Donovan 💻 Grant

Too many smart people in tech are quietly burning out.

I saw it everywhere and eventually, I realised it was happening to me too.

Over six years ago, I hit my own wall.

On paper, things were going well; solid projects, a good reputation, dependable results. But underneath, I was drained and quietly asking myself: Is this how it’s meant to be?

That question changed everything.

I stepped back, paid attention to what was helping and what wasn’t, and began rebuilding from the inside out. Over time, some clear patterns emerged. How I thought, how I acted, what mattered to me, how I managed my energy, and what helped me keep going.

That’s what eventually became the MOVES Framework.

Most of the tech professionals I meet today are smart, capable, and driven, but quietly running on empty.

They’ve done everything right: built strong careers, earned respect, delivered results. Yet the spark that once fuelled them has faded, replaced by restlessness or fatigue.

They don’t need another productivity trick.

They need space to breathe, clarity about what matters, and a way to make progress that lasts.

That’s what my work is about.

The MOVES Framework: Mindset, Ownership, Values, Energy, and Sustain, is a practical, human roadmap for reconnecting with who you are, what matters most, and how you want to show up.

🎤 I speak and work with teams on things people rarely make time for but deeply need:

•	How to stay steady when work keeps changing
•	How to spot burnout early and respond before it takes over
•	How to make progress at work without losing energy or self-trust.

If you’re looking for conversations that are honest, practical, and grounded in real experience, I’m always open to connecting.

If any of this feels familiar, you’re welcome to reach out.

Lead Business Analyst & Coach

I pen things that speak to me 📝—— I Help You Get Noticed | Build Personal Brands On Social Media, Globally 📈| Manage Business Profiles, Pages | Social Media Manager | Virtual Assistant 👩🏻‍💻

I design how leaders scale in an AI-accelerated world.

I’m Pravena K, Founder & CEO of Virtual Assistance Asia, where we work with organisations to redesign leadership, delegation, and execution for Human+AI teams.

My focus is not tools.
It’s decision clarity, operating models, and human judgment in environments where AI is already embedded.

I’m recognised internationally for leadership and influence in this space, including being named The Most Dynamic Business Woman Redefining Leadership in 2026 and ranked among the Top LinkedIn Creators in Malaysia for sustained impact in business, leadership, and Human+AI transformation.

What we do at Virtual Assistance Asia:

1. Design Human+AI workforce and delegation systems
2. Enable leaders to scale without cognitive overload
3. Build future-ready teams that think, decide, and execute well

Training, advisory, and content are delivery channels — systems are the outcome.

My work spans founders, executive teams, educators, and institutions across Asia, supporting organisations that want AI adoption without losing accountability, ethics, or humanity.

I also write and speak on leadership, invisible labour, work equity, and modern operating culture — not to chase visibility, but to sharpen how leaders think.

If you’re building:
a team that must scale responsibly
a leadership model that survives AI disruption
or decisions that need more than speed

You’ll find my work relevant.

Let's connect, if you’re leading a team navigating Human+AI transformation and need clarity around scale, delegation, or decision-making, you can reach me via LinkedIn or email: pravenak@virtualassistanceasia.com | pravena2110@gmail.com

Thank you!

PRAVENA K

To toxic managers, team leaders, department heads, and bosses:
If different thinking feels like a threat, leadership is not the problem — ego is.


I’ve seen this play out more times than I can count.


A team member delivers the result.
The work is correct.
The outcome is solid.


And yet the feedback is:
“Why didn’t you do it my way?”


That’s the moment leadership quietly fails.


Not because the work was wrong —
but because control mattered more than thinking.


A simple truth many leaders struggle to accept:

6 + 3 = 9.
5 + 4 = 9.


Same outcome.
Different path.


But in many workplaces, only one path is allowed — the boss’s.


This is how toxicity actually shows up in real offices:

#1 Ideas are invited, then dismissed
#2 Initiative is encouraged, then corrected
#3 Independence is praised, then punished
#4 “Standards” become a cover for ego


Over time, people stop offering their best thinking.
Not because they’re incapable —
but because they’re tired of being overridden.


And then leaders say:
“Why is my team disengaged?”
“Why doesn’t anyone speak up?”
“Why do people keep leaving?”


The hard answer:
You didn’t lose talent.
You trained them to stay silent.


Strong leadership isn’t about cloning your thinking.
It’s about setting clear outcomes and trusting adults to reach them.


If the result is ethical, effective, and accountable —
the response shouldn’t be:
❌ “Do it my way.”


It should be:
✅ “Walk me through how you approached this.”


Because leaders who punish different thinking don’t build standards.
They build silence.


#LinkedInFam,

Remeber,

If people have to shrink to fit your way, you’re not leading — you’re limiting.
Strong teams aren’t obedient.
They’re trusted, respected, and allowed to think out loud.


♻️ If this resonates, share it forward.
Someone in your team — or someone leading one — might need this reminder today.


🔔 Let's connect, PRAVENA K, for more on Virtual Assistance, Personal Branding and Leadership!
#WorkplaceCulture #PeopleFirst #ToxicLeadership #PsychologicalSafety #EmployeeExperience #FutureOfWork

CEO, Virtual Assistance Asia | Award-Winning Human+AI Leadership Architect | LinkedIn Top Voice | Scaling Teams, Decision-Making & Execution in an AI-Accelerated World

This is me today.


Same body.
Same condition.
But a better way of living my life.


Six months ago, I shared something I had carried quietly for years —
my diagnosis of PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome).


Not as a medical post.
Not for sympathy.
But as a confrontation.


With a condition that affects hormones, metabolism, weight, energy, mood, and mental health —
and yet is still misunderstood, minimised, or blamed on “lifestyle” and “willpower.”


Many of you remember that version of me.
The honesty.
The weight of finally naming what I was living with.


This post isn’t a “before and after.”
It’s a reminder of what after awareness actually looks like.


I didn’t wake up healed.
I didn’t suddenly feel confident.
And my body didn’t magically change.


PCOS doesn’t work like that.


What changed was how I started showing up for myself.


I stopped being ashamed of taking space.
I stopped apologising for needing care.
I stopped being hard on myself for a body that was already working overtime.


I started choosing movement — not punishment.
Badminton. Pickleball. Gym. Running. Walking.
Not to “fix” my body,
but to support my health.


I started eating with intention — not restriction.
I learned to rest without guilt.
I learned to listen instead of force.


And slowly, something shifted around me too.


Friends began moving with me.
Family learned to speak with more kindness.
The conversations at home changed.
Support replaced judgement.


This is not just my story.


This is the story of millions of women living with PCOS and other invisible conditions —
who wake up every day carrying more than what’s visible.


Women who still show up for work.
For families.
For partners.
For children.


While managing fatigue, pain, hormonal chaos, and emotional load —
often in silence.


This is for the fathers who want to understand their daughters better.
For the brothers who don’t realise how heavy casual comments can be.
For the husbands and partners learning that support isn’t advice — it’s presence.
For the children watching how women treat themselves.


Healing doesn’t always look like transformation photos.
Sometimes it looks like self-respect.
Boundaries.
Consistency.
And choosing better, even when results are quiet.


This is me today.
Still living with PCOS.
Still healing.
Still learning.
Still choosing myself — without shame.


If this sounds familiar to you —
or to someone you love —
this is your reminder:

You’re not weak.
You’re not lazy.
And you’re not alone.


I’m PRAVENA K,
and I’m a voice for the millions of women out there living this silently.


My dear, beautiful women —
if I can do this, so can you.
You’ve got this 💪🏽


Let’s move for our health.
For our peace.
For our lives.


And we don’t need to be silent about this anymore.


PRAVENA K 🤍

No alternative text description for this image

“Oh. I can actually do this.”

That thought caught me off guard.


Not because I finished strong.
Not because I was fast.
But because for the longest time, I genuinely believed I couldn’t.


The first time I tried 5K, it was mostly walking.
Stopping.
Negotiating with myself.
Crossing the hour mark and pretending it didn’t matter.


I told myself:
“Maybe this just isn’t my thing.”


Yesterday, I tried again.


Still slow.
Still uncomfortable.
Still messy.


But this time, I ran more than I walked.
And I finished in under an hour.


That’s when it hit me.


The biggest lie we tell ourselves isn’t “I’m bad at this.”
It’s “I’ll try again when I’m ready.”


That lie shows up everywhere.


In careers you’ve outgrown but stay in because it’s familiar.
In jobs you don’t apply for because you think you’re “not there yet.”
In businesses you delay launching because you want it perfect.
In goals you keep postponing because starting badly feels worse than not starting at all.


Procrastination isn’t laziness.
It’s fear with good PR.


Fear of proof.
Fear of seeing your limits.
Fear that trying will confirm what you already suspect.


What changed for me wasn’t motivation.
It wasn’t some sudden discipline glow-up.


It was evidence.


Small, uncomfortable, undeniable evidence.


One more run than last time.
One less excuse.
One quiet moment where reality contradicted the story in my head.


That’s how progress actually works — in fitness, work, leadership, life.


Not with confidence first.
Confidence comes after action.


Not with clarity.
Clarity shows up after movement.


Standing there at the end, the tears weren’t about pain.


They were about relief.


Relief that the voice saying “you can’t” was finally wrong.


And once that voice cracks — even a little —
you stop negotiating with your potential.


♻️ If you’re stuck in the loop of starting, stopping, doubting, delaying —
this is your reminder:

You don’t need to believe in yourself yet.
You just need to collect better evidence.

And evidence only comes from doing the thing — badly, slowly, imperfectly —
but doing it anyway.


Happy MidWeek, #LinkedInFam!


🔔 Let's connect, PRAVENA K, for more on Virtual Assistance, Personal Branding and Leadership!
#MarathonTraining #5KJourney #DisciplineOverMotivation #MindsetShift 


Ps: Not forgetting my training pals, Strava Runna Apple Watch — the best!

“I’m tendering my resignation today.”
That was the message my friend sent me.


Not dramatic.
Not rushed.
Just honest.


She didn’t leave because she couldn’t cope.
She left because staying had started to cost her more than it should.


What she shared with me was simple — and painfully relatable:
Too much emotional weight being carried quietly
Too many compromises made “for the team”
Not enough space to grow without feeling drained


And, the part that made me genuinely happy for her.


She’s not walking into chaos.
She’s walking into something better.


A place where:
expectations are clearer
leadership feels steadier
her work is recognised without constant self-justifying
and her energy doesn’t need to be spent surviving the day


That matters.


For anyone reading this who is quietly questioning their own situation —
wondering if they’re overthinking,
if they should “just hang on a bit longer”,
or if wanting better makes them ungrateful —


Sometimes leaving isn’t about running away.
It’s about choosing alignment.
It’s about protecting the parts of you that matter long-term.


I’m genuinely proud of her.
Not because she resigned —
but because she chose herself with clarity and courage.


#LinkedInFam,
If you’re in the middle of a similar decision,
I hope you know this:
better workplaces do exist.
Healthier leadership exists.
And it’s okay to want work that feels human again.


Monday reminder;
hope is allowed.
And sometimes, it starts with an honest decision.


Happy MonYay, #LinkedInFam!


🔔 Let's connect, PRAVENA K, for more on Virtual Assistance, Personal Branding and Leadership!
#ToxicWorkplaceCulture #FutureOfWork #PeopleFirstLeadership #HealthyWorkplaces #CareerGrowth #MentalHealthAtWork

Attended the Odoo Partnership session today with a clear lens:
how businesses actually scale when systems, people, and decisions start to intersect.


What stood out wasn’t just the product capabilities, but the thinking behind it — especially how Odoo positions itself as an integrated backbone across finance, operations, HR, and reporting, rather than a collection of disconnected tools.


The discussion around the Malaysian market, partner ecosystem, and long-term support model reflected a realistic understanding of how organisations grow:
• not overnight,
• not perfectly,
• but through better visibility, better workflows, and better decision discipline.


As someone who works closely with leadership teams, HR, and operations — and writes extensively for corporate audiences — I see strong alignment between:
• system clarity,
• execution maturity,
• and leadership accountability.


Platforms like this matter because scaling isn’t just about adopting software.
It’s about how teams use systems, trust data, and own decisions.


Kudos to the Odoo team and partners for hosting a session grounded in real operational context.


Happy to stay connected and explore future collaboration where systems, people, and execution need to come together.


🔔 Let's connect, PRAVENA K, for more on Virtual Assistance, Personal Branding and Leadership!
#BusinessSystems #EnterpriseTechnology #DigitalTransformation #BusinessOperations #OperationalExcellence #ERP #FutureOfWork

Yesterday, I completed my first 5K marathon.


It wasn’t pretty.
It wasn’t fast.
It was walk + run — and I finished under one hour.


What stayed with me wasn’t the time on the screen.
It was what actually made it possible.


Discipline wasn’t some sudden burst of motivation.
Discipline was deciding to show up, lace up, and not negotiate with myself halfway through.


But discipline alone wouldn’t have carried me through.


The people mattered more than I expected.


Friends beside me.
Shared pace.
Shared silence.
Small words of encouragement that didn’t feel dramatic — just steady.


That’s when it hit me.


Discipline gets you to start.
People help you stay.


And that balance matters — in running, in work, in business, in life.


We talk a lot about “being disciplined” on LinkedIn.
But rarely about how environment, support, and community quietly shape whether we keep going or burn out.


Ending January this way gave me clarity.
Starting February this way sets the tone.


So as we step into a new month, a few simple reminders I’m carrying forward — maybe they help you too:

👉🏽 Don’t wait to feel ready. Start tired. Start unsure.
👉🏽 Build discipline through small, repeatable decisions — not big promises.
👉🏽 Choose people who walk with you, not rush you.
👉🏽 Progress doesn’t need to be loud to be real.


Whatever you’re working towards this month — a role, a project, your health, a personal reset — keep moving. 


One step, 
one decision, 
one honest effort at a time.


Happy February, #LinkedInFam! 🤍


PRAVENA K

Most people think being good at work is about being the smartest in the room.

It’s not.


We all know that one person.
Not the loudest.
Not the title-holder.
Not the “always right” one.


But the person people want to sit next to in meetings.
The one they feel safe asking questions to.
The one who doesn’t weaponise urgency or ego.


That line on the wall says it perfectly:
“Be the person that everyone wants to work with.”


In real life, this shows up in small moments:
– When deadlines are tight and you don’t panic the team
– When someone makes a mistake and you don’t embarrass them
– When you listen fully instead of waiting to reply
– When you give credit publicly and feedback privately


Bad leaders obsess over control.
Good leaders obsess over clarity.


Bad managers ask:
“Why didn’t you do it my way?”


Good ones ask:
“Help me understand your thinking.”


People don’t burn out because of work.
They burn out because of how they are treated while doing it.


No KPI measures this.
No performance review captures it.
But teams remember it forever.


If you want loyalty, trust, and real performance—
be the person whose presence makes work lighter, not heavier.


That’s leadership people don’t quit.


♻️ If this resonates, pass it on.
Someone is deciding today what kind of leader they’ll be tomorrow.


🔔 Let's connect, PRAVENA K, for more on Virtual Assistance, Personal Branding and Leadership!
#WorkplaceCulture #PeopleFirstLeadership #EmployeeExperience #FutureOfWork #ModernLeadership #ToxicLeadership ##PsychologicalSafety

“Are you okay?”


I had stopped moving.


Hands on my knees. Breathing heavy. Convincing myself I just needed a few seconds — while quietly wondering if I should stop altogether.


There were hundreds of people around me.
Running. Walking. Focused on finishing.


And then I heard it.


“Are you okay?”


I looked up and saw her.


A stranger.
Running her own race.
Still choosing to check on someone else.


I said yes. She smiled. Kept pace with me.
No pressure. No rush. Just stayed.


We crossed the finish line together.
Shared a few minutes after — water, laughs, a short conversation that didn’t need to be deep to mean something.


It was brief.
But it stayed with me.


Because she didn’t do anything extraordinary.
She didn’t rescue me.
She didn’t motivate me with words.


She simply noticed.
And chose to be human.


That moment stayed with me — especially today.


Because that question?
It doesn’t belong only on a running track.


It belongs at work.
In meetings.
In teams.
In leadership.


Most people don’t quit because they can’t do the work.
They slow down because no one notices they’re struggling.


Most disengagement doesn’t start with laziness.
It starts with silence.


We move fast.
We chase deadlines.
We assume “no complaint” means “all good.”


But sometimes the difference between someone giving up and someone pushing through is just this:

Someone pausing long enough to ask,
“Are you okay?”


This Monday reminder isn’t about being soft.
It’s about being aware.


Be the colleague who checks in.
Be the leader who notices.
Be the teammate who stays a little longer.


Because progress — in work and in life — often continues not because of pressure…

…but because someone chose to care.


Have a grounded, human Monday, #LinkedInFam! 


And, I’m really proud and inspired by her 🤍


PRAVENA K

Most people say LinkedIn doesn’t work anymore.


What they actually mean is:
they’re spending energy on things that don’t move the needle.


This is the 80/20 of LinkedIn growth — what actually works vs what wastes time.


The 20% that drives results

1️⃣ Strong hooks
Your first line decides everything.
No hook = no read.
First line clarity = ~80% of post success.

2️⃣ Carousels & infographics
Not for aesthetics.
For thinking clarity.
Simple visuals → slower scroll → better reach.

3️⃣ Engage before & after posting (15 mins each)
Comment before you post.
Reply after you post.
Real opinions > “great post”.

4️⃣ Consistency (3–5x/week)
Not daily. Not random.
Consistency trains the algorithm and trust.

5️⃣ One clear niche
Be known for one thing.
Multi-everything = remembered for nothing.

6️⃣ Thoughtful comments
Opinions beat posts.
Many jobs, clients, and partnerships start in comments.

7️⃣Optimized profile (once)
Headline. Banner. Featured.
Optimize properly — then stop tweaking daily.

8️⃣ Reply to every comment (first hour matters most)
This is relationship-building, not vanity.


The 80% that doesn’t matter (as much as you think)

❌ Perfect posting times
→ Content > timing

❌ Hashtags
→ Won’t save bad posts

❌ Video content (for the sake of it)
→ Reach has dropped for most

❌ Chasing virality
→ Consistency wins long-term

❌ Posting 2x+ daily
→ Diminishing returns

❌ Engagement pods
→ Algorithm detects fakes

❌ Editing your profile daily
→ Optimize once

❌ Copying others
→ Your voice = your edge


And this is where it connects to real life:

#BusinessOwners build trust before they build demand.
#Employees grow when they show thinking, not titles.
#JobSeekers get noticed when they sound capable, not desperate.


LinkedIn growth isn’t about tricks.
👉🏽 It’s about clarity, repetition, and usefulness — over time.


♻️ If this helped, recycle it for someone doing the wrong 80%.


🔔 Let's connect, PRAVENA K, for more on Virtual Assistance, Personal Branding and Leadership!
#LinkedInGrowth #CareerGrowth #JobSearchTips #ContentStrategy #ProfessionalVisibility #BusinessMindset

taplio

The Battle

Donovan 💻 Grant

PRAVENA K

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScorePRAVENA K's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Donovan 💻 Grant

PRAVENA K

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);}PRAVENA K's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScorePRAVENA K's LinkedIn Performance