Noemi Kis✨

Founder, CEO

Serial Entrepreneur / AI enthusiast / TEDx speaker

Hey there! 👋

I'm obsessed with helping non-techie founders like you build lean, profitable businesses (think team of 5 or less) using AI, smart automations, and social media that actually converts.

I built my seven-figure business with a small team and grew to 145K followers on LinkedIn plus 5K newsletter subscribers. Not by accident, but by figuring out what actually works.

Tomorrow's successful founders won't be grinding 80-hour weeks. They'll be the ones who learn to build with AI, automate the boring stuff, and find their people in the right corners of the internet.

That's what I share in my weekly newsletter "Entrepreneurial Mindset" - mindset, AI stuff, automation hacks, and the strategies that are working right now (not the stuff everyone else is talking about).

Join here: www.noemikis.com/newsletter

Brands & sponsorship inquiries: hello@noemikis.com

AquaQuote is a global digital marketplace for buying and selling industrial water treatment products in the aftermarket space.  Brands have an opportunity to digitize their catalog and offer their products to a wider audience, while end users can easily find and purchase products via a self-service dashboard.  We focus on fast and excellent customer service and sourcing products from the best suppliers with the shortest lead times. 

The fastest way to kill your career:

Act like you already know everything.

Top performers don’t do that.

They treat every interaction like a chance to level up.

They’re not afraid to be wrong, they WANT to be wrong.

Because every mistake is a shortcut to growth.

Here's what that actually looks like:

1/ Ask better questions:

→ Replace "I know" with "tell me more"
→ Collect perspectives like they're currency
→ Make every conversation a learning opportunity

2/ Document your failures:

→ Write what you thought vs. what was true
→ Review it monthly to spot your patterns
→ Turn mistakes into a personal playbook

3/ Seek uncomfortable feedback:

→ Ask someone: "What could I do better?"
→ Shut up, listen, and don't get defensive
→ Apply at least one piece within 48 hours

The people who rise fastest aren't the smartest in the room.

They're the ones humble enough to realize they're never done learning.

So if you're building something right now, ask yourself:

When's the last time you changed your mind about something important?

Because staying the same is comfortable.

But growth requires you to be wrong first.

And then be humble enough to learn how to get it right.

Found this valuable? Please reshare with your network! ♻️ 

And follow Noemi Kis✨ for daily growth tips!

Microbusiness Ideas / AI enthusiast / TEDx speaker

If they can't afford your value,

It’s not your job to give them a discount.

And I'm not talking about business.

I'm talking about life.

For years, I made myself smaller so others would feel comfortable.

→ Dimmed my wins so friends wouldn't feel bad
→ Downplayed my boundaries so people would stay
→ Apologized for taking up space

I thought that's what good people did.

Make everyone else feel okay, even if it cost me.

But after being burned multiple times by this mindset, here's what I've learned:

The right people don't need you to shrink.

They don't ask you to:

→ Be less ambitious so they feel better
→ Lower your standards so they can keep up
→ Discount your worth so they can afford you

Because real relationships aren't built on you being less.

They're built on mutual respect.

And to be honest, this shift changed everything for me.

I stopped explaining my choices.
I stopped justifying my boundaries.
I stopped making myself "easier" to love.

Because I realized:

If someone can't meet you where you are, that's information.

It's not your job to:

→ Convince them you're worth it
→ Prove your value over and over
→ Make yourself "affordable" emotionally

The people who belong in your life will rise to meet you.

They won't ask you to dim your light.

They'll bring sunglasses.

So if you're someone who's been shrinking...

Here's your permission to stop:

You don't owe anyone a smaller version of yourself.

Not your family.
Not your friends.
Not your partner.

Your only job is to be fully you.

And let the right people find you there.

The most underrated skill I’ve learned? 

Observing without judging.

Most of us walk through life with instant opinions about everything.

Someone's business model. Their choices. Their timeline.

We see 5% of the picture and form 100% of our conclusion.

I used to be the same until a mentor said to me:

“Judgment closes doors. Observation opens them.”

When you judge, you decide:

→ This is right or wrong
→ This will or won't work
→ They should or shouldn't do that

When you observe, you notice:

→ What's actually happening
→ What patterns are emerging
→ What you might be missing

There's a massive difference.

Judgment feels certain. Observation stays curious.

And to be honest, our need to judge comes from fear.

→ Fear of being wrong
→ Fear of looking naive
→ Fear of not having an opinion

We think strong opinions make us look smart.

But some of the smartest people I know are ones who say "I don't know yet" and mean it.

They watch longer.
They ask more questions.
They change their minds when new information comes in.

That is what true intelligence looks like in action.

So if you catch yourself rushing to judgment today...

Pause.

Watch for 10 more seconds.
Ask one more question.
Consider what you might be missing.

Because the world reveals itself to those who observe.

Not to those who already decided what they're looking at.

Found this valuable? Please reshare with your network! ♻️ 

And follow Noemi Kis✨ for daily growth tips!

My biggest fear used to be failing.

Now it's dying with my best work still inside me.

I spent most of my 20s procrastinating and “playing it safe.”

I had ideas I didn't launch.
Projects I didn't start.
Things I wanted to say but kept quiet.

I was always waiting for:

→ More experience
→ Better timing
→ Proof it would work

Then 10 years ago, something happened that changed everything.

I was sitting in an airport with my dad, waiting for our flight home.

And I just... broke down.

My dad looked at me with concern: "Are you okay?"

And that's when it all came out.

"I don't want to go back," I said through tears. "I have nothing to go back for."

The truth was:

I'd been sitting on a business idea for 2 years.
I had a plan written out in a notebook I kept hidden.
I knew exactly what I wanted to build.

But I was too scared to start.

→ What if I failed?
→ What if people thought I was naive?
→ What if I wasted money and embarrassed myself?

So I stayed in a job I hated, telling myself I'd start "when I was ready."

My dad didn't say much that day.

But later, on the plane, I asked myself one question:
"What's the worst that could happen if I tried?"

I listed everything:

Losing money. Looking stupid. Failing publicly.

Then I asked: "And what's the worst that happens if I don't?"

I couldn't answer. Because I already knew.

I'd spend the rest of my life wondering "what if."

That airport conversation became my wake-up call.

6 months later, I gave myself an ultimatum: When my contract ended, I would never get another job.

I had 6 months to build something of my own.

And here's what I realized: The things I was afraid of were all temporary.

→ Failing? You recover.
→ Looking stupid? People forget.
→ Losing money? You earn it back.

But dying with your best work still inside you 
That's permanent.

In 100 years, no one will remember if I failed.
But I would've known if I never tried.

So I stopped waiting for permission, confidence, or the "right time."

I started building.

10 years later, I've failed more times than I can count.

But I've never cried in an airport again, paralyzed by my own fear.

Because I finally understood:

In 100 years, everyone you know will be gone.

So go do the thing you're afraid of.

Because one day you'll run out of time to try.

One of the hardest truth to accept:

You can't grow new leaves while holding onto dead ones.

But we try anyway.

We hold onto the job that stopped fulfilling us years ago.

The relationship that's been over in every way except officially.

The version of ourselves we've outgrown but can't seem to let go of.

And we wonder why nothing new is growing.

I came across this quote in a book the other day and it stuck with me.

Because trees are perhaps the best teachers of letting go.

Every fall, they shed everything they spent months building.

They stand there, bare and exposed, through the coldest months of the year.

And they don't panic about whether they'll grow again.

They just trust the process.

We've lost that trust somewhere along the way.

We think holding on means we're strong. That letting go means we've failed.

So we grip tighter to things that are already gone.

And then we're surprised when nothing new can take root.

But here’s something I’ve learnt over the years:

Letting go isn't loss. It's just preparation.

You can't build the next chapter while you're still clinging to the last one.
You can't become who you're meant to be while holding onto who you were.

So if you're in a season right now where everything feels like it's falling apart...

Maybe it's not falling apart.
Maybe it's just falling away.

Making room for what's trying to grow next.

Let go of the dead leaves.

Because better days don't come by holding onto what's dead.

They come when you finally let go.

Found this valuable? Please reshare with your network!♻️ 

And follow Noemi Kis✨ for daily growth tips!

The only person who can save you?

The version of yourself who's had enough.

Here's what I’ve seen most people do when they're stuck:

→ Wait for the right moment 
→ Hope for better conditions 
→ Pray someone notices their struggle

And nothing changes.

Because change doesn't come from hope. It comes from hitting your limit.

That moment when you look at your life and think: "I'm done living like this."

Not tomorrow. Not next month. Not when things settle down. Right now.

That's the version of yourself that saves you.

The one who's tired of:

→ The same excuses 
→ The same patterns 
→ The same results

And decides to do something different.

I was in a similar position 10 years ago. Here’s exactly how I flipped my life around:

1. Audit your daily patterns

Write down everything you do for 3 days.

Then ask: "Is this moving me forward or keeping me stuck?"

Most people are shocked by how much time they waste waiting for change instead of creating it.

2. Identify your non-negotiables

Pick 3 things you'll do every day, no matter what.

→ One for your body 
→ One for your skill 
→ One for your goals 

Make them so small you can't fail. Then do them until they're automatic.

3. Eliminate one drain

Find the biggest energy drain in your life right now.

The toxic relationship. 
The time-wasting habit. 
The commitment that serves nothing.

Cut it. Not gradually. Not "when the time is right." This week.

4. Create proof

Do one thing today that proves you're serious.

Send the email you've been avoiding. 
Post the content you're scared to share. 
Make the call that terrifies you.

Most of the successful people I know have figured this out:

You need to stop looking around for someone to save you.

The hero you're waiting for is the version of you that's done making excuses.

Wake them up.

Found this valuable? Please reshare with your network! ♻️

And follow Noemi Kis✨ for daily growth tips!

Every idea has three audiences.

And only one of them ends up successful.

When you start building something, you'll notice three groups form around you.

1. The critics show up first.

They'll point out every flaw, every risk, every reason it won't work.

"That's been done before."
"The timing isn't right."
"You should really think this through."

They sound experienced. They sound smart.
But they're not building anything themselves.

2. Then come the talkers.

They love your idea. They're genuinely excited about it.

"This is great, we should collaborate."
"I've been thinking about something similar."
"Let me know how it goes."

And they mean it in the moment. But weeks pass. Months pass. And nothing actually happens.

3. The doers are different.

They're the smallest group, but they're the ones who matter. They don't just cheer you on from the sidelines. They actually move.

→ They test what you're building
→ They give you honest feedback
→ They share it without being asked

And here's what I've learned:

You can't convert critics into doers.
You can't turn talkers into builders.

The energy you spend trying to convince skeptics or waiting for "interested" people to follow through is energy wasted.

The only strategy that works is finding the doers early and building with them.

Because critics will always find something to criticize. Talkers will always have another conversation.

But doers help you win.

They become your first customers, your biggest advocates, your real supporters.

So if you're building something right now, pay attention to who's actually doing something with what you're creating.

Not who's watching.
Not who's talking about watching.
Who's doing.

That's your real audience.

And honestly, that's the only audience that matters.

Found this valuable? Please reshare with your network!♻️ 

And follow Noemi Kis✨ for daily growth tips!

You've spent 3 months planning.

Successful people spent 20 minutes building.

Action creates clarity. Planning creates comfort.

They research. They plan. They wait for the "right time."

→ The book that's been "planned" for 3 years
→ The perfect website no customer has seen
→ The post waiting to feel "ready enough"

It feels like progress. But it's just procrastination.

And there’s something I’ve learnt after 15 yrs in business:

Thinking about doing something for 20 hours teaches you nothing.

Doing it for 20 minutes teaches you everything.

Because action creates clarity.

→ You learn what actually works
→ You see what people really want
→ You discover the problems you can’t see

The overthinking phase feels safe. No one can criticize what doesn't exist yet.

But safety isn't the goal. Progress is. And progress only happens when you move.

Here's what 20 minutes with Gamma can actually do:

→ Turn that business idea into a pitch deck
→ Transform that blog post into a visual story
→ Create that client proposal you've been "getting to" for 2 weeks

Because the people who win aren't the ones with the best plans.

They're the ones that started before they felt ready.

So if you've been stuck in the planning phase...

What would happen if you gave yourself 20 minutes?

Just 20 minutes to start the thing you've been overthinking.

Not to finish it. Not to perfect it. Just to begin.

Because the gap between thinking and doing?

That's where dreams go to die.

Close the gap.

Try Gamma. Give yourself 20 minutes.

Watch how it’s done: https://lnkd.in/gSWbh-vx

See what you can build when you stop planning and start doing.

Brand partnership • Microbusiness Ideas / AI enthusiast / TEDx speaker

You're asking for directions from people who are lost themselves.

And wondering why you keep ending up in the same place.

Here's the pattern most people fall into:

→ They want to start a business, so they ask their 9-5 friends

→ They want to scale, so they ask people stuck at $100K

→ They want freedom, so they ask the burned-out "successful" ones

The advice sounds good. It feels safe. But it's coming from someone who's never been where you're trying to go.

They'll tell you to:

→ "Get a steady job first"
→ "Wait until you're more experienced"
→ "Don't take that risk"

Because it's all they know.

I made the same mistake for years and stayed stuck in a job I hated.

That’s when I learned the truth about advice:

– Most people give advice based on their fears, not your potential
– Good intentions don't equal good guidance
– The loudest voices are often from people who never tried


You can't get to $1M by asking someone who's never made it past $100K.

You can't build freedom by listening to people who work 80-hour weeks.

You can't create something new by following people stuck in the old.

So before you take anyone's advice, ask yourself:

Have they actually done what I'm trying to do?

Not talked about it. Not theorized about it. Actually done it.

Because the best directions come from people who've already made the journey.

Everyone else is just guessing.

And you don't build your dreams on someone else's guesses.

Found this valuable? Please reshare with your network! ♻️ 

And follow Noemi Kis✨ for daily growth tips!

I used to have a goal to hit $10M revenue.

Then I deleted it.

For years, that number lived in my business plan, my pitch decks, my annual reviews.

The number that would finally prove:

→ I'd made it
→ I was a real CEO
→ I belonged in the rooms I was in

But here's what nobody tells you about chasing revenue targets:

The goalpost keeps moving.

Hit $1M? Now you need $5M.
Hit $5M? Now you need $10M.
Hit $10M? Now you need to be a unicorn.

It never ends. And to be honest, I was exhausted.

I was making decisions I didn't believe in, all for a number that someone else decided mattered.

In 2021, I sat down and asked myself a different question:

"What do I actually want my life to look like?"

Not my revenue. Not my team size.

My actual life.

The answer was simple:

→ Wake up without anxiety
→ Take weekends completely off
→ Fund new projects without outside money
→ Never miss my family’s important events
→ Build things I'm proud of, not things that scale

And surprisingly, none of that required $10M.

It required less, really good margins, and a business model I loved.

So I deleted the revenue goal.

And I replaced it with this:

– Does this decision give me more freedom or less?
– Does this opportunity energize me or drain me?
– Will I regret saying yes to this in 6 months?

Today, I don’t make $10M but I have:

→ Profit margins that fund my passion projects
→ A small team that I can trust fully
→ Time to think, create, and actually live

So if you're killing yourself for a number that someone else told you matters...

Ask yourself: What am I actually building toward?

Because maybe the goal isn't bigger.
Maybe the goal is better.

Found this valuable? Please reshare with your network! ♻️ 

And follow Noemi Kis✨ for daily growth tips!

Most people spend 3 hours making presentations that no one remembers.

I spend 5 minutes.

Because I automated the boring part.

Here's the thing about getting ahead in your career:

It's not about working harder. It's about creating unfair advantages.

And I found the best one:

You’re drowning in post-meeting work. Every Zoom call meant hours of:

→ Transcribing key points
→ Creating presentation decks
→ Formatting everything perfectly
→ Sending follow-ups that proved I was "on it"

Then I discovered the highest-leverage automation:

I connected two simple tools with Zapier:

Zapier - the automation platform that connects everything
Gamma - creates beautiful presentations instantly
Zoom - where all my important conversations are stored

Here's why this combination is genius:

The best insights already exist.

- Your brilliant strategy discussion.
- Your client's feedback.
- Your team's decisions.

All trapped in meeting recordings.

But when you connect where data lives to where it needs to be, magic happens.

Now after every important call:

→ Zapier automatically detects my Zoom recording
→ Sends it to Gamma
→ Gamma analyzes the entire conversation
→ Creates a professional deck with key insights

5 minutes. Zero manual work.

What this actually means for your career:

- You can present complex things simply
- You follow up after every meeting
- You show up like an executive leader

While everyone else is still formatting slides, you're already thinking three moves ahead.

That's how you create opportunities.

You can find it at https://lnkd.in/g_AgBGhA

#zapierpartner #gammapartner

Most startup advice is for 22-year-olds who can code.

I'm 40. I run a 7 fig business serving clients like SpaceX and P&G.  

In a tiny niche for water filtration.

5 hours a week. 3 people. 

Let me show you how a microbusiness works:

Let’s take a traditional business: A pet store

Profitable one-person niches for pets:

→ Travel kits for RV pets ($7K/month)
→ Anxiety gear for rescue dogs ($6K/month)
→ Joint supplements for senior bulldogs ($10K/month)
→ Booking systems for mobile dog groomers ($3K/month)

Each one can be built by non-technical founders using AI tools.

Go so specific that customers think "this was made FOR ME."

Here’s are the options:

→ Freelancer: Income ceiling = hours
→ SaaS & startups: Fast growth, scale, exit.
→ Corporate: Security dependent on the job market.
→ Small business: Employees, overhead, broad market.

This is how I define a microbusiness:

- One person or small team
- $50K-$1M annual revenue
- 10-40 hours/week
- Uses AI + no-code tools
- You specialize

Just a profitable business you own.

This works today but didn’t 5 years ago, because you can:

- Run a business on $100/mo tools
- Build with no code AI and automate
- Find customers in online niche groups

I spent 20 hours documenting 5,000 of these ideas.

Filtered for: profitable, one-person, solvable with AI, serving customers who actually pay.

What’s stopping you isn’t the idea: It’s this:

→ Which niche should I pick?
→ I can't code" (Claude/Cursor/Replit can)
→ I'm already working 50 hours
→ Sounds too good to be true (Fair - that's why I'm showing you my actual business)

You solve a problem so specific that clients gladly pay 10x for someone who finally understands.

That's why I am launching a newsletter:

Every week you’ll get:

→ One ready-to-launch microbusiness (built with Cursor/Zapier)
→ The exact customer niches to target
→ Week 1 execution plan (DM scripts, landing page copy)

Not a course. Not "learn to code."

Just: here's the idea, the AI template setup, here's who to sell: now go.

Want the 5,000 profitable niches right now? It’s free when you join my newsletter.  

Get it here: https://lnkd.in/g4BK_8n9

This is how you build career insurance and freedom.

Share this to your network ♻️

P.S. Comment "niche" below, or repost and I'll DM you a bonus, the entire database inside a custom GPT. (have to be connected)

Last week, it took me 3 hours to screen 231 resumes.

Today it took 30 seconds per resume.

Most founders I know are drowning in resumes.

So I built a Zapier Agent that evaluates resumes instantly from my browser.

I tested it on a pile of resumes yesterday.

The agent caught things I would've missed:
- A developer with the exact stack we use (buried on page 2)
- Red flags in employment gaps I glossed over
- Pattern matching across similar successful hires

But here's my favorite part:

It doesn't just say yes or no.

It explains WHY.

"Strong candidate - has 3 years in our exact tech stack, shows progression in responsibilities, and their side project demonstrates self-learning."

Or:

"Pass - lacks hands-on experience despite certifications, no evidence of building real products."

This is NOT about replacing human judgment.

It's about getting to human judgment faster.

This is how modern founders should hire.

Not by reading 200 generic resumes.

But by building agents that instantly surface the right people.

Curious to try it out? Try Zapier agents here: https://lnkd.in/gQwBEtTy

#ZapierPartner

Helping execs in new roles accelerate impact, build credibility fast and avoid costly transition mistakes | xIBM Consulting | xPwC | Certified Executive Coach

You’ve just landed your next big executive role - congratulations!

Now comes the part no one prepares you for: making it successful.

The hard truth is, 40% of executive transitions fail within 18 months.

And the cost is staggering:

2.5x to 30x the executive’s salary in lost productivity, turnover, and disruption.

Career damage for the executive that can take years to recover from.

Maybe it's your first time at the senior leadership table. 
Maybe you've done this before, but this time, the stakes feel higher. 
Different company, industry, department or role.

Either way, you know this first year will define your reputation and your results.

Tell me if this sounds familiar:

You've inherited a team that doesn't fully trust you yet. 
You're navigating company politics, shifting priorities, and sky-high expectations. 
Everyone's watching, but no one's guiding. 
You're smart, experienced, and capable. 
But the pressure to prove yourself is relentless.

This is exactly where I come in.

I help new executives thrive where 40% fail by guiding them through the high-stakes first year.

My coaching is confidential, personalized, and focused on helping you:

✔ Earn trust quickly and secure early credibility
✔ Navigate politics and hidden organizational dynamics
✔ Build and align your leadership team for quick wins
✔ Make high-impact decisions without costly missteps
✔ Lay the foundation for long-term success and legacy

 Why Trust Me?
• 25+ years in Fortune 500 consulting, partnering with senior executives 
• Led $30M+ transformation portfolios and 250+ person practices at IBM 
• Led risk strategy for $100M+ proposals and complex transformations 
• Built and delivered IBM's top global executive coaching programs 
• Certified executive coach with 300+ leaders coached

If you’re ready to accelerate your impact and avoid costly missteps,

let’s make your first year your strongest. 

📩 DM me “Executive Transition” and let’s talk.

Dora Vanourek

"I found a better opportunity."

Translation: I found a leader who values me.

I've coached hundreds through resignations.

The real reason they leave: 
it's rarely what they say at first.

Behind "better opportunity" or "career growth" is something deeper:

They don't feel valued.

Nobody says thank you.

Their ideas get ignored. 
Their skills go unused. 
They've stopped learning.

If you want to keep your best people:

- Truly listen
- Say thank you
- Seek their ideas
- Appreciate them
- Provide flexibility
- Make time for them
- Ask for their opinions
- Share timely feedback
- Ask how they really are
- Involve them in decisions
- Provide growth opportunities
- Communicate with transparency
- Trust them to make the right decisions

You don't need a budget for any of these.

Just intention, and genuinely caring for your people.

Be the leader you wish you had.

♻️ Repost to inspire others
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

Changing jobs doesn't mean you're unstable.

It means you're brave enough to admit you want more.

Too often, career moves are seen as betrayals.

But the real betrayal to yourself is staying
somewhere that no longer serves your growth.

5 signs it's time to make your move:

1. Your work has lost its meaning
→ You go through the motions, but the spark is gone

2. You've outgrown your role
→ What once challenged you now feels like autopilot

3. You know you're wasting your potential
→ That nagging voice keeps saying "you're capable of so much more."

4. Sunday night dread has become your reality
→ The anxiety starts earlier each weekend

5. You don't feel seen or valued
→ Another quarter, another "great job" that leads nowhere

Loyalty isn't about staying in one place.
It's about staying true to your potential.

Choose growth over comfort.

You'll never regret betting on yourself.

♻️ Repost to inspire someone
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

If you're not growing in your job, you're shrinking.

But shrinking feels like stability.

Like patience.
Commitment.
Paying your dues.

So you start telling yourself:

'The market's tough right now.' 
'I'm lucky to have a job.' 
'Maybe next year will be different.'

And while you're being 'patient':

Someone with half your experience gets promoted.

Someone who started after you becomes your boss.

The job-hopper is making 40% more.

If your company isn't investing in your growth, 
you're not building a career -
you're maintaining theirs.

They get your best years. 
You get a review that says 'meets expectations.'

Growth isn't just about moving up.

It's about expanding your skills.
Taking on challenges that scare you.
Working with people who believe in you.

Ask yourself:

- When did you last learn something that changed how you work?

- Who's invested in your development this quarter?

- What skills are you building for your next role?

If it's tough to answer these, you're not stable.

You're stuck.

And stuck is just shrinking in slow motion.

The riskiest career move isn't leaving too soon.

It's staying too long.

How will you feel next year if nothing changes?

Your growth doesn't need permission.

♻️ Repost to help your network
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

The most painful part of growth:

The people closest to you will try to stop it.

And the faster you grow, the more uncomfortable others become.

It's not personal - it's human nature:

- People prefer the version of you they're used to
- Some feel threatened by your progress
- Others try to keep you "safe" in your comfort zone

Here are 5 powerful ways to protect your growth:

1. Audit Your Circle 👥 
↳ Who celebrates your wins vs. who diminishes them?
↳ Distance isn't betrayal, it's boundaries

2. Stop Explaining Yourself 🤐 
↳ You don't owe anyone a justification for growth
↳ Let your results do the talking

3. Track Your Progress 📈
↳ Screenshot encouraging feedback and messages
↳ Celebrate small victories, they compound into big changes

4. Find Your Growth Squad 🔗
↳ Seek people 2-3 steps ahead of you 
↳ Invest in mentors who've walked your path

5. Trust Yourself 💪
↳ Your intuition knows before your mind does
↳ Bet on yourself when no one else will

The people who truly belong in your life will celebrate your growth. 

Don't shrink yourself to make others comfortable.

♻️ Repost to help your network
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

Your title doesn't make you a leader.

How you treat your team when no one's watching does.

After 25+ years helping leaders retain talent, 
I've seen the same pattern:

Great employees will tolerate bad systems and broken processes.

But there's one thing they won't forgive:

A manager who stopped caring.

5 ways leaders lose their best people:

❌ Taking people for granted
↳ Not feeling valued is a top reason people disengage and leave

❌ Rewarding high-performers with more work
↳ Watch them burn out and leave for other companies

❌ Tolerating low performance from others
↳ High performers feel like their efforts don't matter

❌ Not matching salaries for loyal employees with those of new hires
↳ This disrespects your loyal employees and damages trust

❌ Ignoring employee feedback
↳ Dismissing insights signals that their voices don't matter

How to keep your best people:

✅ Recognize impact and contributions
↳ Build a habit of consistent, genuine appreciation

✅ Provide growth opportunities
↳ Before hiring externally, see if you can promote from within

✅ Help them connect the dots
↳ Discuss how they can grow and advance to the next level

✅ Ask for their input when making decisions
↳ Listening to their opinions and feedback lets them know they matter

✅ Ensure fair compensation
↳ Regularly review and adjust compensation and benefits

Be the leader you wish you had.

Because loyal employees don't leave companies.

They leave managers who stopped caring.

♻️ Repost to promote healthier workplaces
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

Companies obsess over retention.

Then promote the managers driving people out.

They spend millions on recruitment.
Thousands on exit interviews.
Hours in retention meetings.

Yet the same managers who make people leave get promoted, protected, and praised.

Good people don't leave companies.

They leave managers who:

- Never admit mistakes
- Push people to burnout
- Take credit for their work
- Never face consequences
- Create toxic environments
- Play politics and favouritism
- Micromanage every decision

Stop asking why good people leave.

Start asking why bad managers stay.

Look at turnover patterns. 
Hold leaders accountable for culture. 
Promote people skills, not just performance.

Your people deserve better.

Be the leader you wish you had.

♻️ Repost if this hits home
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

Fear-driven leadership works fast.

But the damage works faster.

Too many leaders obsess over hitting this quarter's numbers.

Meanwhile, their best people are quietly updating their resumes.

When people are afraid, they choose:

- safety over success
- silence over solutions
- survival over growth

What to avoid as a leader:

❌ Threatening job security
↳ "Many people would love to have your role."

❌ Using subtle threats
↳ "We need to talk about your career here."

❌ Manufacturing fake urgency
↳ "This needs to be done by EOD" (when it doesn't)

❌ Keeping people guessing
↳ Unclear expectations, moving goalposts

❌ Weaponizing performance reviews
↳ Don't treat reviews as threats

What to do as a leader:

✅ Recognize and appreciate often
↳ Ensure your employees feel valued

✅ Invest in their growth
↳ Create clear paths for career advancement

✅ Share the bigger picture
↳ Help them see how their work creates meaningful impact

✅ Give your team ownership
↳ Trust them to make decisions and take risks

✅ Stand behind your team
↳ Protect them from politics and have their backs

Fear might get you compliance today.

But trust gets you people who care.

♻️ Repost to inspire people-first leadership
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

I'm turning 50 this week 🎂
Grew up in communist Czechoslovakia
where entrepreneurship was illegal.

Success meant getting a job at a prestigious company.

And staying there until retirement.

So that's what I did.

At 48, I looked at my life and realized:

I'd followed every rule.
Done everything "right."
And I still felt trapped.

So I built my escape route.

One LinkedIn post at a time.

A year later, at 49, I left.

Now I have freedom and flexibility I didn't know was possible.

But when I started writing,
my biggest challenge was coming up with ideas.

Staring at a blank screen every day:

- What do I even talk about?
- Will anyone care?
- How do I stay consistent without burning out?

This is why Stanley (Your Content Coach) matters so much to me.

It's the tool I wish I'd had earlier.

It helps me: 

- Give me honest feedback when I need it
- Flag when my audience is tired of a topic
- Turn one coaching session into 4 different posts

My posts created with Stanley outperform my others by 35-40%.

No matter how stuck you feel.

No matter your age.

No matter what you were taught about "safety" and "success."

You can move forward.

It’s never too late.

If you're building your escape route,
try Stanley for free today: https://lnkd.in/g9nvAJzJ

#stanleypartner

Most resignations start the same way.

With a manager who never notices.

People check out long before they officially leave.

Their disengagement builds slowly - one overlooked issue at a time.

High performers notice everything.

They see who contributes and who coasts.

When you tolerate mediocrity, you're telling your best people their standards don't matter.

They deserve better.

And so do you as a leader.

Great leaders do these 5 things differently:

1. Set the bar clearly
→ Define what success looks like - no guessing
→ Write the rules so no one's confused

2. Address issues early
→ Small problems turn big when ignored
→ Have tough conversations before things escalate

3. Be present, not just available
→ Prioritize 1:1s so people know they matter
→ Truly listen, and catch problems early

4. Do what you say, every time
→ Keep every promise. No exceptions
→ Show visible progress to build trust

5. Celebrate what matters
→ Recognize the behaviours you want more of
→ Skip "good job" - say exactly what worked

What you tolerate becomes your culture.

Make sure it's one your top performers want to stay in.

♻️ Repost to help your network
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

People won't remember your job title.

They'll remember how you made them feel.

Because true happiness at work isn't about being employed.

It's about feeling valued.

The best leaders live by this.

They don't just manage tasks.
They empower people to grow.
They appreciate them genuinely.

Be that leader:

- Listen without judgement
- Provide stretch assignments
- Genuinely ask, "How are you?"
- Be kind, even on the tough days
- Open doors to new opportunities
- Acknowledge their unique strengths
- Empower others to explore and learn
- Share feedback that helps others thrive
- Invite input in decisions that impact others
- Show appreciation - it means more than you know
- Believe in someone before they believe in themselves

Leadership isn't just about budgets or targets.

It's about kindness, respect, and leaving people better than when you met them.

Have you had a great leader?
Tag them to thank them ⬇️ 

♻️ Repost to inspire your network
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

Leadership isn’t earned with a title.

It’s built when people feel safe.

Safe to speak up.
Safe to fail.
Safe to rest.

Build a culture where taking time off doesn’t come with guilt.

What to do as a leader:

✅ Be a role model for taking time off:
↳ Take time off - and talk about it. Normalize rest

✅ Recognize efforts: 
↳ Acknowledge achievements that promote well-being rather than appreciating health sacrifices

✅ Encourage flexibility: 
↳ Trust your team to deliver in ways that work for them

✅ Prevent post-vacation overload: 
↳ Plan ahead to make returning from time off manageable

✅ Conduct meaningful check-ins: 
↳ Make 1:1s safe spaces to talk about well-being and workload

What to avoid as a leader:

❌ Praising work while sick:
↳ "Thank you for working even though you don't feel well" 
↳ This sends the wrong message about your company's values

❌ Neglecting feedback: 
↳ Ignoring employee feedback about workload and stress

❌ Discouraging time off:
↳ Making employees feel guilty for taking breaks

❌ Setting unrealistic goals: 
↳ Targets that require overwork are unsustainable

❌ Promoting an "Always On" culture: 
↳ Expecting 24/7 availability, even on weekends or vacations

Be the leader you wish you had.

♻️ Repost to promote healthier work cultures
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

Image credit: Adam Grant

Most leaders obsess over the wrong things.

They chase better processes.

Refine strategies.

Restructure teams.

And when results don't improve:

They apply pressure.
Tighten timelines.
Use fear as a tactic.

Meanwhile, the people who care the most, stop caring.

The best leaders do the opposite:

✅ Know their names and their stories
↳ "How's your daughter's soccer season?"

✅ Treat everyone with equal respect
↳ The intern's time matters as much as the VP's. Act like it

✅ Follow through on their feedback
↳ Actually listen and act. Or explain why not. Silence kills trust faster than "no"

✅ Share your own mistakes first
↳ "Here's where I messed up" opens doors to honesty

✅ Replace "Who did this?" with "What can we learn?"
↳ One question assigns blame. The other builds resilience

✅ Address toxic behaviour quickly
↳ Every day you wait, good people update their resumes

You don't need another framework.

You need to look up from your spreadsheet and see the humans in front of you.

Before the best ones stop caring completely.

♻️ Repost to inspire people-first leadership
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

The healthiest teams argue the most.

Because they trust each other enough to disagree.

Most leaders get this backwards.

They think psychological safety means:

→ No disagreements
→ Everyone is comfortable all the time
→ Keeping things polite

But that's not safety.
That's silence.

Real psychological safety looks different:

- Disagreeing doesn't end careers
- Failed experiments = learning
- "What went wrong?" not "Whose fault is it?"
- Leaders admit mistakes first
- Bad news doesn't get hidden
- People bring their real selves

How to start building it:

1. Model it first
→ Next meeting: admit something you got wrong or don't know

2. Reward the messy truth
→ When someone brings bad news early, thank them

3. Change one question
→ Replace "Who screwed this up?" with "What can we learn from this?"

Conflict isn't the enemy of safety.

Silence is.

What does psychological safety look like on your team?

♻️ Repost to help your network
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

McKinsey: 89% of leaders miss critical warning signs

76% learn too late; 34% never learn at all.

Incredible carousel from my friend Malay Matalia 🔥
Check him out for more insights like this.

Harvard found:
- Great leaders catch these signs early
- The average ones learn from exits
- The poor ones never learn at all

11 wake-up calls leaders need to hear today:

1. When bad news stops flowing:
→ You haven't built trust
→ You've built fear

2. When the calendar is full but the impact is minimal:
→ You're managing time
→ Not driving results

3. When you blame the team but claim wins as yours:
→ You're not leading
→ You're just taking credit

4. When you're the smartest in meetings:
→ You're hiring for comfort
→ Not for growth

5. When decisions only flow down:
→ You've created soldiers
→ Not future leaders

6. When resumes are getting updated:
→ Your open-door policy
→ Was just empty words

7. When challenges stop coming:
→ Your team has already given up
→ You don't listen anyway

8. When celebrations are louder without you:
→ You're limiting your team
→ Not the catalyst

9. When you speak more than listen:
→ You're leading by power
→ Not valuing your team's insights

10. When no one outgrows their role:
→ You're creating ceilings
→ Not empowering your team

11. When being right matters most:
→ You've stopped leading
→ You've stopped growing

Remember:
Listen to what your team is saying.
And what they aren't saying.
Their silence speaks volumes.

What other wake-up calls would you add?

♻️ Repost to help someone
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

11 Wake-Up Calls All Leaders Need to Hear

If you're not willing to fight for your team,
you don't belong in management.

I'll never forget watching my manager 
in a senior leadership meeting:

"You're asking my team to do 3 top priorities. 
Pick one.
Or give me more people."

The room went silent.

Then they picked one.

That's when I learned:

Real leaders don't just manage work - they protect people.

10 ways great leaders protect their teams:

1. Block Burnout Triggers
↳ Kill the root causes before exhaustion turns into resignation letters

2. Stop the Fake Urgencies
↳ Everything can't be urgent. Push back on manufactured crises

3. Eliminate Useless Work
↳ Cut low-value tasks such as creating reports that nobody reads

4. Push Back on Deadlines
↳ Negotiate realistic timelines. Say no to deadlines that require overtime

5. Require Priority Trade-offs
↳ Ask stakeholders to remove something else before adding new work

6. Cut Through Bureaucracy
↳ Push back on unnecessary approvals and processes that slow down your team

7. Protect Deep Work
↳ Create distraction-free times and keep "quick requests" from destroying focus time

8. Defend Their Reputation
↳ CC their wins to skip-levels. Stand up for them when they're not in the room

9. Shield from Office Politics
↳ Handle the organizational drama so your team can focus on real work

10. Limit Meeting Madness
↳ Prevent endless meetings that destroy productivity and focus

Your team doesn't need another manager.

They need a leader who truly has their back.

Be that leader.

PS: What's one thing you wish more leaders did for their teams?

♻️ Repost to help your network
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

75% of people fear public speaking more than death.

Yet it's the no. 1 skill that accelerates careers.

Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking, held me back for years.

I avoided roles where I'd need to speak a lot. 

Declined podcast invitations.

Fear was costing me too much.

Then I found Ultraspeaking

Here are the 8 techniques that transformed how I speak:

📌 Save these for later.

1. The Accordion Method 
→ Compress your talk to 60s, then 30s, then 15s 
→ Expand back, keeping only what matters 
→ Forces you to find your actual point

2. The Bow & Arrow 
→ Your Arrow = the ONE thing to remember 
→ Your Bow = supporting evidence

3. The Power Pause 
→ Stop for 3-5 seconds after key points 
→ Gives your audience time to absorb 
→ Silence is powerful, not awkward

4. The 2-3 Word Bookmark 
→ Create 2-3 word triggers, don't memorize scripts 
→ "Customer save" → your problem-solving story

5. Never Break Character 
→ Don't apologize for nervousness or mistakes
→ Your anxiety is invisible until you reveal it 

6. The Pushback Pivot 
→ Pause and acknowledge: "That's an important point" 
→ Reframe: "Here's how I see it..." 
→ Use challenges to strengthen your message

7. Use Clarity Prompts when Stuck
→ "The most important thing is..."
→ "If you remember one thing..."

8. The Opening Rule 
→ Rehearse your opening 3x more than the rest 
→ Early confidence will carry you through

These 8 techniques are just the beginning.

Ultraspeaking is different: 
live practice, speaking games, and real-time feedback from world-class coaches.

If communication is holding you back, 
join this FREE executive workshop (only 9 spots):
https://lnkd.in/gVibVu3G

#Ultraspeaking

Being smart isn't always an advantage.

It'll keep you stuck if you fall into these traps.

You work twice as hard.

You know you're capable of more.

But others still seem to get ahead.

It's not a lack of talent.

It's these traps holding you back:

1. The Overthinking Trap 🌀
↳ You spend months researching instead of taking action
↳ Avoid analysis paralysis with the 24-hour decision rule

2. The Comfort Zone Trap 🏝️
↳ Being the top performer in a small pond limits your growth
↳ Commit to one project that scares you every quarter

3. The Knowledge Hoarding Trap 📚
↳ Your bookshelf grows while your results stay the same
↳ Match every hour of learning with action

4. The Solo Player Trap 🧑‍🚀
↳ You avoid asking for help, seeing it as a weakness
↳ Find mentors who've already achieved what you want

5. The Intelligent Excuses Trap 🦊
↳ You use smart logic to justify staying average
↳ The real danger isn't failing - it's staying the same

6. The Multi-Potential Trap 🎭
↳ You have many talents but never commit to any
↳ Choose 1 focus for 90 days and say no to everything else

7. The Perfectionism Trap 🎯
↳ Your high standards become an excuse to never start
↳ Lower the bar and avoid endless revisions

Don't let these patterns keep you stuck.

You already have what it takes.

♻ Repost to help your network
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

taplio

The Battle

Noemi Kis✨

Dora Vanourek

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreNoemi Kis✨'s LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDora Vanourek's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Noemi Kis✨

Dora Vanourek

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Noemi Kis✨'s LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDora Vanourek's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreNoemi Kis✨'s LinkedIn Performance