About me
Hi, I am Elena!
I started my career as a software developer in a multinational company and then a manager. During my time as a manager, I fell in love with coaching and I started practicing it as an internal coach in parallel with my management role. I now cumulate more than 10 years of management experience and more than 750 hours of coaching practice spanned over 10 years in the organizations where I have worked and as a freelancer.
Now, I work with leaders helping them to find the inner balance they need to lead their teams effectively, plan strategically, create work environments where they and their teams can thrive, navigate change and at the same time keep the work-life balance we all need to be effective on the long run. When needed, I accompany them to take ownership of their career paths or navigate a transition to find and deepen the new skills that better serve them in the new position.
I am passionate about what I do, I love hearing my client’s life stories in coaching sessions and accompany them to become the person they wish to be. And during my leadership trainings, I enjoy exchanging ideas with other leaders about what worked for them and what didn’t as well and sharing knowledge so we can find a solution together.
In a few words…
I am an optimistic and joyful person who values freedom, authenticity depth and compassion above all. I enjoy life and I am determined to fully live every bit of it no matter what it throws at me.
And below you can find out what it throwed so far.
Management experience
I started my career as a software developer and I got promoted to a management role within two years. Along with my team, we created a new software product from scratch I am proud to say that the software is still part of the company's portfolio and it is still successful today, 17 years after that first line of code.
After less than 6 years since I was promoted to a leadership position, another opportunity arose and I was promoted to a project director role. I spent another 5 years in this position fostering a safe environment for team members to develop and thrive, assisting the deliveries, building the team that still functions today in roughly the same structure and with the same efficiency.
Coaching and Training
During my time as a manager, I attended several soft skills trainings aimed at making us better leaders. I found them so interesting that I said to myself this is what I want to do one day. I also attended an introductory training on coaching. I was mesmerized by how powerful yet simple it was, and I said to myself: I must dig deeper into this.
I went to a Train the Trainer course in 2013 and started to go deeper into what the training profession meant. Several years later I developed and delivered internally several Soft Skills Trainings on communication, time management and emotional intelligence.
I went to my first coaching training, Being Coach(ed) by One2Coach for six months from November 2014 to May 2015. I fell helplessly in love with coaching by the end of the program, the love continued to this day and it will probably continue until the end.
I continued to learn andpractice coaching and in November 2016 I become Associated Certified Coach by the International Coaching Federation. Then, in March 2022 I upgraded my certification to Professional Certified Coach by the same organization.
Leadership
How should I, as a leader, be and what should I do differently so that my team works better today than it did yesterday and they will work tomorrow better than they do today?
Parenting
Towards the end of 2018, a new chapter in my life begun: parenting. This was a very special time in my life and it changed me in ways I could have not imagined. It was a complete change of scenery. It was a lot of human connection in my life, babies are very good at that and less intellectual stimulation.
It was with ups and downs, it still is, but I like to say that having children gave me a purpose in life I previously did not know I was missing. And I believe all parents know what I am talking about.
Three and a half years and two baby girls later, it was time for me to decide whether I return to the corporate world as an employee or I follow my passion and try my luck as a self-employed coach and trainer. After giving it a lot of thought and consulting with my family, I chose the latter. It felt like the time was right, like it was now or never, and I knew that I would regret it if I didn’t at least give it a try.
Freelancer
I am not going to lie: self-employment has been a bumpy ride so far. But, I am happier and more fulfilled with my career. I get to make my own schedule and most importantly I get to follow my passion. It feels like I am doing what I was born to do: accompany people in their journey through life.
I am deeply motivated by putting my mark into the world I live in, by leaving something behind. I find coaching and teaching through trainings are the best way for me to do this. If by interacting with me a person changes something in who they are, this has consequences on how they think and act. Changing their behavior will also influence everybody they interact with. So, the people in their lives might also be touched by this change and they will propagate it to those around them and so on. This way, my influence will propel like ripples in a pond.
By working with leaders, my impact will be even more important as leaders can have a greater impact on those around them. We have an innate bias to follow authority and comply to its requirements and I believe a good leader, someone to admire and trust can go a long way into influencing a person’s life.
Coaching
If I were to describe my coaching style in one word, that would be compassionate.
What defines me
I feel I am a child of two worlds: the technical world - rational, structured, predictable, organized - and the world of human interactions, so unpredictable and complex that needs more to be felt rather than understood as it cannot be grasped with the rational mind.
This duality has followed me all my life. During my time as a leader I enjoyed delivering and getting things done as much as I enjoyed connecting with my team members durin 1:1 and hearing their professional or personal stories. It still follows me in the way I coach and train. I like to say that in my coaching sessions, I offer an ear ready to listen, a down-to-earth clear mind and a soul ready to comfort you when needed. During my trainings I provide an organized content well routed in the latest scientific discoveries as well as an invitation to find ways to put in practice what suits you, your leadership style and your personality.
This duality follows me even in my hobbies as I enjoy playing video games as much as I enjoy designing jewelry and the painstaking work of sewing tapestries.
Credentials
- Professional Certified Coach by ICF
- 750+ hours of coaching practice
- 'Simplifying Coaching' @3dcoaching
- 'Be Coach!' @Coachingdipity
- 'Coaching Activities Specialist - COR code 242412' acreditation by ANC
- 'Being Coach(ed)' @One2Coach
- Acreditation 'Trainer - COR code 241205' acreditation by ANC
- 'Train the Trainer' @Scoala de Training
- Freelancer since 2022
- Volunteer since 2023 @ICF Romania Charter Chapter
- 10+ years leadership experience
- Master's degree in Computerized Project Management @ASE Bucharest
- Batchelor's Degree in Computer and Information Sciences @ASE Bucharest