1).

It’s about discovering what you do best, what you love doing, and where the world needs what you can offer.

Let’s apply its principles to your career story and skill set as an Agile Coach / Scrum Master / Delivery Lead.

🎯 Step 1: Identify Your Transferable Skills (Functional Skills)

Bolles calls these “transferable skills” — the verbs that describe how you add value, no matter the job title.
Looking at your success stories and career path, your top functional (transferable) skills are:

CategorySkillExample from Your Career

Analysis & Strategy Diagnose and solve problems systematically Identified Agile adoption gaps and improved velocity by 25% at Reyes Holdings

Leadership & Influence Rally cross-functional teams toward common goalsTurned “resistant” TransUnion team into a self-motivated Agile unit

Facilitation & Coaching Guide individuals and teams to improve performanceCoached Scrum Masters and Product Owners through transformation

Process

workflows for efficiency and qualitySplit complex DB2 to Oracle migration into iterative, lower-risk phases

Communication & Empathy

Build trust across technical and business teamsCreated transparency and safe spaces for honest feedback and retros

Learning Agility

Quickly learn new systems and technologies

Self-taught AWS, Oracle Cloud, Azure DevOps, and applied them in live delivery environments

You excel in bringing clarity to complexity and in turning struggling teams into self-sufficient, value-driven performers.
That’s the essence of a change leader, not just a coach.

💡 Step 2: Define Your “Preferred Skills Environment” (Where You Thrive)

According to Bolles, we must identify the environment that fuels your motivation.

What Energizes YouWhy It Matters

Coaching and mentoring teams

You naturally uplift others and build self-reliant, collaborative cultures

Continuous learning and experimenting

You love exploring frameworks, tools, and business systems

Strategic problem-solving

You see patterns, create order, and align delivery with vision

Cross-functional collaboration

You thrive in diverse, matrixed environments (IT + Business + Product)

Seeing measurable outcomes

You gain satisfaction from data that proves improvement (velocity, quality, engagement)

You would not thrive in overly bureaucratic or static environments where innovation, iteration, and autonomy are stifled.

🌈 Step 3: Your “Parachute Flower” — Career Themes

Bolles uses a “flower exercise” to help people visualize their ideal work.
Here’s yours, synthesized:

PetalYour Response

1. People You Enjoy Working With

Curious, open-minded professionals who value learning and accountability

2. Working Conditions You Prefer

Collaborative, psychologically safe, and balanced (onsite + hybrid + autonomy)

3. Transferable Skills You Love Using

Coaching, problem-solving, facilitating, simplifying complex processes

4. Fields of Fascination

Technology, Education, Digital Transformation, Health & Finance

5. Level of Responsibility

Team to Program-level (Scrum Master → RTE → Delivery Lead)

6. Salary/Reward

Fair compensation for measurable impact and empowerment of others

7. Purpose/Mission

Helping people, systems, and organizations become more effective and fulfilled

🪂 Step 4: Your “True Skills Identity”

Here’s your distilled career identity statement inspired by What Color Is Your Parachute?

“I help organizations and teams transform the way they deliver value — by coaching people to collaborate, simplify, and achieve more through Agile principles, empathy, and continuous learning.”

This isn’t just what you do — it’s who you are when you’re at your best.

🌟 Step 5: Your Top Marketable Skills (as Bolles Defines Them)

These are your “proof-based” skills — backed by stories and measurable outcomes.

1. Agile Delivery & Transformation Leadership – Leading Agile teams across business and technology domains.

2. Cross-Functional Coaching – Mentoring POs, SMs, and teams to self-sufficiency.

3. Change Management & Resistance Navigation – Turning skeptical teams into adopters through empathy and structure.

4. Data-Driven Decision Making – Using metrics (velocity, WIP, cycle time) to align delivery with business outcomes.

5. Cloud & Systems Integration Expertise – Applying real-world knowledge of AWS, Oracle Cloud, MuleSoft, and Azure DevOps in delivery contexts.

🧭 Step 6: Career Path Insight — Where to Go Next

Bolles would say, follow where your flower blooms most brightly.
Based on your skills and mindset, your best next steps are roles that combine delivery, leadership, and coaching, such as:

• Agile Delivery Lead / Program Manager (Agile)

• Release Train Engineer (RTE)

• Enterprise Agile Coach (in transformation offices)

• Product Delivery Lead (in digital transformation or cloud programs)

Sectors most aligned with your values and experience:

• Tech + Education (EdTech, SaaS)

• Financial & Insurance (FinTech, InsurTech, data-driven orgs)

• Healthcare / Pharma Tech

• Consulting (Agile & digital transformation firms)