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

In my 20's, I was a human doormat, staying silent when I should have spoken. Then, I overcorrected and spoke up about everything until I learned which battles deserved my voice. 

Perhaps that is why LinkedIn serves two purposes for me: to generate leads and as an outlet to help others. 

When I did pipe up, I was told I was "piping up" too much. 

I think that happens to many of us.

We trade one extreme for another as we seek to establish balance and boundaries. 

Emotional reactions are human, but so is learning discernment.

I do think it's human to suffer an emotional reaction to disrespect. 

I also think we have a responsibility to use our discernment to know when to respond and when not to. 

The real skill is in finding a middle ground.

Because it's not a good idea to give someone the impression they can say anything they want to you. 

What I've learned:
Not every perceived slight needs a response
Setting boundaries ≠ being a doormat
Choose your moments wisely

"The need to comment on everything is the definition of busy work. There is great peace in reserving your perspectives for the right time and people rather than always talking just because you have something to say." - Anonymous 

True power isn't in speaking up about everything - it's in knowing which battles are worth your voice.

credit: herleader on IG
—-

Hi, I’m April Little. I help current women leaders (Sr. Mgr, Director +) prepare for executive roles in 8 weeks or less. I am accepting 2 new clients this month. https://lnkd.in/gc-hbQBd 

 ✨ Recent Client Wins ✨
Director --> Vice President Promotion (on page)

✨✨Building EXCLUSIVELY on Instagram & TikTok @iamaprillittle✨✨ | Ex-HR Exec Helping Women Leaders Break the Mid-Level Ceiling Into Executive Leadership ($200k+) | 2025 Time 100 Creator

If I send this to you, it means 2 things: I’m EXCITED, and I’m recruiting for a Director of Strategic Partnerships ($350k OTE).

This is with Bond.

If you apply, you will receive an email update from me.

If you advance to the hiring manager stage, you will receive a call.

I do not ghost candidates, and I do not disappear after interviews.

This is a first-time Director opportunity with a clear path to VP.

Base salary ranges from 180K to 200K, with 350K on-target earnings and significant upside tied to deal performance and equity.

You will own global enterprise partnerships across home security, fintech, travel, and other technology sectors, while building the function from the ground up.

The role is onsite in the tristate area (NY, NJ, CT), requires up to 30 percent travel, and demands strong enterprise deal experience in SaaS, cybersecurity, fintech, insurtech, or enterprise software. 

(this is a non-negotiable.)

The CEO is requiring that this person is currently working in this role. 

I will be screening candidates this week and next week, and this is one of the only roles I recruit for each year in my fractional VP of HR capacity.

I am not recruiting for any other roles and will not review resumes sent by direct message.

Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gFg3mGQY

If you have been waiting for your first Director title with real upside including moving to VP in the next 12-24 months. Apply!

View newsletter: Executive Material (on Kajabi)

Thank you for reading Executive Material. Every Monday, break down how power, positioning, and executive communication actually work at senior levels,

Open article: Why "Just Find a Sponsor" Falls Flat and How to Borrow POWER and PRIVILEGE Instead  by April Little • 6 min read

Why "Just Find a Sponsor" Falls Flat and How to Borrow POWER and PRIVILEGE Instead

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 GPS doesn’t argue with reality.
It adjusts to it.
Your career works the same way…
Except most people wait too long to recalculate.

They stick to the original plan because:

– It once made sense
– It used to be rewarded
– It feels safer to continue than to adjust

Even when the signals are obvious.

The company changes.
The market shifts.
The skills that mattered five years ago lose value.

And still… they stay on the same route.

So how do you recalibrate? Here are several ways to it:

1. Review direction, not just performance

Every quarter, ask:
"If I started today, with what I know now, would I still choose this path?"

2. Run small course-corrections

You don’t need a dramatic pivot.
You need optionality.
Add one new project, one new skill, or one new network outside your role.

3. Reduce single-path dependence

Build at least one capability that creates value beyond your employer.
Anything that moves you from dependent to adaptable.

4. Treat friction as data

Persistent frustration usually isn’t weakness.
It’s misalignment.


You don’t have to abandon the destination.
But you do need to accept that the path will change.

The professionals who adjust early rarely need dramatic change later.
Those who ignore the signals end up being forced into it.

---

Here is the problem:

Most people only see recalibration options within their job or industry.
A promotion. A new company. A sideways move.

But there are usually far more ways to use your skills than your employer is paying you for.

You just do not see them yet.

That is what I help with inside the Portfolio Career Accelerator:

→ How to identify the real market value of your skills
→ How to position them beyond one employer
→ How to build options while you are still employed

Cohort 2 starts on April 27.

Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gpEqqqFs
♻️ Repost if someone in your network needs to see beyond their current path.

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.

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April Little

Ani Filipova

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The Battle

April Little

Ani Filipova

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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);}April Little's LinkedIn Performance

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