Name: Alena Klimuk

Title: Business Operation Manager

Organisation: Instinctools

Wrote as for the article :) Alena Klimuk is a seasoned Business Operations Manager, with over 12 years in IT and project management, who currently excels at Instinctools, Germany. A strong education in mathematics and economics provided successful development in initiating and overseeing transformative processes that enhance operational efficiencies and company performance.

Alena is a PMP and Agile certified professional with a DBA in Project Management and an MBA in Safety and Change Management. Her leadership has successfully guided the implementation of numerous projects, underlining her commitment to continuous improvement and strategic alignment with a focus on people-centric approaches. Prior to her tenure at Instinctools, Alena led a mobile development team at Azati, USA, and was instrumental in establishing the BA direction at Itibo, Belarus, demonstrating her adeptness in leadership, strategic planning, and process optimization.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Alena's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

It's all about finding that sweet spot between 'What's the company gotta get?' and 'What's in it for me?'. The most tricky is to find, and after that to keep shining a spotlight on the magical intersection of both - the company goals and the employees needs. The challenge is to assist employee with detection of that meaningful for them boundary, when they realize that their work doesn’t just pump up the company stats, but also enriches their own lives.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

It was a natural progression for the person who was driven to benefit a larger number of people. It's a journey of transformation, one that begins with a simple, yet profound realization of your patterns like: step forward to solve problems, take responsibility for the results gather people and empower them to act and synergize toward the solution.

Now, let me take you back 12 years. Picture me, a mathematics and informatics teacher, passionate about education, yet feeling the urge to impact a wider horizon. That's when I leaped into the world of marketing in IT. Why? Because I believed that my skills could touch more lives, could make a more significant impact. While marketing, I found myself with luck on my side and in the middle of an incredible opportunity – an idea for gamified application to teach children piano, investors supporting the vision, and developers believing that it is a worthy idea.

This is where my journey took an exciting turn. I transitioned from a marketer to a business analyst, a project manager, and eventually, the leader of a developer team. This transformation wasn't just a change in job titles; it was a shift in mindset. Just not to keep the story without numbers which anyway the gist of any business, at that time there were no alternative products on smartphone application marketplaces, so the app provided the team growth from 4 enthusiasts to a 12-person mobile department.

There is my main conclusion, to become a leader is not just about climbing a ladder; it's about the willingness to find solutions and bring people together to create something bigger than only a good idea.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

"Let's dive into my journey of optimizing work day but also life, not just through timeboxes, but through energy management. As a mathematician, I've always been fascinated by finding the optimal patterns and algorithms in everything I do. I was experimenting with all available time management techniques – from the Eisenhower Box, usage of Tomato Timer, Getting Things Done, etc. But then, when I used whatever but still was not satisfied with results, an epiphany!

I realized that it's not just time, it's energy, so precious. Since then I have been mixing self-awareness with time management to get my secret sauce for everyday! I discovered for myself that there are times for peak energy usage and times for recharging. My days became a balance between these two rhythms. The basic rules to structure my work day: Be aware of personal priorities: Family comes first for me.

If my child needs me, that's my top priority and everything else takes a backseat. I also recognize my productive week hours: Tuesday and Thursday and slots from 8 till 11 am, and in the evening from 21 to 23 pm, I save this time for the most important tasks. Start with a Kaizen Hour: Each morning is dedicated to continuous improvement. It's a time to reflect on long-term goals and fine-tune my approach.

Recharge Rituals: It's crucial to comprehend the things that recharge your batteries. Some of my examples, it's a morning coffee while walking my dog or tuning into playlists to manage my energy levels. Yes, I have playlists sorted by energy levels! Studying also keeping me on the surface, I have the courses on different topics to scrutinize or new books to listen to. Peel Off the Husk: I focus on high-impact tasks, shedding the less critical ones through delegation. It's about keeping the core, the essence of my work.

Cluster Similar Tasks: This helps in timeboxing and reduces the mental load of switching gears. My tasks are divided into two main categories: project work and within that, specific activities like planning, monitoring, analyzing, and mentoring&coaching. Structured Yet Flexible: My days are structured but not rigid.

My work days within the week look more or less the same:

6.00 - 8.00 am - get up and have time for family, including a walk with my dog, he is also a family :)

8.00 - 9.00 am Keizen hour - to analyze yesterday to find what can be done better and plan the actions to correct what is needed.

9.00-12.00 pm tasks require creativity, learning or high attention

12.00-13.00 pm lunchtime. If I am working remotely, I prefer to have a break and cook for my family within this time. Or to have a walk to get a fresh air.

13.00-17.00 pm - time to have meeting on projects related tasks, the meetings with mentees are mostly planned for the second part of the day.

17.00-18.00 pm - time for sumup, operational work - to reschedule the meetings, and check inbox, messengers, and the task reports executed by the team.

18.00 -20.00 pm - family time

20.00-21.00 pm - own time to recharge.

21.00-23.00 pm - time for new ideas generation or studying new things

Remember, it's about being agile and adaptable, keep the room for improvisation! Life is unpredictable, and our plans should be flexible enough to accommodate the ebbs and flows of our daily lives. This balance of structure and agility has been my key to not just managing time, but managing energy - the true essence of productivity in both work and life."

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

So, I've got two "inside baseball" stories from my time as a facilitator for managers' annual strategy sessions for some companies. Pick your Priority 1 Team. While many stars can twinkle in the sky, only the pole star can guide your voyage so you get to the point. Lead by example: basically, walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

The first story went down at a strategy meeting where the vibe was more "show and tell" with department heads bragging about their achievements like proud parents but missing the big picture - the company was barely breaking even, talent was bouncing, and new clients were as rare as a unicorn. Turns out, these leaders were all about the teams they are leading, completely forgetting they are members (not leaders) of the managing team and must contribute to the result of this team foremost.

The second tale is a classic - a leader with more ideas than Netflix has series, delegating tasks left and right. But, without follow-through, those tasks were forgotten faster than last year's memes. His team figured if he's not checking in, why should they care? This trickled down until everyone was ignoring the big projects, mirroring their boss's "out of sight, out of mind" attitude.

They're lessons in the art of seeing the bigger picture and setting priorities according to the company needs, not just executing the own roles; and leading not just by words, but by actions.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

I would like to share my teenage memory of the first leadership book I received as a birthday gift from my father when I was 12 years old: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. At first, the book left me with mixed feelings about Carnegie's motives and methods, balancing between a sincere desire to help people and the goal of manipulating them for personal gain.

Reading the book as a kid was like discovering a top secret: part of me wondered if I was learning to be a superhero of kindness or a mastermind of mind control. I discussed the book with my father to clarify what is worth keeping for a lifelong lesson, and since then for me is the book about basic leadership skills such as showing genuine interest in others, listening, encouraging rather than criticizing, and valuing others' sense of importance. These ideas, especially seeing situations from others' perspectives and encouraging their goals, guide my daily interactions with colleagues by understanding their interests and valuing their contributions.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

The essence of achieving success across various fields lies in mastering three pivotal soft skills: the art of selling, communication, decision-making. Mastering sales, communication, and decision-making skills is critical because they all improve our interactions with others—skills we hone since childhood, although not always consciously.

We start talking and realize that conversations can expand our world and give us what we want faster. Understanding the needs of others makes it easier to sell our ideas and share benefits. Knowing what you want and its influence will teach you to make good decisions because ultimately they determine our results. It's like leveling up in the game of life without even realizing you've been playing since you could talk :)

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far?

This was the time when I took on the role of consultant to implement one of the change management frameworks. Just picture: business leaders, armed with a clear vision and plan, embark on a journey of change. But here's a twist: the journey becomes as slow as walking on tar. Why? The comedic revelation reveals that the very people who should have championed these changes were subconsciously shying away from them, content with the status quo due to the financial success of the company had that time. My conclusion from the story.

Even the best-laid plans and precise methods and techniques, executed with the precision of Swiss watches, are no match for the human element. Balancing the change equation has become my mantra, paying equal attention to technical aspects such as vision and plan, and personal dynamics such as dissatisfaction and resistance.

My current approach to the art of change implementation involves calibrating the team supposed to lead the change first, recognizing the unique personality traits of each team member and how they fit with the mission. It turns out that understanding what's holding a team back on a personal level leads to smoother sailing. So, every change path now begins with diagnosing the team dynamics and examining the personal characteristics that make or break the process.