Certified Executive Coach (ICF) | I help women leaders amplify their performance + presence to become Executives | Wife & Mom of 3 | Exec Group Coaching Program launching in Aug 2024 | Book a call today ⬇️

Apply to work with me for Executive Coaching: https://linktr.ee/executivematerial For Brand Partnerships (brands only) please email me at team@aprillittle.co 

April Little

Only 2 Black women currently run Fortune 500 companies. 

I felt genuinely excited seeing Latriece Watkins named President and CEO of Sam’s Club because moments like this still feel… rare.

Right now, women lead about 11 percent of Fortune 500 companies, and only 2 of those women are Black.

It means we still have a long way to go. 

I know someone will read this and comment, “The most qualified person gets the job,” but if meritocracy actually worked, the C-suite would be far more diverse than it is today.

Latriece worked her way up inside Walmart over decades, which is the part people should pay close attention to.

We are often told to stay loyal, build credibility, and wait our turn, yet many women of color stall at the director or senior director level.

A few years ago, when Nike appointed a CEO after 32 years inside the company, I remember thinking that same result for women and women of color. 

So when someone does reach the highest seat after building REAL enterprise experience, it feels like a crack in a very rigid ceiling.

Sidebar: This is not about entrepreneurship, so feel free to skip this if corporate leadership is not your lane.

As an executive coach who works with women preparing for VP and C-suite roles, this is sooooo reassuring to see.

Keep climbing 🫡 

Image Credit: Essence

Exclusively on IG & TikTok: @iamaprillittle thru February 1st | Ex-HR Exec Helping Women Leaders Break the Mid-Level Ceiling Into Executive Leadership ($200k+) | 2025 Time 100 Creator

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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

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

Scrolling LinkedIn, you will think everyone is operating at 100% every day.

5 am routine ✅
10 client calls ✅
Launched 3 products ✅
Ran a marathon ✅

Meanwhile, I'm over here thinking:

• My video production is weeks behind
• I have zero content prepped for this week - I'm creating as I go
• That Substack I promised myself I'd launch in January is still in drafts
• My follow-up list has a follow-up list

And you know what?

My business is still growing.
My Portfolio Career Accelerator starts in 10 days - with brilliant people already inside.
My community is thriving.
My podcast just passed 30,000 subscribers.

Nobody posts the hard days.
But those are the days that matter the most.

They teach you:
• Perfect doesn't exist
• Decisions get made with incomplete information
• Momentum matters more than intensity

That's why I didn't build my Portfolio Accelerator as a blueprint for perfection.

I built it as a framework for sustainable progress.

Because the move from corporate to a portfolio career isn't about doing everything right.
It's about continuing when nothing feels right.

Sustainable success isn't showing up at your best.
It's showing up anyway.

Some days you are on fire.
Some days, you are just keeping the fire from going out.

Both count.
Both compound.

If you are ready to build a portfolio career that works with your real life - not some imaginary perfect version of it - applications for the Portfolio Career Accelerator close soon.

A few final spots remain. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gpEqqqFs

We start in 10 days.

Build something that survives your ordinary days.

Follow me, https://lnkd.in/g6R7Yb8t, for daily doses of career, leadership and change truths

-----
Image credit: Jen Blandos

If you followed every piece of “good career advice” you were given, you would be less employable today - not more.

I was repeatedly warned that changing roles this often would destroy my career.

It turned out it didn’t.

They called it professional suicide.
Now I teach executives how to do it deliberately.

19 job changes.
5 countries.
25 years of “destroying my career.”

When I left my first job after 15 months, my mum was appalled.
Stability was everything to her generation.

Two years later, I left again.
Then again.

At Citi alone:
10 role changes.
5 countries.
21 years.

Every move came with the same warnings:

“You are ruining your CV.”
“No one will trust someone this unstable.”
“You’ll regret this later.”

And there were moments I wondered if they were right.

I watched peers climb neat ladders while my path looked… messy.
Hard to explain.
Easy to judge.

At 50, I walked away from a COO role and started again.
That’s when the concern turned into outrage.
People never understood the audacity to want something different.

Here’s the mental model most people miss:

• One skill = one solution
• Two skills = multiple options
• Ten skills = leverage from angles others can’t see

Experience doesn’t add up.
It multiplies.

Today’s market doesn’t reward narrow specialists who need the world to stay predictable.

It rewards people who can:
→ Connect dots across functions
→ Solve problems from multiple lenses
→ Rebuild themselves without panic

A “messy” career isn’t a liability anymore.
It’s optionality.

In a world that reinvents itself constantly,
your ability to change IS your stability.

That’s why I now help experienced professionals turn unconventional paths into:
income, 
impact, 
and freedom - without starting from scratch.

The Portfolio Career Accelerator starts January 26.

20 people.
8 weeks.
A clear system for turning what you already know into a career that compounds - a portfolio career!

10 places remain.
Apply here: https://lnkd.in/g8bpRmYN

Most people don’t need a new career.
They need a better way to frame - and monetise - the one they’ve already lived.

♻️ Repost this for someone still apologising for evolving.
→ Follow me, Ani Filipova, for daily career and change truths.

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No one can ruin your day.

Unless you let them.

Most people think their emotions are caused by other people or events.

“They made me angry.”
“That ruined my day.”
“I had no choice.”

But that’s not how it actually works.

Nobody makes you angry.
You choose anger as the response.

That choice happens fast, but it’s still a choice.
The most underrated skill in life and business?

⚠️ Emotional control.

Not suppressing emotions.
Not pretending you are calm.
But responding instead of reacting.

Here is a simple framework I use when I feel triggered:

1️⃣ Name the emotion
Say it out loud or in your head: "I'm feeling frustrated."
Naming the emotion reduces its intensity by up to 50%.
You can't control what you don't acknowledge.

2️⃣ Delay the response
Wait 90 seconds before responding. 
Emotions trigger a chemical reaction in your body for only 90 seconds.
Anything beyond that - it is you feeding the story!

3️⃣ Reframe the situation
“What response helps me win long-term?”

This approach applies everywhere:

Before replying to a passive-aggressive email
Before reacting in a meeting
Before saying something you’ll regret later

Calm people don’t have fewer problems.
They just solve them better.

Your reaction is your responsibility.
And emotional discipline compounds faster than motivation.

♻️ Repost this for someone who needs the reminder.
→ Follow me, Ani Filipova, for more on leadership, career, and change.

Image credit: A.G.E on Pinterest.

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Talks about #leadership, #careerpivot, #futureofwork, and #transformation

Skills don't predict performance. 

Character does.

I once hired the most qualified candidate on paper. 
Impressive CV. Perfect experience. 
They quit in 3 months.

The problem is that most interviews rely on rehearsed answers to predictable questions.

Here are 10 "non-predictable" questions that reveal who someone really is:

1. If money wasn't an issue, what would you choose to do for work?
→ Reveals intrinsic motivation vs. external rewards

2. When was the last time you felt proud at work—and why?
→ Shows what success truly means to them

3. What would you do if you knew you were going to miss a deadline?
→ Tests accountability and honesty under pressure

4. What do you think you owe an employer—and what do they owe you?
→ Exposes work ethic, expectations, and entitlement

5. What are your strongest strengths—and the weaknesses you're actively working on?
→ Reveals self-awareness and growth mindset

6. What's a belief you hold that most people disagree with?
→ Shows independent thinking and confidence in values

7. What do you do when you strongly disagree with your manager?
→ Reveals emotional intelligence and conflict maturity

8. If you could change one past decision, what would it be—and why?
→ Tests reflection, learning, and accountability

9. How do you handle working with someone you don't like?
→ Assesses professionalism when emotions are involved

10. Tell me about a decision you made that disappointed people.
→ Reveals leadership courage and ethical reasoning

Most bad hires don't fail because they lack skills.
They fail because their character was never tested.

📌 Save this for your next interview.
♻️ Repost this with someone building a team in 2026.
→ Follow me, Ani Filipova, for leadership, career and change insights.

Use these in your hiring process

In 2026, AI won’t expose weak technology.

It will expose weak leadership.

My friend Stephanie collated this invaluable resource list 🔥

The biggest AI failures aren’t model problems.
They are leadership problems.

• No ownership
• No operating model
• No path from pilot → ROI

That’s why most organisations never make it past the pilot phase.
On top of that, every organisation claims to be AI-ready.
But few actually are.

If 2026 is the year AI becomes non-optional,
leadership readiness will be the real differentiator.

AI doesn’t fail because of technology.
It fails because of leadership.

📘 Top 12 AI Strategy Playbooks for 2026
 From the world’s most trusted authorities

🧭 Strategy

1️⃣ McKinsey – The State of AI in 2025
Your reality check. What enterprises are actually doing today. 
https://lnkd.in/eDxZdT9b

2️⃣ BCG – The Widening AI Value Gap: Build for the Future 2025
How AI value is created, not promised
https://lnkd.in/eNRCJ5tQ

3️⃣ Accenture – The Art of AI Maturity 2025
How to move from pilot purgatory to full AI maturity
https://lnkd.in/ekzJpcDK

4️⃣ Microsoft – CIO GenAI Playbook 2025
How CIOs can lead GenAI adoption without losing control
https://lnkd.in/e2-uFJjX

5️⃣ Bain – Transforming CX With AI 2025
The 5 questions every CEO must answer before scaling AI
https://lnkd.in/gqq-66ST

6️⃣ Deloitte – Tech Trends 2026
How enterprises scale AI from pilots to measurable results
https://lnkd.in/eykwYsXu

7️⃣ Stanford – AI Index Report 2025
Framework linking AI innovation to execution
https://lnkd.in/ex2xckf3

8️⃣ Amazon – AI Value Gap Report 2025
How companies bridge AI experiments into measurable outcomes
https://lnkd.in/eW87yCi6

9️⃣ IBM – 2025 CDO AI Multiplier Effect
How data-led AI turns strategy into business results
https://lnkd.in/ePsJX8i2

💾 Data & Architecture

1️⃣0️⃣ Google – State of AI Infrastructure 2025
How enterprises build AI ready data and infrastructure at scale
https://lnkd.in/eRRBVjGC

🛡 Governance & Risk

1️⃣1️⃣ NIST – AI Risk Management Framework 2025
How organizations operationalize AI risk and trust
https://lnkd.in/eJARfhKJ

1️⃣2️⃣ World Economic Forum – Advancing Responsible AI Innovation: A Playbook 2025
Turn responsible AI principles into real operating decisions
https://lnkd.in/e_vyMfg6

Those who fix it in 2026 will lead the next decade.
Those who don’t will keep running pilots.

♻ Repost to help another leader avoid the top AI blockers
👋 Follow Ani Filipova for more career, leadership, and change insights

I spent 20 years in banking, thinking I understood how the world worked.

Then I moved from Singapore to Hong Kong to become a COO, and as we began setting up our life again, I realised something uncomfortable:

I’d been living in a professional echo chamber.

My friends were bankers.
My network was bankers.
My entire view of “career” was shaped by one industry and one employer.

I didn’t even realise how limited my perspective was.

I was making decisions - about work and life -
based entirely on my own small bubble,
surrounded by people just like me.

And that’s when it hit me:

I was doing the exact same thing with my career.

I was looking at my future through a banking lens.
Surrounded by banking people.
Measuring success by banking standards.

I had no idea what else was out there.

Not because the opportunities didn’t exist.
But because I wasn’t in rooms where anyone talked about them.

The creator economy?
Never heard of it.

Portfolio careers?
Didn’t know that was a thing.

Multiple income streams?
Honestly, it sounded like a scam.

I genuinely believed my options were:
→ Stay in banking
→ Move to another bank
→ Or try consulting company

That was it.

The problem wasn’t fear.
It was visibility.

When everyone around you is on the same path..
That path feels like the only one.

So how do you break free?

1️⃣ Get outside your bubble 

Find one person doing work that fascinates you but seems "impossible." Talk to them. You'll be shocked how possible it actually is. 

2️⃣ Audit your inputs

Whom are you following? What are you reading? If it's all corporate content, you are trapped in an echo chamber. 

3️⃣ Take one small step into the unknown 

Attend an event outside your industry. Message someone in the creator economy. Learn about one business model you've never heard of.

The moment you step outside your professional bubble,
you realise the world is far bigger than what you’ve been shown.

That’s why I created the Portfolio Career Accelerator.

To show you the massive world of opportunities you can’t see yet,
and guide you if you decide to explore any of them.

We are starting Jan 26, 2026.
A few spots are still open. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gpEqqqFs

or

👉 DM me and let's talk

Most career advice about “staying relevant” is useless.

People tell you to “keep learning”, “stay curious”, or “embrace change.”

Great. 
Super helpful.
I’ll just add that to my list right after
“drink more water” and “get enough sleep.”

Here’s what actually works - and you can start building it today, at any stage of your career.

It’s called being "T-shaped."

And if you are not developing this right now, you are quietly making yourself obsolete.

After watching careers stall, pivot, and accelerate at every level, this pattern shows up every time.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧-𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀

Think of the letter T.

• The vertical bar = depth.
Deep expertise in one core area.
What you are known for. What people trust you with.

• The horizontal bar = breadth.
Adjacent skills. Not mastery - just enough to connect dots, make better decisions, and create leverage beyond your lane.

What this looks like in practice:

➡️ Software developer
Depth: AI
Breadth: UX, delivery, business context

➡️ Marketing professional
Depth: campaign strategy
Breadth: data, psychology, financial thinking

➡️ Senior leader
Depth: decision-making
Breadth: technology trends, data literacy, change

➡️ Portfolio careerist
Depth: executive coaching
Breadth: content, products, community, speaking

This is why T-shaped people win.

Specialists struggle when their niche dries up.
Generalists struggle to stand out.

T-shaped people adapt.
They go deep when required 
and zoom out when it matters.

And if their depth becomes redundant (which happens more often than people admit), they don’t panic.
They pivot from a position of strength.

How to Build Your T-Shape (Without Overthinking It)

➊ Know your T
Be honest about your depth and your gaps. Most people are either an “I” (all depth) or a “—” (all breadth). Both stall careers.

➋ Use the 80/20 rule
80% of your effort: deepen your core skill
20%: build adjacent skills that compound it

Depth gets you hired and gets you projects.
Breadth gets you promoted and paid differently.

➌ Don’t dilute your edge
Breadth only works if your depth stays sharp. 
If your core skill slips, rebalance and go deeper before going wider.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲

You don’t future-proof yourself by predicting the future.
You future-proof yourself by becoming someone who can adapt to any future.

And that’s exactly what a strong T-shape gives you.

If you are ready to build a portfolio career with both depth and breadth - combining personal branding, monetisation, speaking, board and fractional opportunities, wealth creation, and AI leverage - the Portfolio Career Accelerator starts January 26, 2026.

10 spots are already filled.
10 remain.

Apply here: https://lnkd.in/g8bpRmYN

------
In my newsletter today, I break this down in more detail. Subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/gzDCH9t9

Nothing was “wrong” with my career.

I simply didn’t want this to be it.
So I paid attention.

2019–2021:
Doubting my career, 
sitting in my Citibank office late in the evening
realising I'd built a prison that looked like a palace.

2021:
Left my career
Started posting on LinkedIn.
Gave a TEDx talk
Started planning my business

2022–2024:
Started a podcast.
https://lnkd.in/g73EpXEt
Started coaching.
Became a judge on the Global Change Awards, London

Some things worked.
Some things really didn’t.

A startup investment failed.
An education venture failed.

But the coaching grew.
The podcast grew.
My brand was growing too.
And I learned what people actually needed: options.

2025:
I built a membership community to help professionals grow a personal brand and build a portfolio career - so their entire life doesn’t sit on one job or one title.
https://lnkd.in/gKeB77z9

2026:
On January 26, I'm launching an 8-week Portfolio Career Accelerator. 20 people. 8 weeks. 
A clear path to building personal brand, income, impact, and freedom outside your job.

Nothing magical happened.
Just different choices, repeated over time.

These days, I wake up without an alarm.
I choose my own problems.
I work with people I respect.

The version of me in 2021 wouldn’t recognise my life now.
Not because it’s easier or perfect.
But because it’s intentional.
And because it’s mine.

If you are still sitting at your desk at 8pm, wondering if there’s another way -
you already know the answer.

The only question is whether you trust yourself enough to do something about it.

I'm building for people who want options.
If that's you → apply here to join the accelerator https://lnkd.in/g8bpRmYN
10 spots remain
Applications close January 20.

Bonne Heidig

In 8 days, we go live with The Portfolio Career Accelerator.

I’ve been planning this accelerator for the last 6 months - and it’s finally here.

Not as a course you “consume.”
But as a transition you actually make.

My goal is simple:

• Show corporate professionals the opportunities they are missing
• Build a bridge from corporate expertise to multiple income streams
• Be the translator people need - someone who speaks both corporate and creator

Because most professionals aren’t stuck. They are just operating inside a very small bubble and the accelerator will show them what is outside it.

This is an 8-week program, built around the 5 principles of a portfolio career, plus how to use AI to implement faster - not someday, but now.

Here’s how it breaks down:

Module 1: Build Your Brand & Audience
LinkedIn optimisation, content strategy, high-performing posts, lead magnets, newsletter creation

Module 2: Create Your Products
Turn expertise into courses, workshops, and programs. Pricing, sales process, launch strategy

Module 3: Become a Speaker
Craft keynotes, master delivery, build a speaker kit, and land paid gigs

Module 4: Advisor / Board Member / Fractional Exec
Shift from doer to advisor. Structure engagements. Find and land real opportunities

Module 5: Become an Investor
Investment fundamentals, portfolio building, diversification, and working with brokers

Module 6: Leverage AI
Prompt engineering, custom GPTs, AI agents

And you are not learning from me alone.

We’ve brought in incredible guest trainers - experts in their fields - speaking, investing, advisory, board and AI.

We start on January 26th.

And we already have amazing professionals signed up and ready to start. 

This cohort is capped at 20 people.
Why?

Because this isn’t passive learning.
It’s a transformation - with guidance, accountability, and a room full of people who get it.

If you are tired of living inside a professional bubble…

If you know there’s more available to you than one job title…

If you want someone who’s actually done this to show you how…

👉 Secure your spot here: https://lnkd.in/gpEqqqFs

8 days until we start building your portfolio career.

Let’s go.

♻️ Repost this to help another corporate professional see what’s possible
💾 Save this if portfolio careers are on your 2026 radar

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