Believe in yourself so that others will believe in you

Introduce yourself in a few words..

My name is Radina and I am engaged in high-profile communications and management. I am a professional consultant in the field of publicity, a lecturer, a media analyst, as well as an activist and volunteer. I have over 25 years of experience in national and international environments, with more than 21 years in leadership positions. I have worked with diverse industries and businesses, including Fortune 500 companies, national and international institutions, NGOs, political formations, and other organizations. Over the years, I have managed local and international projects and large-scale integrated communication campaigns with budgets reaching up to €5.5 million. I was born in Sofia, and since 2017 I have been living in Berlin, where work brought me. Since 2018, I have been the Regional Communications Manager, EMEA at Corning (a Fortune 500 company) and I manage the strategic corporate communications and publicity of the company in the region.

It continues to be an honor for me to be a holder of a special certificate for contribution to human rights and advocacy 'Person of the Year' 2014.

On a personal level, I am a daughter, a wife, a friend, an avid reader, a traveler, an adventure lover, an arts enthusiast, I love animals and nature, I am curious, I enjoy sports and learning new things, and in general, if I manage to touch the force, I strive to do so as a Jedi and in support of good.

How would you describe your career in a few words?

Dynamic, interesting, enriching, unpredictable, ongoing.

What was the most important choice that shaped your path In?

To be an independent, thinking, and responsible person who does not compromise on what is truly important – values, principles, integrity. This is a choice that one often finds oneself in situations to uphold.

What would you like to know at the beginning of your career, but no one told you?

That perfectionism is a trap, that everything happens much better if you realize that you are always working with people, and that there are no easy paths to truly valuable achievements.  

How can one understand which profession is suitable for them?

Sometimes it happens quickly, sometimes a lifetime is not enough. Generally speaking, if what a person does gives them a sense of meaning, if it energizes them, if they enjoy thinking about their work, talking about it, imagining the next task, project, meeting, workday, if upcoming work matters do not stress them unnecessarily, if they have authority and respect among their colleagues, that is their job. Authority is earned, no one gives it to you for free, and if it exists, the person is most likely in the right professional place.

Which skills do you think will be key in the next 10 years?

Technical skills, analytical thinking, the ability to process and synthesize large volumes of information, the so-called human skills – everything related to emotional intelligence, the ability to work with people and teams, focus, self-control and persuasiveness, communication skills, critical thinking, adaptability. There are great unknowns, however. For example, how far AI will have advanced in the next 10 years, which professions will have changed/ become unnecessary and how this will have affected the labor market and the needs for specific skills.

How to build a network of useful contacts without appearing interested?

Perhaps by simply communicating with people, finding common topics, and being part of the exchange of information with them. It is normal to have a certain element of purposefulness when building professional networks, but it should not be dominant. Not necessarily the people you have identified as interesting or potentially important for your work turn out to be so. Generally speaking, the wider your network of acquaintances, the more likely you are to receive unexpected support when you need it. And people respond much more when you are present in their lives unobtrusively, but still there. If you only seek them when you need them, they will certainly notice. The opposite is also true. I often do something that surprises some people – I spontaneously share with them information, an event, or something else that has impressed me and I have made an association with them. I don’t do it intentionally, it comes naturally to me. Or I simply react if I see them in the media, read something related to their professions, learn that they have had some event in their personal life, etc. And they sometimes turn out to be surprised because they are used to being sought mainly when needed and for work. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You have no idea how many friendships I have started this way. Not that I planned them, spontaneity has changed the way they perceive me and has opened the door to closer relationships. I want to say that there doesn’t have to be any specific reward in this process – the reward is that there is another person who is willing to share their time with you.

What is the biggest mistake you have made in your career, and what did you learn from it?

Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t think in such parameters. I analyze and tell myself: 'well, you could have done that differently' or 'well, you messed up here', but I don’t delve into dramatization and classifications. I assess what should have happened differently, and that’s it. If necessary, I apologize. In the end, various things happen, but people are always part of the process and it is good for them to be able to continue working together without bitterness. If I have to point out one thing, perhaps that is it – relationships between people are important. Oh, yes, and another lesson for me is not to work with people I do not trust.

How to recognize a toxic work environment and when is it time to leave?

A toxic environment is easy to recognize – it weighs. The air simply does not reach (metaphorically speaking). But if you are in an environment that is hostile, where people are lurking, there is no transparency and trust, balance is lacking, expectations are unrealistic or not formulated correctly, there are no opportunities for development, favoritism exists, constant and smoldering conflicts, processes and accountability are lacking, people are exhausted, stressed, nervous, and closed off, there is high turnover, etc., then you are working in a toxic atmosphere. When is it time to leave? Yesterday. If you don’t get out quickly, it will ruin you and destroy your spirit and energy. And the consequences can range from demotivation to burn out.

What would you do differently if you could start over?

This question is not very to my liking, to be honest. Because thinking retrospectively with the knowledge and experience I have now about what I would change in the past does not seem constructive to me. The person I am now is very different and knows things that the person I was five years ago did not know. The world is even very different. Changes are so fast and sometimes significant. If someone had told me just months ago that the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave would turn into a semi-authoritarian autocracy in just 100 days, I probably wouldn’t have believed them. With this, I want to say that a person acts according to what they know and assess at the moment. If you are actually asking if I regret anything, I think not. And as long as I act according to my beliefs and with respect for others, I think it will remain that way.

How to maintain our motivation in times of stagnation?

In professional terms, my way is to 'invent' projects that challenge me and take me out of routine and to try to implement them. And that is a whole separate task because I have to convince other people to do the project, and thus I open up a lot of work for myself. I also do things I haven’t done before. They can be small – like painting on ceramics (and I can’t paint), or they may not be – like completing 10 different online training courses in one month. Other people find other approaches helpful, but I think the key is to realize that you are in stagnation and, like Baron Munchausen, to pull yourself out of the swamp – whether by creating work for yourself, looking for a new hobby, asking colleagues to include you in one of their projects, doing that thing you keep postponing, going on a trip, or something else, the important thing is to break the feeling of monotony and meaninglessness.

How to achieve a balance between professional and personal life?

If I had the formula for that, I would patent it 😊 One thing I know is that this balance is very important and very individual. But if it is absent for a long time, things start to falter both at work and in personal life. For a long time, this was not a topic – work is work, personal life is personal life. Yes, but people do not divide into parts and cannot isolate one part or the other with an on and off button. Whole people are also whole employees, that is already clear. That’s why there are already many practices that stimulate the healthy coexistence of our personal and professional lives. Some of them include opportunities for personal time within work, kindergartens in the office, so that mothers do not worry and do not waste time traveling, and can see their children throughout the day, hybrid forms of work, limiting work meetings on Fridays, etc. But to start with – avoid employers who do not have at least basic policies in this regard, negotiate at the beginning about things related to your personal life that are important to you but are not part of standard policies, and – most importantly – you yourself must maintain this balance. You do not need to work 12 hours a day to be a valuable and contributing member of the team, you do not need to sacrifice your days off for work, nor do you always have to say 'yes'. After so many years, I can confidently say that almost nothing is so urgent that it cannot wait until tomorrow and that work does not end. So you need to set boundaries and uphold them.

When is it time to change your career, not just your job?

I think when you know you are exhausted – there is no enthusiasm, no desire, not even interest in continuing to do what you have been doing. And you are already fighting internally with yourself just to avoid making a change. By the way, changing one’s career is wonderful. I have friends who have done it – some consciously, others because they reached their limit, but they all seem happy with that choice. And sometimes your career itself leads you to change it. In any case, do not limit yourself out of fear that it may not turn out well. I am sure you didn’t know whether it would turn out well when you started your current career.

If you had to give just one piece of advice to people seeking success, what would it be?

A very difficult question. Perhaps to have faith in themselves, because if they do not believe in themselves, how can others believe in them? As my favorite green sage Yoda says – “No! Do or do not. There is no “try”.

What is your definition of a 'successful career'?

Perhaps one of my mottos that reflects my personal understanding of professional development and success: Develop ongoingly, work with integrity, drive impact!