Stop waiting for compliments, the results are louder than the applause
· Desislava Kutsarova
I learned to distinguish when to pull and when to let someone catch up!
Introduce yourself in a few words.
I am Desislava Kutsarova - adrenaline addicted to depths and speed, interesting ideas and results. At Happy, I have been leading the "Development" Directorate for 16 years - from new concepts and menus to digital solutions and databases. I love to create - products, processes, people, and most importantly, confidence.
How would you describe your career in a few words?
Energy, perseverance, and zero fear of change.
I have never waited for the "right moment" and always leave my ego at the entrance of the workplace. It belongs there; we enter with energy, not with a crown. Especially important when you are in hospitality business.
What was the most important choice that shaped your path?
Returning to Varna - it doesn't sound dramatic, but it was. Not running away from difficult things. Challenging myself outside my (youth) comfort zone as a financier and programmer. Competing with professionals, starting not from zero, but from a negative position compared to them. Combining customer-type structures in my team with the harsh reality of numbers, all under the sign of my favorite AGILE MANIFESTO.
What would you like to know at the beginning of your career that no one told you?
That no one will come to give you "permission" to be successful.
You have to give it to yourself. Stop waiting for compliments - the results are louder than the applause. And that no one is more responsible for your education and development than you yourself.
How can a person understand which profession is suitable for them?
When they do their job with a smile, even if they are tired. When they don't look at the clock. And when they don't need someone to "motivate" them for it.
Which skills do you think will be key in the next 10 years?
I am categorical - prompt engineering. This will be the most crucial skill in the era of AI. Artificial intelligence is not the future; it is the present, and the faster we learn to manage it well, the less likely it will manage us.
Of course - critical thinking, adaptability, and empathy remain eternal. Technologies can replace many things, but not humanity.
How to build a network of useful contacts without appearing interested?
By first genuinely being interested in people - it's banal, but it makes a huge difference. When you ask meaningful questions and listen, they feel it.
And second - by not trading your contacts but sharing them.
What is the biggest mistake you have made in your career, and what did you learn from it?
Thinking that everyone is ready to run at the same speed as mine.
I learned to distinguish when to pull and when to let someone catch up.
How to recognize a toxic work environment and when is it time to leave?
When you start to doubt your own worth. If every day you want to be in a different place. The environment should develop you, not drain you.
What would you do differently if you could start over?
I would start bolder. Earlier. Without doubting whether "it works for me".
I lost some time convincing myself that this is my field - I had doubts about whether I wanted to work in a bank, for example.
How to maintain our motivation in times of stagnation?
I don't like the word "motivation". As a long-time athlete, I know that motivation is something very temporary - I liken it to a momentary "hype".
Discipline is what drives me. If I feel stagnation - just like in sports, I change the perspective, the program, the actions. Sometimes I even hit the brakes.
How to achieve a balance between professional and personal life?
Balance is not always mathematics. Sometimes it's 20:80, sometimes 70:30. For me, balance is a conscious choice. Knowing that you are satisfied with how you have allocated your time and energy. Choosing work, home, yourself - without guilt, but with clarity.
When is it time to change your career, not just your job?
When you are no longer developing, but just surviving. When you catch yourself counting minutes, not ideas.
Work can be a temporary discomfort, but if you lose faith that you are doing something valuable - that is already a signal for direction.
If you had to give only one piece of advice to people seeking success, what would it be?
Don't wait to become "ready".
No one is. There are people who start despite that.
What is your definition of a "successful career"?
When you have the freedom to choose - projects, people, pace, life.
And when what you do leaves a mark - not only in numbers but in people.