Choosing Growth - Personally and Professionally: Emotional Intelligence, Career Transitions, and Navigating Toxic Workplaces

MARLEQ: You're welcome to MARLEQ Ekaterina, tell us about your career progression.

Ekaterina Leonova: Thank you, I am happy to be a part of the team! I have had quite some career changes in my working life. Originally I come from academia, I hold a PhD degree in Chemistry. While I was finishing my doctorate, I realised that I wanted to work more hands-on. This is when I went into the world of entrepreneurship and got an MBA degree. We worked with organisational and personal health, and my observation was that people are mostly suffering from mental health issues such as stress, anxiety and burnout. This is when I decided to switch and work with recruitment while getting a degree in psychology and coaching certificates. Here I am, a recruitment specialist and a both personal and business/career coach.

MARLEQ: Is there a particular reason you chose coaching, share it with us.

Ekaterina Leonova: I like to see people progress in their lives and careers. Working with a psychologist is very important, but it takes a lot of time. Working with a good coach gives fruitful results even when it is a short-term commitment. Also, I can use various tools instead of having to stick to just one that is mentioned in my title.

MARLEQ: Where have you lived so far and does this help you and your clients?

Ekaterina Leonova: Originally from Russia, I have lived abroad for over 20 years. Most of the time I spent in Sweden, and then some in Spain and Brazil. Right now I live in Switzerland and I love it! Being a world citizen helps me understand the universal challenges of the expats looking for their place in a new country, the specifics of a few job markets and help my clients better. It also gives me a very broad network that I can utilise in various ways. 

MARLEQ: How has your certification and experience in psychology helped your clients to navigate the corporate world with emotional intelligence?

Ekaterina Leonova: I usually take time to explain to my clients some basic concepts of human behaviour and the reasons behind them. We focus on motivation and a trauma-informed approach to communication with colleagues and managers. We also talk about self-worth, strengths and boundaries that help not to fall into toxic patterns. I have heard from my clients that this information is important to have and very useful.

MARLEQ: What three tips do you have to help professionals spot a toxic workplace?

Ekaterina Leonova: Answer these three questions to yourself. 1. Do I constantly feel that I am failing, that I am not enough? 2. Do I get blamed and shamed when I make even a small mistake? 3. Do I feel responsible for my manager’s bad humour?
If you answer yes to at least two of those questions, you can conclude that you are in a toxic work environment.

MARLEQ: What suggestions do you have for professionals who are presently dealing with toxic work environments?

Ekaterina Leonova: If you already know that you are in a toxic environment, there are two things to do. First - take very good care of yourself, and your emotional and physical health, make it your priority. Second - prepare your exit, take your time. Start looking for a new workplace that will offer a healthy emotional atmosphere where you can thrive.

MARLEQ: What can professionals do to avoid burnout?

Ekaterina Leonova: Burnout sneaks on you, and that’s the danger of it. You don’t see it coming and suddenly you find yourself completely uninterested in life. I encourage my clients to use the following routine for burnout prevention: check in with yourself every day. If you feel like “I don’t even care, I can’t bother, whatever happens - happens” - those are alarms. Stop. Rest. Sleep. Go for a long walk. Do it for a few days if needed, until one morning you wake up feeling alert again.

MARLEQ: How many languages do you speak, and how is this a bonus for your clients?

Ekaterina Leonova: I am fluent in Russian, English and Swedish. I am good in Brazilian Portuguese. For a client, it is important to be able to express themselves fully, and quite often it can be done in a specific language that they use the most. Not necessarily native. Many expats are better at expressing themselves in a language they connect with the most currently or maybe even a mixture of languages. I know - I catch myself mixing between Russian, my native language, and English, which I use the most, even when I journal. 

MARLEQ: Who are your ideal clients and what services do you render them?

Ekaterina Leonova: My ideal clients are people with technical or academic backgrounds looking to find a new career challenge or a new path. I help them with their CV and LinkedIn profile review, strategies for a job search, interview training and access to my network - I reach out to relevant contacts for potential job openings or useful connections. I also suggest personal growth sessions to overcome fears and feelings of uncertainty that usually appear when we experience facing the unknown.

MARLEQ: Is there a relationship between personal and professional development, if yes, share it with us.

Ekaterina Leonova: The worth is a direct connection between personal and professional development. The more you connect with your own core, understand and accept your worth, the clearer your professional path becomes. Not only where and how you can contribute best, but also what you are worth in terms of compensation. This kind of knowledge leads to personal and professional satisfaction, and everyone wins!

MARLEQ: Share your favorite novel and quote with us.

Ekaterina Leonova: I have read many great books, but the one I re-read often is “Master and Margarita” by M. Bulgakov.

Another one is “Little Prince” by A. Saint-Exupery. And all the quotes from there - they touch you in different ways depending on your mood and where you are in life. The quote from this book I always have on my mind goes like this: “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”