Founder of “Change is Possible” Community & Accelerator where corporate professionals build influential brands & portfolio careers I Change Advisor to Leaders I Ex-Citi COO I Follow for modern leadership, career & change

Over the past 25 years, I have built a successful international banking career.
Most recently, I was the Regional COO for Citibank’s $2Bn business across 16 countries in Asia - leading large-scale transformations in digitisation and culture.

But in 2021, I walked away from my high-paying executive role.

Why?

Because I wanted more space.
More time with family.
More alignment between who I am and how I work.

But I didn’t want to start from scratch.
So I asked myself a question:
What if I could build a career around everything I already know - and love?

That’s how my portfolio career began.
And it changed everything.

Now, I help other professionals do the same.

What I’ve built since 2021:
→ A 6-figure portfolio business with 3 income streams
→ Founder of Change is Possible - a business community for professionals redesigning their next chapter
→ 100K+ LinkedIn followers (grew from 17K in under a year)
→ Coached 100+ professionals through successful career transitions
→ Host of a Top 20 global podcast on career change, Change is Possible
→ TEDx speaker, Forbes columnist, and Bloomberg TV guest

Want to build your own portfolio career?
🚀 THE PORTFOLIO CAREER ACCELERATOR (Launching January 2026) 
Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1thkmph_EwRxLGfuL9muCsRir1uKDdF2nXYeI7X_1oSA/edit

This is an 8-week program designed to help you:
→ Turn your expertise into income
→ Build a personal brand that opens doors
→ Create your first income stream - even before you leave your job

Only 20 spots. 12 already claimed.

Other ways we can work together:
✔️ Join my business community — Change is Possible https://changeispossible.co.uk/ - doors open for new members on Sept.10, 2025
✔️ Book me to speak — I deliver keynotes on leadership, change, career reinvention, and the future of work - send a DM.
✔️ Hire me as an advisor — I support companies navigating complex transformation - send a DM to meet and explore.
✔️ Book 1:1 coaching — For senior execs ready to design their next chapter - send a DM.
✔️ Book my LinkedIn Growth Bundle — A 2-session intensive where I teach you the exact system I used to grow to 100K+ followers. Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1bLp7wmK8xhIpfFu8beImvD5JZQHYsbraTBx5Orjx0zs/edit

P.S. Still wondering if change is really possible?
🎧 Tune in to my podcast Change is Possible — where 100+ professionals share how they redesigned their careers and lives. Watch here - https://www.youtube.com/@ChangeIsPossiblePodcast

Ani Filipova

The first time someone told me the truth about my leadership, I wanted to fire them.

I did not, obviously.
But I wanted to.
"Who are they to tell me...." 🤯 

Most leaders say they want honesty.
Then someone actually gives it.
And they get defensive.

Start explaining why that person is wrong.
Or worse - they punish honesty.
Withdraw.
Get cold.
"Manage out" the truth-teller.

Do it enough times and people learn.
They stop telling you the truth.
They tell you what you want to hear.

Look around.
Scandals at every level.
Boards blindsided.
Leaders shocked by what "nobody told them."

Nobody told them because they made it unsafe to speak.

The first time someone tells you a hard truth, you will want to fight it.
Your ego will scream.
You will feel attacked.
Misunderstood.
Betrayed.

This is normal.
This is human.
This does not make you a bad leader.

Leadership is not being okay with hard feedback.
Leadership is what you do in the 10 seconds after hearing it.

How to train yourself to receive truth better:

→ Leadership is not being okay with hard feedback.
→ Leadership is what you do in the 10 seconds after hearing something that makes you want to defend yourself.
→ It is saying "tell me more" when every cell in your body wants to say "you are wrong."
→ It is thanking someone for their honesty even when their delivery was clumsy and it stung.
→ It is sleeping on feedback that feels unfair. Then waking up and finding that some of it is true and deciding to take it on.

You do not have to be perfect at this.
You just have to be 5% better than last month.

The more truth people tell you, the less scary it becomes.
Not because feedback gets easier.
But because you prove to yourself that honesty does not destroy you.

It builds you.

Follow me, Ani Filipova, for more on leadership and building a career on your terms.
♻️ Repost if a leader in your network needs to hear this.

-----
📌 Check my free webinars this month:
Future of work: https://lnkd.in/gT5S8Sbs
Portfolio career: https://lnkd.in/gf-ifWqj

Some people did everything right and still didn’t make it.

I think about them a lot.

They made smart decisions.
Built the right skills.
Were genuinely good at what they did.

And the break never came.

Meanwhile, I know people (myself included) who caught a moment of luck so precise, so accidental, that if you shifted timing by six months, or moved geography by one country, the whole story collapses.

Here are two of mine:

1) A colleague in London mentioned, almost in passing, that there was a COO role available. I applied. I got it. That one conversation shaped the next chapter of my career.

2) Years later, I got invited to an event where entrepreneurs pitched to magazine editors. I saw what people were building. The energy in the room. The possibilities. That night is a direct line to me leaving my job.

Neither moment was “earned”.
Both changed everything.

And I know plenty of successful people have these moments too, but they rarely mention them because it complicates their success story.

We are sooo binary:

- Success is merit: work hard, decide well, win.
- Success is luck: hard work doesn't matter anyway.

The real version sits in the middle.

Decisions create the conditions.
Luck pulls the trigger.

Sometimes luck pulls the trigger for someone who didn’t deserve it.
Sometimes it never shows up for someone who did.

If you are navigating this, here is what I know:

1️⃣  Your decisions still matter a great deal.
They don’t guarantee the outcome.
But they are how you stack the odds in your favour.

2️⃣  Luck is real.
You don’t get to choose when it shows up. Acknowledging it keeps you hungry without making you bitter, and grateful without making you passive.

3️⃣  Make peace with the unfairness.
This is the hardest part.
Sometimes you do everything right and still don’t make it. The only move left is to accept and move on

The truth is: most success stories are part skill, part luck, and a lot of editing.

---
You can’t control luck, but you can control your odds.
That’s what we build inside the Portfolio Career Accelerator. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gpEqqqFs

or DM me

I used to think I handled feedback well.

Then I watched myself get defensive almost immediately.

I nodded. Said, “Thank you for sharing.”

Then spent the next three days arguing with it in my head.
And thinking, “Who does he think he is?”

Here is what most people get wrong about criticism:

They do not hear, “Here is how to improve.”
They hear, “You are not as good as you thought.”

That is why people:

▶️ Get defensive.
▶️ Justify themselves.
▶️ Go quiet.
▶️ Blame the delivery.

It feels like a threat.

The top 1% leaders do not hear feedback and think, “That is unfair.”

They think, “What is useful here?”

That shift changes everything.

Here is what that looks like:

▶️ Pause.
▶️ Let them finish.
▶️ Write it down.
▶️ Ask for an example.

Then leave the room and decide what is signal and what is noise.

Not all feedback is right.
But almost all feedback reveals something.

If you want to grow fast:

Stop protecting your ego.
Start mining for signal.

Feedback is uncomfortable.
But staying the same is worse.

Follow me, Ani Filipova, for leadership truths most people avoid.
♻️ Repost if someone in your network needs to hear this.

How to learn so fast it feels unfair.

Here is why this matters now more than ever:

- The half-life of skills is shrinking.
- What you learned 5 years ago may already be outdated.
- AI is changing industries faster than most people can adapt.

Learning how to learn is no longer a nice-to-have.
It is the skill that makes all other skills possible.

Leaving corporate was one of the biggest learning curve of my life.

- Suddenly, no team.
- No structure.
- No playbook.

If I did not learn fast, I did not earn.

So I devoured information.
And still felt behind.
Because volume is not the same as mastery.

When I interviewed Dr. Justin Sung on my podcast, he explained why.
The best learners do 3 things differently:

1️⃣ They pause.
Your brain needs time to organise what it just received.

2️⃣ They synthesise.
They teach it, apply it, turn it into something useful.
This is where real understanding happens.
And where you discover what you actually do not know yet.

3️⃣ They compare.
They connect new ideas to what they already know.
This anchors new knowledge into your existing mental frameworks.
It makes learning stick.

🎥 Watch the full podcast episode with Dr.Sung here: https://lnkd.in/g32j73jq

♻️ Repost if someone in your network needs to learn faster.

I built my first income stream with a Calendly link and 5,000 followers.

My only regret? Waiting until I left my COO job to start.

While you are at your job, you have the credibility.
You do not need the testimonials.
You have the big title as a crown, and you are sought after.

Who would not choose to be coached by a COO?

But I convinced myself I needed to leave first.
I thought it would look strange.

So I waited.
I left.
And then I started from almost zero.

It still worked.
But it took longer than it needed to.

Because once you no longer have the crown to vouch for you, you need something else - you need proof that you are doing a good job.

So, I started.

Just one offer: I will help you prepare for interviews or figure out your next career move.
No website.
No marketing funnel.

At that time I was posting three times a week on LinkedIn.
I remember refreshing my inbox constantly to see if I had new bookings.

One person booked.
Then another.
Then people started sending me messages saying, “That session changed everything.”

Those messages became my proof.

The testimonials replaced the title.

Imagine having the title AND the testimonials - you will have a much better start in your portfolio career.

You do not need a business plan to start.
You do not need a big audience.
You do not need to quit your job first.

You need one skill.
One person willing to pay for it.
One session.

That is how it starts.

Most people already know what that skill is.
They just haven’t treated it like an offer yet.

I walk through the exact steps to build a portfolio career - including how to start while still employed - inside the Portfolio Career Accelerator. Cohort 1 is underway, and Cohort 2 is starting on April 27, 2026

Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gpEqqqFs

Career Strategist I Change advisor for Leaders | I help successful professionals build freedom, income & impact through portfolio careers | Speaker I Ex-Citi COO | Follow for modern leadership, career and change

I have appeared on Bloomberg from a desk that looks like a crime scene.

Papers everywhere.
Cables tangled.
Notes scribbled on random sheets.
Three pairs of spectacles because I can never find the right ones.

Chaos.

Or so it looks.

Here is the secret: I know exactly where everything is.

That mess is my system.
It works for me.
It has always worked for me.

From this desk I have recorded over 100 podcast interviews.
Run webinars.
Taught in my community and accelerator.
Coached clients.
Appeared on Bloomberg.
Delivered keynotes.

No fancy studio.
Amazing sophisticated office.
Just me, a microphone, and a desk that looks like a crime scene.

We spend so much energy to look "professional."
The clean background.
The perfect setup.
The polished image.

Meanwhile, the real work, the “magic” happens elsewhere.

You do not need a fancy studio to be taken seriously.
You do not need a minimalist setup to be credible.
You do not need to hide your chaos to be professional.

What you need is a system that works for you.
Even if nobody else understands it.

Most people are optimising how they look.
Very few are optimising how they work.

♻️ Repost if your workspace would never make it on camera.
Follow me Ani Filipova for leadership and career stories without the performance layer.
------

📌 Check my free webinars this month:
Future of work: https://lnkd.in/gT5S8Sbs
Portfolio career: https://lnkd.in/gf-ifWqj

Lea 🌈 Turner

If Carlsberg made LinkedIn Trainers | 1-1 & Company Training | Join 470+ solopreneurs & small business owners in my membership community, The HoLT (ask me how)

You've tried communities before but they never live up to the hype, do they? The founder only shows up for calls, the chat is dead or clique-y, they're either women only, or full of d*ck swinging sales bros pitch slapping you into oblivion, and you only get the *good stuff* if you pay for the upsells...and you're left feeling...deflated, womp womp. 

*clears throat, stretches out arms, JAZZ HANDS* until... The HoLT!

We have none of that malarkey. 

No upsells, no tiered memberships, and categorically, absolutely, without question... no knobs. 

"But LEA, what is The HoLT?" I hear you cry. It's an inclusive, vibrant, fun, affordable community of over 500 small business owners, freelancers, side hustlers and employees, coming together for weekly masterclasses from ACTUAL experts, teaching every business skill you could possibly need to improve how YOU do business, from copywriting to confidence building, AI to automation, PR to passive income. 

And unlike other communities, we record every masterclass, add it to the library, and no matter when you join, you get access to ALL of them (currently over 150!)

But there's so much more; weekly community calls for informal networking, content support, tech clinics to tackle your IT nightmares, in-person co-working days, online co-working, wellbeing sessions, LinkedIn clinics... I could go on but I'd ruin your surprise and delight when you join. 

And unlike most founders, I am in The HoLT every single day (in sickness and in health, til death do us part) because I genuinely care about the members, love connecting people, nurturing them and supporting them. 

I was sick of being a lonely solopreneur. I had no one to share my wins & failures with, who'd understand, not judge me, to ask for reliable advice when I needed it without making me feel stupid, to learn with, grow with, and make it fun along the way. So, I created a safe space for others who felt the same. It has grown and evolved over the past 3 years, to become a magical space full of the sorts of people you WANT on your side in business, cheering you on and encouraging you when sh*t gets tough. 

Join the waiting list at The-HoLT.com and be first to find out when our doors re-open.

PS. If communities aren't your *thing* we have The Vault. Access 200+ masterclass recordings with new ones added weekly, for just £20/month, no contract or commitment.

Director

Providing bespoke 1:1 and group LinkedIn training, digital courses and in-person workshops for businesses. 

I didn’t swear, I got some laughs, and lots of people said things that made me blush. 

It was a joy to be on stage with the glamorous Angela Cox_MCC yesterday at the Paseda National Coaching Conference in front of a very full house!

And a delightful bonus to spend time with lots of gorgeous HoLT members while I was there. 

I find it constantly odd how being real can be seen to be courageous. I’ve honestly always just been too lazy and unbothered to perform for others when this is the only life I’ll get to live. 

But if sharing my story and perspective helps others to drop the mask and let people see the glorious human they are beneath, then I’m happy to be on as many stages that will have me. 

Thanks for a brilliant day yesterday. And congrats to all the winners 🩷

You can sit with us (unless you're a knob) | The-HoLT.com

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We have just booked our next mastermind and it's all about SALES.

27th April Week 1 - Mindset with the INCREDIBLE Desislava Dobreva. If you are looking to be LIT up with fire and motivation Desi is the absolute BEST in her field. She'll be setting our minds in the right frame before we move on to...

5th May Week 2 - Positioning with ﻿Hannah Walker﻿, who lists clients like Sehrhant (from Selling Manhattan) amongst her clients. She's gonna make sure we've got everything in place so we're ready for...

11th May Week 3 - Sales calls and objection handling with master of sales ﻿Ivy Malik ﻿who will provide all the tools we need, so we are ready for...

18th May Week 3 - Closing the deal with @Richard Moore, who will help us push those clients over the line and money into our bank accounts!

And as always, recordings will be available to anyone who can't make it live.

This is gonna be an UNREAL mastermind with four absolute POWERHOUSES. 

If you're not on the list to join The HoLT yet, we're opening doors again soon so hurry along to https://the-holt.com/ and sign up, and join us for THOUSANDS OF POUNDS WORTH of sales training for just £65 a month (cancel any time).

Founder, The HoLT. The community for small business owners & solopreneurs | No knobs allowed 🍆

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The Battle

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