I am an award-winning Career Fulfilment and Leadership Development coach, helping conscious, aspiring professionals thrive in the careers they love. With over 25 years in international recruitment and education management, I’ve held managerial and business development roles with P&L accountability, working with corporate clients from all over the world.
Having started my corporate career in Japan, I have lived and worked in 3 countries. I published thought leadership articles in Forbes Coaches Council, Thrive Global and Authority Magazine, I am also a speaker, and an author. Personal development and spirituality have always been my passion, so I have worked with teachers such as John DeMartini and Deepak Chopra. I infuse love, joy and spirit into my coaching and everything I do.
I offer a powerful blend of personal, career and business coaching and mindset work. It has brought transformational results to 300+ clients whether it was to navigate a radical career transition, a change of role or progress in their career. I deliver coaching, as well as workshops to global talent from Amazon, Maersk, eBay, Goldman Sachs, Schlumberger, PWC, Oxford Instruments, The Cabinet Office, and many others.
Hi Jelena! Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today.
My background is slightly unusual in the sense that I was the first woman from ex-Yugoslavia to land a corporate job in Japan. In the early 90s, prospects for fresh graduates with English and Japanese were literally non-existent. Scholarships were few and far in between, and I was lucky to be referred by my university professor, as one of the top students, to meet a group of Japanese recruiters scouting for international talent. After numerous informal conversations and language ability tests, including attending their job fair in London, I was offered a job by the same company that was organising the international job fairs, driven by Japan’s economic policy to internationalise their workforce.
I left on the wings of excitement and anticipation. My job in recruitment aligned well with my passion for connecting people and it was a catalyst for work-life fulfilment, which led me to become a career coach a few decades later.
I was elated with my new life in Tokyo. My hard work was rewarded with more responsibility and opportunities to travel on business in Europe and the US. However, the gruelling, exhausting days and long commute meant my personal development took a back seat. Being young, foreign and a woman were the three worst career pitfalls, but I embraced them and did my best to build an international career –after 4 years in Tokyo I moved to London to run the European operations of this Japanese company, which I did for 6 years.
My subsequent roles were all in international recruitment, helping major corporations look for fresh talent. Working in managerial roles with profit & loss responsibility, sales, business development, candidate selection and talent acquisition, from start-ups to University Career Service, to growing SMEs in Japan and the UK, I’ve developed a strong business acumen and commercial awareness that allow me to coach clients from a variety of industries and seniority levels. I also built significant experience in the MBA and EMBA arena, advising top business schools from all corners of the world.
What is your work inspired by?
I started WhatWork, my Career Coaching business in 2016, inspired by the idea of bringing together my commercial background, love for human development, recruitment, business, spiritual practice, and personal development, as well as the excellent results my pro-bono clients were getting. I then qualified as a coach with CTI (Coaches Training Institute) and continued with my spiritual and personal development work of several decades. In 2018 I won the ‘Coach of the Year Award’ amongst 250 other coaches and consultants and continue to serve my clients tirelessly, through individual and group coaching, covering career transitions, career development and leadership development. I have always been fascinated by various cultures, languages, belief systems and social norms, so my coaching also has a cross-cultural competence flavour to it, as I have coached clients from China, Japan, HK, Singapore, Australia, US, and all of Europe, as well as Israel, Egypt, and Dubai. I am passionate about diversity and inclusion and especially reducing the gender pay gap. I work with both men and women, professionals who enjoy being supported and challenged and who are curious, open-minded, and life-long learners.
Throughout my life and for several decades, I was immersed in personal development, spiritual practices and have always been fascinated by human potential and what we need in order to self-actualise. At 18, I took up transcendental meditation, I was mesmerised by Zen Buddhism, Japanese haiku poetry, and anything spiritual I could get my hands on. My search for meaning and the unknowable was incessant. Being drawn by Eastern philosophies and exploring the works of Paolo Coelho, Carl Jung, and many others, also influenced my choice of Japanese Language and Literature at university. I always knew, somehow, that I would be living outside my home country and that my curiosity and thirst for learning and expanding my horizons could only be partially satisfied through exploring various parts of the world, immersing myself in other cultures, getting to understand what sets us apart, but also what brings us all together – no matter where we come from.
Going back to my purpose and my own mission, because work and self-actualisation have always been so important to me, I dedicate my work to all those who want to find fulfilment in their work. It brings me immense satisfaction to witness my clients’ changing attitudes, perceptions, and growing self-awareness, which in turn lead to greater clarity, confidence, and focus – as a result, they realise the progression or transition they have set out at the beginning of the coaching process. Their lives change, not just because they changed roles/ jobs /or even career direction – the effects of great coaching are felt and experienced in all areas of their lives. You cannot change internally and then apply that partially only to certain areas of your life. The change is profound and affects all areas of their lives – hence it is transformative.
What kind of audience do you target your business towards?
My clients are mostly mid-career and senior professionals who are unhappy, stuck, burnt out or even bored with their current work life. Some of them feel stagnant, some of them have realised that they’ve been in the wrong industry and that whatever they are doing, does not align with their values, or doesn’t fulfil them anymore.
So far, I have helped more than 300 clients worldwide achieve their goals when it comes to career and work life. Through a structured coaching process and my own tried and tested methodology, I take them on a journey – the Ultimate Career Transformation. We often discover thought patterns, beliefs, and values that the client was not aware of, and some transitions may be more complex and take longer – the so called double or triple jump, when they change countries (even continents), companies/industries and roles. This often involves looking at a bigger picture, personal life and family, long range goals and much more.
My clients’ success is my own success. In less than two years during the pandemic more than 25 of my clients landed roles they wanted, got promoted, started their MBA or EMBA, or even started their own businesses. Recently, I have been doing more leadership development work with my clients, helping them with leadership mindset, communication, personal impact, and personal brand. Often my clients get opportunities in the most unusual ways, through skilful networking or simply being open and receptive, whilst also working on raising their visibility. It gives me endless joy when my clients succeed, often despite many adversities or obstacles on the way. I am always there for them to cheer them on, support them and challenge them.
What are your current goals for your business?
I would love to reach as many people as possible and help them transform their work life and achieve the happiness and fulfilment they deserve. That is why I am doing more workshops in organisations and group coaching. I also create a lot of free content which I share through several channels, including my newsletter. One of my favourite tools, which is freely available is my proprietary Career Fitness Quiz. It takes 2 minutes to complete, and it will give you personalised feedback on what areas of your career need attention.
In addition to my 1-2-1 coaching, I also offer a video course Career Transitions Made Easy, which is a self-paced programme, packed with content, worksheets and exercise and best tips you can get to navigate a career transition.
I am always led by the desire to serve and help transform lives. From early on in my life I was drawn to psychology, philosophy, and spiritual traditions. In recent years I’ve been inspired by the work of Deepak Chopra, Thich Nhat Hanh, Eckart Tolle, John Demartini, and many others, as well as Eastern philosophies. I practice meditation regularly and cultivate a conscious approach to life. I pass on to my clients whatever they are ready to receive, and often our insights and breakthroughs are delightful and profound – they occur in the moment, as it happens with powerful coaching.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?
Thinking about the coaching industry, being a relatively new industry, my wish is for high standards to be kept at all times. More and more people are open to coaching and more and more people are questioning their lives and work aspirations, due to the pandemic and its aftermath. We all have a personal responsibility to live in integrity and be a beacon of light for others, especially if we are in the coaching profession. I am particularly keen to see the democratisation of leadership development and executive coaching, where organisations invest in their talent across the board rather than in a few select employees. Engaging in coaching and experiencing the results of powerful coaching should not be a privilege of just a few. Also, developing coaching conversations in organisations is something I’d like to see more of.
I am excited about the future of WhatWork and the value I continue to provide to individuals and organisations. I am very fortunate to be naturally gifted with a positive outlook, unshakeable faith and drive to be the best I can be and help my clients do the same. As more and more people grow awareness around the impact and purpose of their work, the more they will be empowered to drive the change they want to see in the world.
